A new study finds that money you spend at chain stores quickly leaves the community, while money you spend at local businesses helps make the neighborhood better. Independent stores recirculate 55.2% of revenues compared to 13.6% for big retailers. (via www.fastcoexist.com). If you want stats. When you shop at the small businesses in your neighborhood, you help support the things that make your community great! Nov 30 is Small Business Saturday, so get out and Shop Small. 
Dan Buettner, the author of Thrive: Finding Happiness the Blue Zone Way, set out to find the happiest places on earth, and he thinks he’s discovered four contenders on four different continents. What makes residents in these places so glad to be living the lives they do? Here’s a hint: It has nothing to do with their material wealth, intelligence, or attractiveness. Instead, Buettner found that members of these communities, which span the globe from Denmark to Mexico, give priority to social networks and health and well-being above all—and they make choices that reflect those values. So if you’re looking for a cheery destination for your next vacation, consider these four spots—and get ready to take notes on how to really live the good life. Read more–click here. Local stores help to sustain vibrant, compact, walkable town centers. And walkable cities are one of the things that all the “happiest” cities have in common Non-profit organizations receive an average 250% more support from smaller business owners than they do from large businesses. Buy what you want, not what someone wants you to buy: A marketplace of tens of thousands of small businesses is the best way to ensure innovation and low prices over the long-term. A multitude of small businesses, each selecting products based not on a national sales plan but on their own interests and the needs of their local customers, guarantees a much broader range of product choices.
- Create more good jobs: Small local businesses are the largest employer nationally and in our community, provide the most jobs to residents.
- Get better service: Local businesses often hire people with a better understanding of the products they are selling and take more time to get to know customers.
Show your thanks to small businesses–shop local and in turn make your community a happier one.
(I know it’s not Thursday, just pretend. It’s a long story…)
Quotes from: Institute for Local Self-Reliance http://www.ilsr.org/why-support-locally-owned-businesses/ Sustainable Connections http://sustainableconnections.org/thinklocal/why
