Silver and Gold Magazine Summer 2020 | Page 8

WANT YOUR COMMUNITY TO RECOVER? #BUYLOCAL – By Suzanne Soto-Davies For the past few weeks, we have been able to adapt to new ways of purchasing products and services remotely. We have predominantly bought online - if these purchases were not available at the supermarket or drug store - and we’ve taken advantage of the convenience of home delivery. Unfortunately, this has resulted in our money leaving our community faster than ever before. For local businesses in our community to survive and recover, our money needs to circulate as many times as possible around our own community, before it catches the bus out of town. For each $100 you spend, this is how much stays in your community: • An independent, local store $68 • A chain outlet $14 • A remote online store $1 (If delivery driver resides locally) In order to rebuild our local economy, we need our money to stay in our community. What Silver & Gold is doing about it: • We are working with our clients who would like to promote their businesses, by providing an opportunity to list their business for FREE on our website. • We are expanding our method of reach, by offering space for a 15-30 second video online, next to their advertisement (or as a replacement for it). This way, our readers can put a face to a name, and we all know how important that is, not just to our demographic reach. • We are working with our community to grow our online presence, by promoting what’s happening HERE, in our own backyards! • We are reaching out to more readers than ever - online, and soon it will once again expand in print - to encourage their local spend. What you can do: If we are going to rise from this pandemic, we must be proactive, and do it together. It’s all about synergy, as nobody will get through this by working alone. So next time you are looking for a special gift for someone, some gardening equipment, or a new lamp for your kitchen, check out your local stores instead of a large box store or an online chain. Support your local small business! When’s the last time you have visited a local bakery, a small restaurant rather than a fast-food chain? Have you bought honey at a farmer’s market rather than at the grocery store? There are many small jewelry and gift stores, shoe repair shops, and local soap-makers who would benefit from your visit! When you buy from a small business you’re not helping a CEO buy a third vacation home abroad – you’re helping a little girl get dance lessons, a student pay for college, mom and dad put food on the table, and you’re creating thousands more jobs. It matters.• 8 Read + hear more: www.silvergoldmagazine.ca