Let's support our local small businesses
If we don't spend now, they may not be there when the pandemic is over
It's beginning to look a lot like … well, you know how it goes. While the snow has yet to stay, decorations are aplenty and malls have been full (hence the new rules). Holiday shopping is underway. This period between Black Friday and Christmas is when most stores make up a large percentage of their annual sales.
While many big-box stores and online merchants like Amazon appear to be thriving, the pandemic has hit our local businesses hardest.
More and more, we are being told to “shop local” by our elected officials and across social media, but what does that mean?
It means that if you're looking for a specific item online, consider checking social media or websites to see whether a local vendor might have the item in stock. It means opting to purchase gift baskets from local companies rather than a one-stop megastore. It means getting custom shirts printed as gifts or buying cakes and pastries from smaller local vendors. Such decisions help to spread our collective wealth around more equitably and help to keep local entrepreneurs alive through these rocky times.
These small businesses needing our support include both those with storefronts and ones that are home-based. In recent months, I have noticed that the demographics of home businesses appear to have shifted. Until recently, they mainly seemed to involve stay-at-home parents. Now that many more of us are home by necessity, among the new business owners are
Such decisions help to spread our collective wealth around.
former engineers, marketing professionals or others who have lost their jobs because of the current situation.
For my family, shopping locally has, most of all, meant being mindful about where we buy our takeout food. Since the start of the pandemic, we have made a point of supporting locally owned restaurants. We want to see them still there when (one day) COVID-19 is behind us. That means they need our support now. A friend recently dropped off a gift certificate for a meal at a locally owned breakfast shop after we had a death in the family. The gesture was appreciated for several reasons, one of which was because it supports a local restaurant. These also make great gifts during the holiday season.
When picking up food, I try to take a few minutes and speak with restaurant owners (with masks on, of course). I ask how they're managing and how business has been. Some are doing well; others are trying to figure out how to make ends meet.
My heart breaks especially for local businesspeople who had planned to open restaurants during the pandemic. Some delayed their openings as much as they could; others chanced it and opened their doors. Most are operating with skeleton staffs and just trying to cover their necessary expenses.
Of course, most of us cannot afford to order in as much as we might like to. But we still can all do our part to maximize the impact when we do: leave positive reviews online for businesses that deserve it, share pictures of meals from local restaurants with our loved ones and support however we can. These acts only take a few minutes of our time, but can help do so much for business owners when they need it.
These simple acts may not mean much to you if you do not own a local business, but for some families right now, it will make the difference as to whether they can pay their rent/mortgage or not.
Remember the businesses that support our children's sports teams by sponsoring them? They're the same businesses that hire our kids when they're old enough to work and give back however they can. They are a part of the foundation of our local economy. Those same businesses need us now.