People love to talk about how important it is to support local businesses. They share Facebook posts about shopping small, they voice excitement over the new neighborhood bakery that just opened up, and they swear they’d rather give their money to a hardworking family business than a faceless corporation. But when the time comes to make a purchase? It’s on the Amazon app or off to Walmart, Home Depot or the nearest big-box store they go almost every time.
Because it’s cheaper?
Because it’s more convenient?
Because when push comes to shove, we just don’t want to put in the extra effort?
The truth is, supporting local businesses is far more than just a feel-good philosophy. And it’s got to be more than just talk. When we don’t actually do it, we all suffer.
It sounds cliché, but small businesses really are the backbone of our economy. And it’s not cliché – it’s a statistical fact – especially in Maine!
When you buy from a local business, more of that money stays in your community, circulating through other businesses, supporting local workers, and helping to sustain the local economy.
When you take your spending to a big-box retailer, most of that money leaves your town and goes straight to the corporate headquarter. Spending at big-box retailers means local businesses close, local jobs disappear, and your community gets weaker.
Here are some pretty compelling Maine small business statistics:
- Small business account for 93% of all new jobs created in Maine.
- 99% of Businesses are classified as small (fewer than 500 employees).
- 56% of Maine’s workforce is employed by a small business.
- Total number of small business employees: 291,387
Source: U.S. Small Business Administration
Ever notice how a once-busy main street in a town starts looking desolate? When small businesses can no longer survive and shut down, it’s not just the owners that suffer. The loss spreads. That quaint bookstore where you knew the owner by name? Closed. The local family restaurant where everyone went to Sunday breakfast? Gone. The unique artisan shop you were meaning to go into? Out of business. All these small businesses that gave your town character have been forced to shut down for lack of business. Replaced by chain stores, or, worse, left empty. Enter: the Main Street ghost town. We all see them. We may even comment on how sad it is. What’s sad is that we all can do something to prevent it from happening!
When you don’t support local businesses in your area, you’re choosing to rob your community of its personality and vitality. That’s on all of us.
Local businesses become their own network. The neighborhood deli gets its bread from the local bakery. The gift boutique sources handmade goods from local artisans and crafters. The hardware store sponsors the Little League team. A local business group meets at the diner. It all becomes an interconnected web of mutual support. When you choose to spend your money at these local businesses, you’re strengthening that network, and, consequently, reinforcing the strength of your community.
When you ignore all the local options for cheaper, corporate alternatives, you’re weakening those connections. Once they are gone, they don’t come back easily.
So, it’s easy to claim you support local businesses. But your actions – not your words – are what actually determines their survival. You don’t get to complain about an abandoned Main Street if you’ve spent the last five years ordering from Amazon “just because it was easier” or from Walmart “because it’s so much cheaper.” You don’t get to whine about your favorite bakery closing when you never went out of your way to buy their bread.
Yes, many times big-box stores and online retailers are less expensive. We can’t argue that or imply that you should ignore your financial constraints. But, let’s be honest here, we all chose to take the easier, cheaper route too often. There’s a difference between mindful spending and lazy convenience.
It’s pretty straight forward – if we truly value our local businesses, we need to prove it with our dollars.
You know that saying, be the change you want to see in the world. It seems sort of huge and impossible. Well, this is a teeny, tiny thing you can do today, every day probably, that will actually make a difference. Shop from local businesses.
What’s so terrible is that our local businesses aren’t just fighting against big corporations – they’re fighting against our apathy.
So, next time you’re about to hit “Add to Cart” online, ask yourself: Am I really supporting my community? Or am I just another person who talks the talk but refuses to walk the walk?
Noelle has been a marketing professional, and a published author and copywriter for over 20 years. Her work has been featured in both print publications and online media, where she has written on a broad range of topics. She owns Castle Media Co., assisting businesses with their marketing and digital media needs, specializing in website development, content marketing, social media, copywriting, and blogging.
