Top 10 Reasons to Support Locally Owned Businesses
1 . Local Character and Prosperity - In an increasingly homogenized world , communities that preserve their one-ofa-kind businesses and distinctive character have an economic advantage .
2 . Community Well-Being -Locally owned businesses build strong communities by sustaining vibrant town centers , linking neighbors in a web of economic and social relationships , and contributing to local causes .
3 . Local Decision-Making - Local ownership ensures that important decisions are made locally by people who live in the community and who will feel the impacts of those decisions .
4 . Keeping Dollars in the Local Economy - Compared to chain stores , locally owned businesses recycle a much larger share of their revenue back into the local economy , enriching the whole community .
5 . Job and Wages -Locally owned businesses create more jobs locally and , in some sectors , provide better wages and benefits than chains do .
6 . Entrepreneurship -Entrepreneurship fuels America ’ s economic innovation and prosperity , and serves as a key means for families to move out of low-wage jobs and into the middle class .
7 . Public Benefits and Costs - Local stores in town centers require comparatively little infrastructure and make more efficient use of public services relative to big box stores and strip shopping malls
8 . Environmental Sustainability - Local stores help to sustain vibrant , compact , walkable town centerswhich in turn are essential to reducing sprawl , automobile use , habitat loss , and air and water pollution
9 . Competition - A marketplace of tens of thousands of small businesses is the best way to ensure innovation and low prices over the long-term .
10 . Product Diversity -A multitude of small businesses , each selecting products based , not on a national sales plan , but on their own interests and the needs of their local customers , guarantees a much broader range of product choices .