Keep It Here!

Ok, so this is not a post about some design hack for storing your stuff….although I can help with that! ‘Keep it here’ is different.

I want to talk to you about keeping your dollars HERE, in our community!

We hear it every holiday season: Shop Local, Shop Small, Small Business Saturday, etc., and there’s been a huge push for that this year, specifically. Thankfully!

I guess my question is, do you understand why it’s important? But like really why ??

Think about this: Let’s say there was a dumpster fire (ahem, pandemic) right outside your favorite boutique and it made it unsafe to shop there for a while. That boutique incurred damages that, despite having insurance, were not able to be covered. There just wasn’t a dumpster fire clause in their insurance. Also, to make matters worse, that dumpster fire spread and affected neighboring restaurants, bars, and other retail establishments in the same way. Basically, your beloved boutique and its neighbors were essentially shut down with zero income coming their way and inventory they couldn’t move (with more ordered and on the way). It’s not like rent was forgiven or employees are free. Oh and here’s the next gut punch…it’s 4th quarter. Most businesses rely on 4th quarter as a huge percentage of their yearly income.

But you have gifts to gather. Meals to eat. And even after the shop owner was able to re-open, assuring everyone it was safe, you were nervous. That’s fair. Is it better to play it safe and go online for what you would normally hop in your car and go get? So, you turned to online shopping and grocery delivery, feeling a little guilty, and avoided that shopping destination all together.

Well, now sales are down at our favorite boutique. Maybe you just assumed they would be fine…they always seemed successful! But employees have to be cut in order for rent to be paid. Shop hours have to be slashed in order to keep some a skeleton crew so that the shop can be staffed, but staffed affordably. Their foot traffic is lighter because, remember the restaurant next door, they’re really struggling. Their damage required them to stay closed longer. So no happy hour beverage sales and late night groups keeping tabs open to fuel their sweet spot. They are curbside only now, operating at about 30% and receiving only 1/3 of the income they were just a few weeks ago. They, too, had to let people go.

Those former employees have to figure out how to pay their rent now because their income is gone. An unforseen dumpster fire left them in a completely different spot today than they could’ve imagined three weeks prior. So, instead of going out with friends and spending money in the community, they’re just trying to get by. Things are unknown and it doesn’t really feel like there’s an end in sight.

Amazing.com, though, the online giant? Best season ever. Sales up eighty-something percent.

All the money poured into Amazing.com has Z E R O positive impact on your beloved home town and community. They aren’t funding your schools with sales tax dollars or putting food on your neighbor’s (the small business owner) table. And I should note that Amazing.com hasn’t done anything wrong here. They’re still doing (and able to do) what they do! They are just making money right now hand over fist when they aren’t necessarily the ones that need it the most right now.

Look, I get it. Even those reading this have had horrible struggles. The holidays are going to look different this year from the gatherings to the gift giving.

But turn to your local businesses first when you can. See what they are offering online and what you can pick up curbside if you are concerned about getting out. They were here for you, hustling at market with their vendors and creative staff before the dumpster caught fire. Don’t turn your back on them now. Many have curbside. Many deliver for FREE!

The treasures that they source are so very cool and a reflection of that shop and the shopper that buys from them….so, you, basically. They make your home town so unique and so magnificent. And they do this all year long, not just at holiday.

Something like 60% of every dollar spent stays in our community keeping us thriving, even through difficult times… especially during difficult time. So keep your dollars here! Your friends, neighbors, shop and restaurant owners, librarians and teachers, and kids…the ones that playing in the parks and riding on the trails instead of sitting inside playin on devices….will all thank you. Also, me. I’ll thank you.

xx

Nana, small business owner