Shop Locally. Why It Matters.

Mark and I are believers in the 'Less is More' philosophy. We live simply, and we strive to continually increase our commitment to supporting our local community and local economy in as many ways as possible.

Our company, metroseen.com, is proud to promote local businesses by showcasing them in entertaining video vignettes. This is something we enjoy creating, of course, but we also do it because we hope to inspire and inform people by reminding them how wonderful and interesting these local venues are. We want to help our fellow citizens to remember to support the local spots for reasons of convenience, and also for the community experience. There is a big impact when we keep our dollars close to home and value what we have nearby. The impact is on ourselves, of course (it is fun to get to know the local shop owners, rather than just ordering the cheapest book or 'whatever' online). There are also the many more intangible ways that shopping locally impacts the community, the economy, and the environment.

I've done some research on this, and I learned some fascinating stuff.

The business research firm Civic Economics conducted a study at the end of 2008, and among the study's findings:
Local businesses buy more goods and services from other local businesses and employ more people locally. Every $1 million spent at local stores, for example, creates $321,000 in additional economic activity in the area, including $119,000 in wages paid to local employees. That same $1 million spent at chain stores generates only $188,000 in local economic activity, including $71,000 in local wages.

It makes sense to eat at local restaurants, too!

The same Civic Economics study showed that $1 million spent at chain restaurants produces about $600,000 in additional local economic activity and supports 10 jobs. Spending $1 million at local restaurants, meanwhile, generates over $900,000 in added local economic activity and supports 15 jobs.
Every dollar really makes a difference; in fact, every dollar spent locally makes a huge difference. Spend 10% of your shopping dollars at locally-owned businesses, and you’ll make a major impact. Local stores and restaurants keep money here - chain stores send it away. It is that simple.

I understand that sometimes chains and internet etailers have items that locally-owned businesses don't have, and there's also a big convenience factor in buying from them. By voting with your dollars to purchase items that you can from locally-owned businesses will help keep the currency-flow in your own town and will ultimately keep open the doors of those great, unique and sometimes quirky shops. Even though it may seem like we are saving money when we go to chain stores, imagine what we save when we go to local stores. We save our community and we save the character of our town. We can save our place, our haven, which is possibly the best thing we can do. And, all it takes is deciding we want to spend our money in socially responsible ways that do that.

The next time you go out to eat at a restaurant, or go to buy anything, consider that where you decide to go will ultimately affect where you live.

related articles:
Think Globally, Spend Locally: http://www.spendlocally.com/spendlocally.asp?PG=Why_Shop
Why Shop Locally? Reclaim Democracy! http://www.reclaimdemocracy.org/independent_business/local_business_bene...
When You Patronize Small Businesses, the Money Stays in Your Town: http://bit.ly/cROgp4