Support Local Businesses
We’ve all been dealing with the menace of COVID for well over a year now. Local economies have convulsed under the pressure of our societal changes. Once stable icons in our communities closed their doors for good while hopeful start ups struggled through ever evolving regulations. Longmont, and most of the Colorado Front Range, have fared better than some communities around the world, but we’re not out of the woods yet.
The long term effects of the coronavirus shutdown is only beginning to seep into the lives. These trends don’t all look good either. There is a way, though, to prevent financial trouble from infesting your community: support local businesses. We know you hear this a lot, but have you taken a moment to consider what that means?
Shopping local keeps local businesses open, which keeps tax dollars flowing into local infrastructure and schools. You’re not giving your hard earned money to large corporations who receive tax incentives or tax breaks to do business in your area. These corporations then take your money to their communities instead of reinvesting in yours. Focusing your buying, shopping, or service spending habits on local businesses prevents your communities financial security from shifting to an already stable company.
Purchasing with local businesses also keeps your community employed, and typically at higher wages. This is a huge support for the overall health of your local economy. If locals have money to spend more businesses succeed. With healthy business comes community growth, better local amenities, and overall happiness.
Shopping local also keeps diversity in your shopping options. You’ll find far more variety in products, services, and restaurants if the community chooses to focus on locally owned and operated businesses. Downtown Longmont is a great example of the success of a focus on local only! The variety of food, shopping, and activities is wonderful for a growing town just outside a major metropolitan area. Imagine if Main Street was corporate owned and operated – it would feel like a mall.
Revitalizing the health of your local economy will boost the confidence of lenders on home loans, through which the real estate market will stay healthy with fewer vacant residents. As local businesses grow, increasing the pay of their employees and expanding their staffs, fewer foreclosures will happen. As financial confidence returns, more people will redecorate their homes, inside and out, and your neighborhoods will feel more complete, welcoming, and homely.
With stable, successful neighborhoods crime will decrease. Local politics will be able to focus on community affairs and revitalizations rather than worries over revenues. The limits of a healthy economy are boundless, but it all starts with supporting the people in that economy. Shopping local accomplishes this goal in big ways. We’re only scratching the surface, but the impacts are much greater than what we’ve looked at here. The next time you need to spend some money, take a second to look for a locally owned and operated business. You may find a new favorite something out there.
