The Case for Small Businesses
Before massive, global enterprises began to dominate the landscape of our everyday lives, the majority of people looked to small, local businesses to meet their needs. At some point in the evolving history of consumer habits, we made a not-so-subtle trade-off. We began to choose convenience and cost-efficiency over sustainability and quality. We started looking for the quickest and cheapest way to get whatever we wanted without considering the impact that those consumer decisions would have on ourselves or others.
Make no mistake — it's good and wise to try and find ways to save time and money when and where we can. But what if always looking for the cheapest and easiest option actually equates to a poorer way of being human and belonging to a community? What if, by constantly taking shortcuts, we end up missing out on the best and most beautiful part of the journey? More to the point, what if we're missing out on the best goods, services, and relationships our community has to offer? What if we're missing out on what it really means to contribute to the livelihood of our neighbors and the flourishing of our neighborhoods?
For every massive business that has woven its way into the fabric of our everyday life, there is likely a smaller, and potentially much more quality choice available to you close-by.
But why should you support a small business when it might be easier or cheaper to go with something more mainstream? We're glad you asked!
Here are 8 simple reasons to support small businesses:
- Small businesses represent the creative identity of a community - they contribute tremendously to the unique vibe and feel of a particular neighborhood or city.
- Most independent businesses are run by local people that are connected to the needs of your community. And so you get a different kind of care and quality in their products or services because their work is a reflection of themselves and their neighbors
- Small businesses are known to use their growth in revenue to invest back into their employees and community.
- The relationships created between customers and those that work in local or small businesses frequently go beyond transactions — it becomes meaningful and enriching.
- You get to make a direct contribution to the realization of someone else's dream, and there aren't many other places or pathways to make this happen these days.
- It's an act of admiration in acknowledging the risk and difficulty involved in being an entrepreneur and trying to offer your community something good or meaningful.
- Small businesses contribute to the overall vitality of a neighborhood. They ground communities, offer personal support, and bring people together in times of need.
- They can offer something that mainstream businesses can't - the kind of personal touch and care that is tailored to you and the unique preferences of your community.
To be clear, this is not to say that we don't benefit from the employment opportunities or the savings that are afforded to us by the large corporations that are present in our communities. This is simply an attempt to try and bring some much needed balance back to the economic scale.
How can we support small businesses? We'll cover that in another post, but the best place to start is by asking them personally...
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What We're Doing to Help!
We're offering 20% off our entire site and donating $1 from every product we sell to create a Grant Fund that will support O'Douds Stockists that have had to close their doors due to the spread of COVID-19. As a small business ourselves, we're all in this together.
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