Family run businesses are the cornerstone of community life

WHILE much of the discourse in recent years has focused primarily on the entrepreneurial and technological skills required to bolster our economic success, this overlooks to a certain extent one of the most essential players in the local economy: family run businesses.

The importance of family businesses have been the staple of our economy for generations and while regrettably many have fallen victim to changes in retail trends, many have also withstood the test of time. But this is no cause for complacency and one of the best ways we can pay tribute to local businesses that have closed is by supporting the ones that are still open.

High-end retail chains may have flooded the sector in recent years, and while they too help create employment and a spinoff for smaller businesses, it’s vitally important that we make a conscientious decision to shop local and maintain the presence of locally run businesses where possible. Often these businesses are proud symbols of a town or village’s progression with plenty of character and a family touch that high street chains can’t replicate.

It’s also fair to say that many local and family run businesses are fed up with pious platitudes concerning their importance to the community. Many people take to social media when they hear a well-known business has closed due to a downturn in trade; people pour tributes and memories, expressing outrage over the closures.

But let’s be frank for a moment. Even if a tiny percentage of those expressing outrage made a conscious, weekly decision to support local businesses it would go a long way towards helping them to survive. Consumers need to adopt less of a post-reactionary response and more of a proactive one when it comes to shopping local.

Family and locally run businesses offer a wealth of experience, knowhow and expertise to consumers which survive only if appreciated by consumers. Moreover, the fixation with online shopping that gripped consumers some years ago has also been squared by the fact local businesses now offer the same products instore. The sense of exclusivity associated with online shopping is no longer the case. Also, when you shop online you leave absolutely no economic dividend in the locality, sometimes not even in the country.

Shopping locally is essential to supporting the essence of community life through commerce which in turn produces employment, be that part time or fulltime. It’s time to support family and locally run businesses and help maintain the generational link between consumer and proprietor. It’s the only kind of support that really counts.