BUYING LOCAL INVESTS IN CLINTON COUNTY
Do you know where your money goes when you spend it? Consider this:
For every $100 you spend locally...
- Locally owned businesses give back $68 to the local economy
- Chain stores give back only $43
Not every purchase is equal. Locally owned businesses are more likely to hire locally, more likely to source locally, and more like to invest profits locally. That means more jobs, more investment, and more local growth in Clinton County.
The chart above visualizes the flow of your money (click the image to expand it). Its drawn from a report about a buy local study conducted in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The results of the study speak for themselves. It found that a 10% shift in spending to local Grand Rapids businesses would:
- Create 1600 jobs, reducing unemployment by .5%
- Create $137 Million in new economic activity for the area.
- Create over $53 Million in new wages.
If you're interested in seeing the numbers behind the return on investment your local spending has, read the full study: http://www.civiceconomics.com/localworks/
BUYING LOCAL BUILDS COMMUNITY
If its not all about the money for you, then consider the impact your local purchases have on our community. Our local shops and businesses provide a foundation on which our community is built. Local businesses provide us with the things we need to live, they employ our friends and neighbors, and they serve as our community gathering places. Like a neighbor, local businesses know you best. They reflect and embrace the things that make our community unique. By shopping at local businesses you are empowering business owners who value your needs and interests, and who serve as stewards of our community.
BUYING LOCAL GIVES YOU CONSUMER POWER
Buying local is about owning our local economy, and taking responsibility as consumer to make it what we want it to be. That means using our buying power to create new opportunities for businesses and entrepreneurs.Have you ever found yourself wanting something but unable to buy it locally? What did you do? Drive to Cincinnati or Dayton to find it? Order it on-line?
Next time, instead of sending your dollars elsewhere, think about what you can do to entice a local business to provide what you want by going and talking to them. When you shop locally, not only can you easily make your desires heard to business owners, but you can bring 15 or 20 of your friends along to make the same request.
Before you know it you'll see businesses expanding, and new business opening to meet the demand that you've created by BUYING LOCAL FIRST. Its an exciting thing when you realize your consumer power. If you still need convincing, watch this video and see what consumer power can really do:
