7 Critical Reasons Why You Should Support Local Business

Posted by:

Small businesses are always in competition with national and international chains and corporations. Due to the economic impacts of COVID-19, up to 75% of small businesses may end up closing their doors within the next three months.

Imagine the effect it would have on your community and your day-to-day life if suddenly, three-quarters of the locally owned businesses near you closed down. Sounds like a pretty daunting reality, right?

The best thing you can do to prevent this from happening is to support local businesses rather than national chains. You can find local businesses for everything from books to coffee to basement waterproofing.

Why is it so important to support local businesses? Let’s take a look at 7 critical reasons.

1. Community Character and Identity

Major retailers are exactly that — major. You can find them in cities and towns across the nation, which means that they don’t add to the individuality of your town.

Local businesses have more of an opportunity to reflect the community they exist within. What niches are specific to you and your neighbors? What unique products or services are the entrepreneurs in your community interested in developing?

Local businesses are what make your community stand out, not just for the residents but for tourists and travelers, too. When your Main Street is lined with interesting shops that can’t be found anywhere else, you’re giving people a reason to come from out of town and maybe even stay!

2. Local Involvement

The folks who run local businesses are locals, themselves. They invested in your community because they believe in its ability to prosper and to give back. For that reason, these are the business owners who are far more likely to be involved in community-based decisions and philanthropy. 

Local business owners have real respect and understanding for their town. They appreciate that the members of your community have kept them in business and they often find ways to give back. Pay attention to the ways that your local businesses host events or support local charities! 

3. Environmental Health

When you shop locally, you tend to shop green. In other words, local businesses have less of a negative impact on the environment than major retailers!

Major retailers keep their products warehoused in various locations across the United States. In order to keep each individual store stocked, they rely on large trucks that require tons of gas in the process. Local businesses tend to have a smaller range of merchandise and may source the parts or materials they need from a nearby location.

Plus, the EPA noted that when walkable shopping districts crop up in towns and cities, the air pollution in those areas drops. These rates improve even more when these districts are built in a compact, land-friendly way and are built near a public transit stop.

4. Tax Enrichment

Thinking about buying something online when you could get it from a local business? 

Remember that when you purchase things from local businesses, your sales tax goes back into your local and state economy. That means that your money is going toward things like roads, schools, and other public services that you’ll actually get to see. 

Plus, small businesses are more likely to pay taxes at the federal level. Large corporations are offered more tax breaks and in some instances, get away with paying no taxes at all

5. Diversity of Goods and Services

Small businesses often have to work harder than major retailers to gain recognition and steady sales. Supporting them gives them an environment that they can thrive in, which in turn creates opportunities for more innovative and specialized products and services. 

Local businesses do not have the resources to compete with the prices and policies offered by major retailers. When they lose local consumers to major retailers, the likelihood of their closure increases. Without local businesses, you lose that diversity of goods and services in favor of streamlined, mass-produced products.

6. Job Stability and Availability

According to the US Small Business Administration, small businesses employ nearly half of America’s private workforce. That means that half of all nongovernment employees are working in small, locally owned businesses. This includes restaurants, contracting companies, small retailers, and more.

By supporting these businesses, you help ensure that their employees maintain stable work. You may even help these businesses to grow, increasing the availability of jobs in your city or town! The higher your employment rate, the more steady your local economy is. 

7. Local Economic Recirculation 

Local economies are sustained by the circulation of income. In other words, employed individuals make money and put it back into their local economy via rent, bills, and purchases. 

Recirculation refers to the money that is made within your economy and then sent back out into it.

There is a huge difference between the amount of money that local businesses recirculate and the amount that major corporations recirculate. While local business owners put an average of 48% of their income back into their local economy, major corporations and chain stores only return 14%. 

Support Local Businesses to Better Your Community

If you care about your community’s well-being, support local businesses whenever you can!

Do you need a basement inspection or waterproofing service in Baltimore? Armored Basement Waterproofing is proud to serve the residents of Baltimore and protect them from costly basement flooding!

To find out more about our services or schedule an appointment, contact us today. We look forward to hearing from you and thank you for supporting a local business!

0