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Keep it Local!
Buying from locally owned business
benefits the community
Money Spent Local, Stays Local
Several studies have shown that money spent at a locally
owned business stays in the local economy and continues
to strengthen the economic base of the community. A 2002
case study in Austin, Texas showed that for every $100 in
consumer spending at a national bookstore in Austin,
Texas the local economic impact was only $13. The same
amount spent at locally based bookstores yielded $45, or
more than three times the local economic impact created
by spending at the National chain. (Civic Economics, Austin
Unchained October 2003)
A 2003 case study of Midcoast Maine covering several
lines of goods and services validated these findings. In
Maine eight locally owned businesses were surveyed. The
survey found that the businesses spent 44.6 percent of
their revenue within the surrounding two counties. Another
8.7 percent was spent elsewhere in the state of Maine. The
four largest components of this local spending were: wages
and benefits paid to local employees; goods and services
purchased from other local businesses; profits that
accrued to local owners and taxes paid to local and state
government. All eight businesses banked locally, used
local accountants, advertised in local businesses
publications, purchased inventory from local
manufacturers, and used local Internet service providers
and repair people. The study estimated that a big box
retailer returns just 14.1 percent of its revenue to the local
economy, mostly in the form of payroll. The rest leaves the
state, flowing to out-of-state suppliers and back to
corporate headquarters. (The Economic Impact of Locally
Owned Business vs. Chains: A Case Study in Midcoast
Maine - New Rules Project, September 2003.)
Local Owners are Local Contributors
There are other benefits to buying local as well. Research
has shown that small local businesses make indispensable
contributions to communities and neighborhoods. A study
of businesses in Oregon, detailing charitable giving
showed that when in-kind contributions were included,
small firms gave an average of $789 per employee,
medium sized firms $172, and large firms $334. (NFIB
Small Business Policy Guide) Additionally, large firms
contribute primarily to the area where the corporation is
headquartered, not necessarily where they do business.
Local Businesses Offer Stable Employment
Small businesses account for the largest share of net new
jobs generated each year, and locally based business
provide some of the most stable employment opportunities
in a community. For all their economic power, the number
of jobs provided by global corporations relative to the
world's workforce is small. The 200 largest corporations in
the world employ less than 1 percent of the global
workforce although they account for about 30 percent of
global economic activity. Between 1983 and 1999 the
number of people they employ grew by 14 percent while
their profits grew over 360 percent. Most job growth comes
from local independent businesses. (Korten)
Lower Environmental Impact
In addition to building a strong economic base, supporting
the local community and creating new jobs, small
businesses, which are more often located in central
business districts, have less impact on local ecosystems
compared to larger retailers located in strip malls or
stand-alone buildings. To accommodate large retail
development, roads and parking lots must be built which
results in a greater reliance on cars and an increase in
auto emissions. As big box stores and chain retailers
consume more and more undeveloped land, polluted
runoff from their parking lots is placing an ever-greater
burden on the nation's rivers, lakes, and coastal waters.
One way to preserve a community's land and natural
resources is to channel retail activity back into downtowns
and neighborhood shops. Multistory buildings reduce the
footprint of buildings. Higher densities and greater access
for pedestrians and public transit mean significantly less
land devoted to roads and parking lots. (New Rules
Project, Home Town Advantage Bulletin, September 2003)
Tax Revenue Goes Further
Local businesses in town centers also require
comparatively little infrastructure investment and make
more efficient use of public services. The taxes paid by
large retailers often do not cover the increase in public
services that are required and the difference can be
dramatic, according to a recent study in Barnstable,
Massachusetts, a city of 48,000 people. The study,
conducted by Tischler & Associates, compared public
revenue and costs for various land uses. It found that the
city's small, downtown stores generate a net annual
surplus (tax revenue minus costs) of $326 per 1,000
square feet. Big-box stores, strip shopping centers, and
fast-food outlets, however, require more in services than
they produce in revenue. A big-box store creates an
annual tax deficit of $468 per 1,000 square feet. (Stacy
Mitchell, Main Street News, Feb 2004)
Maintain Uniqueness
Additionally, an economy of diverse, unique businesses
promoted by locally owned business attracts today's skilled
workers and investors who can choose to settle and grow
businesses anywhere. In his research, Richard Florida,
author of The Rise of the Creative Class, shows that
today's creative workers are choosing to settle in places
that preserve their distinctive character. And, Richard Moe,
president of the National Historic Preservation Trust says
these one-of-a-kind communities attract tourists as well.
What tourists want is the sense of being Someplace, not
Just Anyplace. They aren't interested in visiting
communities that have transformed themselves into a sad
hodge-podge of cookie-cutter housing tracts, cluttered
commercial strips and bleak downtowns.
Adapted from an article by Michelle and Derek Long,
www.sustainableconnections.org
Buying from locally owned business
benefits the community
Money Spent Local, Stays Local
Several studies have shown that money spent at a locally
owned business stays in the local economy and continues
to strengthen the economic base of the community. A 2002
case study in Austin, Texas showed that for every $100 in
consumer spending at a national bookstore in Austin,
Texas the local economic impact was only $13. The same
amount spent at locally based bookstores yielded $45, or
more than three times the local economic impact created
by spending at the National chain. (Civic Economics, Austin
Unchained October 2003)
A 2003 case study of Midcoast Maine covering several
lines of goods and services validated these findings. In
Maine eight locally owned businesses were surveyed. The
survey found that the businesses spent 44.6 percent of
their revenue within the surrounding two counties. Another
8.7 percent was spent elsewhere in the state of Maine. The
four largest components of this local spending were: wages
and benefits paid to local employees; goods and services
purchased from other local businesses; profits that
accrued to local owners and taxes paid to local and state
government. All eight businesses banked locally, used
local accountants, advertised in local businesses
publications, purchased inventory from local
manufacturers, and used local Internet service providers
and repair people. The study estimated that a big box
retailer returns just 14.1 percent of its revenue to the local
economy, mostly in the form of payroll. The rest leaves the
state, flowing to out-of-state suppliers and back to
corporate headquarters. (The Economic Impact of Locally
Owned Business vs. Chains: A Case Study in Midcoast
Maine - New Rules Project, September 2003.)
Local Owners are Local Contributors
There are other benefits to buying local as well. Research
has shown that small local businesses make indispensable
contributions to communities and neighborhoods. A study
of businesses in Oregon, detailing charitable giving
showed that when in-kind contributions were included,
small firms gave an average of $789 per employee,
medium sized firms $172, and large firms $334. (NFIB
Small Business Policy Guide) Additionally, large firms
contribute primarily to the area where the corporation is
headquartered, not necessarily where they do business.
Local Businesses Offer Stable Employment
Small businesses account for the largest share of net new
jobs generated each year, and locally based business
provide some of the most stable employment opportunities
in a community. For all their economic power, the number
of jobs provided by global corporations relative to the
world's workforce is small. The 200 largest corporations in
the world employ less than 1 percent of the global
workforce although they account for about 30 percent of
global economic activity. Between 1983 and 1999 the
number of people they employ grew by 14 percent while
their profits grew over 360 percent. Most job growth comes
from local independent businesses. (Korten)
Lower Environmental Impact
In addition to building a strong economic base, supporting
the local community and creating new jobs, small
businesses, which are more often located in central
business districts, have less impact on local ecosystems
compared to larger retailers located in strip malls or
stand-alone buildings. To accommodate large retail
development, roads and parking lots must be built which
results in a greater reliance on cars and an increase in
auto emissions. As big box stores and chain retailers
consume more and more undeveloped land, polluted
runoff from their parking lots is placing an ever-greater
burden on the nation's rivers, lakes, and coastal waters.
One way to preserve a community's land and natural
resources is to channel retail activity back into downtowns
and neighborhood shops. Multistory buildings reduce the
footprint of buildings. Higher densities and greater access
for pedestrians and public transit mean significantly less
land devoted to roads and parking lots. (New Rules
Project, Home Town Advantage Bulletin, September 2003)
Tax Revenue Goes Further
Local businesses in town centers also require
comparatively little infrastructure investment and make
more efficient use of public services. The taxes paid by
large retailers often do not cover the increase in public
services that are required and the difference can be
dramatic, according to a recent study in Barnstable,
Massachusetts, a city of 48,000 people. The study,
conducted by Tischler & Associates, compared public
revenue and costs for various land uses. It found that the
city's small, downtown stores generate a net annual
surplus (tax revenue minus costs) of $326 per 1,000
square feet. Big-box stores, strip shopping centers, and
fast-food outlets, however, require more in services than
they produce in revenue. A big-box store creates an
annual tax deficit of $468 per 1,000 square feet. (Stacy
Mitchell, Main Street News, Feb 2004)
Maintain Uniqueness
Additionally, an economy of diverse, unique businesses
promoted by locally owned business attracts today's skilled
workers and investors who can choose to settle and grow
businesses anywhere. In his research, Richard Florida,
author of The Rise of the Creative Class, shows that
today's creative workers are choosing to settle in places
that preserve their distinctive character. And, Richard Moe,
president of the National Historic Preservation Trust says
these one-of-a-kind communities attract tourists as well.
What tourists want is the sense of being Someplace, not
Just Anyplace. They aren't interested in visiting
communities that have transformed themselves into a sad
hodge-podge of cookie-cutter housing tracts, cluttered
commercial strips and bleak downtowns.
Adapted from an article by Michelle and Derek Long,
www.sustainableconnections.org
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