Small Business Drives America
Amazon started out small. So did AT&T, Facebook and Apple. In fact, no business starts out employing over 500 employees when they open. I took the liberty of using the following quote from the website Chron to illustrate the impact Small Business has on the USA:
A small business is defined as a business (corporation, limited liability company or proprietorship) with 500 employees or less. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), these operations represent 99.9 percent of all U.S. businesses. These businesses created 1.9 million jobs in 2015 with some of the smallest firms – those with 20 employees or less – adding over half of the positions with a 1.1 million increase. As of 2018, the SBA estimates there are 30.2 million small businesses employing a total of 58.9 million workers.
To say these smaller entities are critical to the success and prosperity of our country is a massive understatement. In fact, you can toss in the entire World. I would venture to guess, if there are Alien civilizations out there, most of them are employed by a small operation. That’s how important we are.
Showing Support For Local Businesses
Odds are most of your neighbors, friends, and family work for the local Florist, Plumbing Co, or corner pizza place. The real question is how to support these employers with operations like Amazon and Walmart offering low prices, huge selection, and obviously fast online ordering? The temptation of free shipping, doorstep delivery and assorted discounts make competing with these behemoths difficult for the average local business owner. That’s where you, the average shopper, can help. Instead of opening that Wayfair website or I Phone app to place an order, why not think local?
Shopping Small
If you have ordered online, you know it can save you money. But there are other, non-monetary costs. As likely as not the person behind the counter is the Owner. There is also a good chance that a person who lives near you and their kids may even attend school with yours. The taxes, payroll, and profits generated and earned by that business mostly go back into circulation to support your own local community. The Schools, community green spaces, Hospitals, and every single Charity group in your area are all supported by that small operation you just shopped at. Without businesses like that, the money for those things stop. Is that worth the few dollars or cents you saved?
The Cost Of Saving Money
But it cost you 10% more than Amazon. It may well have, but at what cost to your community? Many are willing to pay $6 for a Starbucks coffee every day. But then balk at paying a little more at the shop down the street, that is owned by your neighbor. Here are a few more reasons why you should support your local small businesses:
- Social Cohesion: Coming together as a community is more important than ever. Many small companies are women, veterans, or minority-owned. Nothing brings us together more than putting our money where our hearts are
- Hope: Nothing moves humans like hope, for a better future, for a more just society, or simply for a job. As you have seen no one entity provides hope that we can achieve these things than by supporting a local business owner who feels the same way.
- Charity: Most local businesses are VERY active in their communities. From sponsoring a high school band or sports team to giving away products and services to those in need, charity should start at home. Government should not be the first place we turn to for help, it should be our neighbors, friends, family, and local businesses.
The Beacon Center Is Small, With A Big Heart
We don’t have a lot of employees, but we do serve many people & businesses in our local community. We even require our preferred vendors to volunteer at the Three Square Food Bank. They join with us in order to gain referrals from us to our own customers. If you can’t give back to the community you are not our kind of partner. In fact, charity and giving back to our community is at the heart of The Beacon Center’s business model. When we began our small business we knew that great customer service was critical. Even more important though was to operate honestly and fairly to every single person or entity that walked through our doors. We wanted everyone to have a place they could count on to celebrate life’s milestones, businesses to succeed, or simply to just gather with others to celebrate someone’s life after they are passed.
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