Supporting small businesses and each other!

[Shared Acres]

I posted this on my blog and on my Myspace, but I think it's worth saying here...

In the small plaza where I have my photography studio 4 businesses have closed over the last year. The economy is bad and we are all hurting, but we also have to do our part to support small business owners when we do shop.

Why? Because they are your neighbors, your parents, your siblings. They also supply numerous jobs to people all around you. When one little company goes under it hurts a lot of people.

Another good reason to shop local? Choices. While many people love Walmart, just by supporting Publix (or insert your nearby grocery store) instead for your grocery (if nothing else then just for your grocery needs!) needs supports a smaller business and helps save jobs. Personally, I find that Publix has friendlier employees and you can't beat their buy one get one free sales every weekend.

But if we stop shopping those smaller businesses, they will leave. It happens in towns all across America and in our own town.

You may say "who cares" but this allows the bigger stores to then up their prices because they don't have anyone to compete with. Walmart is known for this.

Are you a small business owner? Then YOU, especially, should be supporting small businesses. There are tons of small business owners out there and those that want to be, but how are they supposed to survive if YOU don't support them. I think it's a slap in the face when small business owners want people to recognize them and shop them but don't do the same thing and support their own local businesses.

So look around you. Look in your own neighborhood, even here on BYC, find those small businesses and support them! Find those hole in the wall restaurants, those unique gift shops and other places and show your support! You'll be helping yourself in the end.

For those of you who have made it through this bulletin, THANK YOU! For those of you that have shopped a local or small business lately, THANK YOU.

And for those of you that are my clients, THANK YOU. Without you, I am nothing.

So, tell a friend. Tell them about me, tell them about someone else. Just tell them about that awesome small business owner you know! You will be helping your community, I promise.

And if you do have a shop, why not post some info here about it!

Christy
www.freelance4hire.com
www.Cheekymonkeycreations.com
www.christywhitehead.etsy.com
www.greetingcarduniverse.com/ChristyWhitehead

 

[Rolsjo]

 

[TexasVet]

A second message should be "pay what the work is worth."

I've got 20 years experience as a technical writer/editor, and I find myself competing for work with people who are happy with less than $3/hr. I can earn more than that at Walmart, with no skills whatsoever! So if you're thinking about hiring someone to provide a service, don't go with the cheapest bid, unless that person is offering quality as well.

As I always tell my clients... Fast, Cheap, Good. Pick any two.

Kathy, Bellville TX
www.PivotalForce.com, www.CountryChickens.com

 

[hikerchick]

I agree 100% and would like to take the message a step further. I do my best to support local farmers by buying locally grown food whenever possible. I bought a share in a CSA -Community Supported Agriculture- to help the local farmer continue to grow food for a decent wage; to provide my family with the freshest vegetables imaginable, and to know where my food comes from. I know who grows the salad I have for lunch every day. If we don't help the farmers to survive, we wont' have anyone to grow our food for us.

Local is best.

 

[Sillystunt]

I am a small business owner
www.myspace.com/sillystuntcustoms

I buy local meat and produce from shops in town. But i ain't gonna lie, i have to feed 7 people and walmart is cheap but not the cheapest. I have found the chain Aldi is cheaper.
But for clothing for my family i gotta go to walmart. i will be broke if i don't!

 

[domino7]

Walmart was just a small business that did it better than everyone else.

 

[Shared Acres]

Thank you all for posting.

Here, the local farmer's market has a MUCH better selection and price then going to the grocery store! Can't beat that!

I don't mean to pick on Walmart, but they are easy to pick on. And sometimes Americans/people do things without thinking and shooting themselves in the foot in the end, which is why I think Walmart has grown so big.

KHayward--I SOOOO feel you. I have a BS in Print Communications. I also have over $10,000 in photography equipment. I get so many requests for "will you do this shoot for free?" What do you think? If the air conditioning is out do you think I'm going to ask him to fix it for free? No. He has to make a living, I have to make a living.

 

[TexasVet]

I get that too... edit a chapter for free to prove how good you are. But they're asking 10 other people to do the same thing, so they get the whole book edited for free, if you fall for it. And desperate people always do.

Here's a sample of what's on the freelance sites... Need unique 500 word article on video memory. Will pay $3.50. Yep, three dollars and fifty cents for an hour's worth of research and writing. And sometimes they want you to "spin" it too... for every word possible, give them alternatives. Example: I love (like,enjoy,crave) apples (apricots,ice cream, melons, massages). In other words, they want to pay you $3.50 and get 10-20 SEO articles out of your work.

Fortunately, I just picked up a new client who has me turning what people said during marketing interviews into what they meant. And McGraw-Hill gave me a PowerPoint project, but at half the rate they paid a year ago. My task is to review/rework 700 slides so we end up with 480 better slides that match a new textbook. It used to pay $4,000; I'm getting $2,000 (about $4/slide). But I'm thrilled to get it! Freelance projects this year have been slim and none.

Kathy, Bellville TX
www.PivotalForce.com, www.CountryChickens.com

 

[al6517]

I really don't like to shop at Walmart either but they have squeezed out so many of the little guys where else do you go. I am also on personal crusade to not buy CHINESE JUNK which is everywhere, I just hate that stuff. I am also a small business owner who is feeling the pinch, and am finding it very hard to compete with Imigrant labor in my field but I do not hire them ever. Sorry but I just don't see a problem with supporting my country and our way of life.

AL

 

[HobokenChickenEmergency]

Quote:
Amen!

A lot of people complain about Walmart. Yes, I shop there a lot, but I go to a pet shop for dog food, Aldi for groceries, and the dollar store for cleaning products. It's all about competition and the free market. Walmart will never be the cheapest in EVERY department, and won't always have the better selection on EVERY product.