You may be hearing the cries to support locally owned business, but not actually know why shopping local is so crucial. Now, women are becoming increasingly prominent in the field of entrepreneurship and supporting small and women-owned business can be one of the best ways to grow your direct community. Here’s everything you need to know about thoughtful spending and meaningful business—and how you can contribute!
Essential parts of local economies
Small businesses are the bread and butter of a local economy. When you give your money to big corporations, you aren’t handing it to anyone you might know in your community. Chains are often supplied by large suppliers who aren’t investing in the mom and pop restaurants right in your hometown.
By getting to know the people personally providing a variety of business to you, you can help it succeed. You put money back into the economy—and allow it to stay in your local economy—at a much higher rate. One study found that with every $100 spent at chain restaurants, only $43 of that original money stayed in the local economy. Conversely, when that $100 was spent in a local business, $63 stayed in the local economy because local businesses tended to reinvest in other local businesses.
Lifting up women entrepreneurs
When you hear about the impacts that small businesses can have on local economies, it only makes sense to buy local. Yet, there’s also a nuanced approach to which local business you can support. Visiting and supporting small, women-owned businesses can make more of an impact than you know. Today, women entrepreneurs are transforming economies, but they can only do it with your support. When you hear about women and minorities in poverty, one of the best ways an average person can help is by supporting the opportunities that they are using to lift themselves out of those situations.
Women face a variety of challenges when starting businesses that men don’t ever face and that can set them back. They struggle against social expectations, the ability to be taken seriously, building a support network, getting funding, and more. When you take the time to invest in a women’s small business, you work to build that network for her and provide that support that’s often so hard to come by. Your support not only helps to give her business a chance in a male-dominated segment of the economy but also gives her the ability to change her situation.
Supporting locally-owned businesses—and especially those run by women—allows you to give your community a unique flavor while also knowing the people behind the product. When you have the ability to take a business from just a convenience to a personalized experience within your community, it seems like an obvious choice. You’re giving to your next-door neighbors and their dreams and ambitions. You’re allowing women to step into fields they weren’t previous in, and you’re allowing them to succeed while doing it. Getting a better level of service is as easy as buying locally! Start today.