By K.D. Norris
ken@wktv.org
Why shop local and shop small businesses, on Small Business Saturday and all year long? There are both sound statistics and personal stories to answer the question, according to Wyoming businessman Keith Morgan.
“As a small business owner and chamber leader I see the value of buying local from two different perspectives,” Morgan, owner of All Clean Again janitorial services and Wyoming-Kentwood Area Chamber of Commerce board member, said to WKTV. “The business owner in me understands that buying locally helps build communities. When local communities support their local businesses, the dollars spent tend to stay in the community a lot longer. … In layman’s terms, a dollar spent local stays local.”
He pointed out multiple studies by the consulting firm Civic Economics which show the effects on dollars spent locally. One study showed each dollar spent at an independent business returns 3 times more money to the local economy than each dollar spent at a chain business — and almost 50 times more than buying from an online mega-retailer.
But he also says quality of service, and supporting one’s community, are reasons to shop locally.
“If quality and service is what you are looking for, it may be in your best interest to test the local business waters,” Morgan said. “When it comes to local business, almost all cases involve an owner who is dependent upon the success of their business to provide for their livelihood. This tends to get you a more attentive business individual, when shopping locally because you are vitally important to their business.”
Morgan points out that small businesses are also able to react to the customer more directly — when a decision is needed, the consumer wants an answer and resolution now, he said.
“When someone deals with a local business, they get the feeling of giving back to their community in a tangible way,” Morgan said. “Buyers who shop locally may likely be helping to support their neighbors put food on the table, helping send another’s children to the local community college, or helping provide yet another family the means to support the local mission that feeds the needy.”
