A local bookstore I like to use.
This post might be read as veering close to politics, but that is not the intent. One of my FB friends is quite the Liberatarian and also an avid animal and nature lover. She finds great posters from different sources and puts them on FB. The animal ones tend to be cute and often humorous, the nature ones lovely, and I enjoy some of the political ones. When she found one that said, “I’m not against Capitalism, I’m against Corporate Greed. There’s a difference,” I had to agree with that.
I am an unabashed capitalist while fully promoting the sharing aspects that conscientious corporations engage in. What that has to do with supporting small businesses is this, using any of the large chain stores as an example. If you live in a town that has only small businesses, and a large store is prepared to move in, it is true that a, “Mom and Pop” place can’t compete price-wise. They may very well be “squeezed out”, although at times, that is the right thing to happen because maybe they were looking to move on and/or retire. If not, and the hope is to hold on, then a degree of re-invention and new marketing will be in order. A small operation cannot usually compete with price or inventory with a major store and in defense of large stores, there are families who truly need to save every penny they can and it is nice to have a greater range of choices.
The success of small businesses lies with those of us who don’t have to shop for the absolute lowest price and in offering goods and/or support and personal service that the large stores don’t. Networking is of utmost importance to these businesses and if they have a FB page you can “like” or a web site where you can provide testimonials, that can help. Small businesses don’t have a lot of money for marketing and spreading the word about a small business that you patronize is more important than you may realize. Or maybe there is a small business that you haven’t tried yet that you can. I don’t mind going out of my way a bit and paying that slightly higher price if I am also getting the service and product that I want. And in some cases, the price isn’t greater, depending on the situation. So, next time you need something, check around and see if there is a small business you can support.
