Buying local? What is that? Buying local means making a decision to buy locally produced goods and services from a locally-owned and operated business. Choosing a local business over a corporate chain that resides in another state or country can have positive benefits to you as well as to your community. Although we may not be able to buy everything from our community, here is why we think hometown businesses have hometown charm.
When we spend locally, we improve our economy and economic environment for all businesses in our community.
According to www.buylocalrogue.org, locally-owned businesses have a tendency to do business with other locally-owned businesses. The dollars spent in the local economy create a “multiplier effect”. Local businesses
advertise in local magazines, bank with local banks, eat at local restaurants, and purchase local services like plumbing, heating and cooling. The purchases we make locally trickle down to reinvestment in our community which creates a positive cycle. We can also see the positive impact in city-provided services such as: fire, police, the Louisville Loop, Louisville parks, Hike and Bike events, street lights, street repair and improvement, libraries, and so much more.
Another great example is Thunder over Louisville. As a collective community, we spend money on the local businesses that help sponsor one of our region’s largest annual events. Consequently, according to www.thunderoverlouisville.org/thunder-funder, Thunder is the number one fund-raiser for several local businesses such as: Kentucky Center for the Arts, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Louisville Science Center, the Louisville Ballet and more. So, economically speaking, these local businesses are able to stay in business, employ more people, and spend more locally.
Another benefit of buying local is that it helps generate more jobs making the local economy more prosperous. According to www.sustainableconnections.org, small local businesses are the largest employer nationally. These employees presumably give better customer service because they are local and know the local culture.
Maeser is a perfect example of a small, locally-owned and operated business. Our founder, Marvin Maeser, started his business with a box of tools and a pick-up truck. We have weathered bad economic times and have grown in prosperous times, always committed to hiring local technicians, managers, and office staff. We use local companies, hire local subcontractors, and purchase supplies from local companies whenever possible.
So as the cliché goes: Buy Local, Think Local, Be Local. Think local first when needing plumbing, heating, cooling or bathroom remodeling, because we believe in Louisville’s hometown businesses and its hometown charm.
