You might have seen a certain meme making its way around the internet. You know the one, reminding you that “every time you buy from a small business, someone does a happy dance”.
Well, dear reader, it makes me *cross*. Because buying from small businesses is about SO much more than a happy dance.
Sure, I know what it’s trying to say… that when you buy from a small business, you’re buying from a human. Someone that can do happy dances, rather than a faceless corporate who’s just watching the banknotes roll in.
But let’s give small businesses the credit they deserve. And acknowledge just how important they are.
Here goes.
A small business love affair
It started around 2011. With Starbucks. I know, I know… bear with me, please.
I’d only just started drinking coffee (believe it or not, my business runs on it these days) and my palette wasn’t very discerning yet. And so the Starbucks at the end of my road became the location for writing my undergraduate thesis, making the most of the free refills, free wifi and free heating.
It fueled my first degree up north. But, little by little, I began to notice and explore the other coffee shops of Durham. And as I did, my spending habits began to change.
Why? Not because I wanted to make someone do a happy dance. But because it was better. The coffee was better. The space was better (read: more beautiful). The food was better. The entire place was better.
So yes, I still milked the Starbucks wifi for those long writing sessions. But when I wanted to enjoy the experience, I chose better. I chose small businesses.
This is why small businesses are important
When you step across the threshold of a small business or click through to an indie website, no matter the product or service offering, you’re always greeted with a few key ingredients. (Or, at least you are if their copy’s up to scratch *shameless plug*.)
Passion. Passion for their work, their people, their creations and you, their customers.
Skill. Skill for their craft. They’ve had to overcome so many hurdles to get their small business up and running. And that skill’s one of the driving factors that got them here.
Unique offerings. Their products and services are unique, not mass-produced.
Human-to-human experience. They’re there to listen to and talk to you. They learn from your needs, your interests and your challenges. And feed those into everything they create.
Community. Small businesses are held accountable to their communities, as they’re a part of it. When you shop small, you’re shopping with people who care about the impact of what they do. They’re less likely to embark on dodgy sales tactics to make a quick buck. And far more likely to go above and beyond in everything they do.
The benefits of small businesses in a community
A few years after I’d left the cosiness of the coffee shops of the north, I found myself at another university starting my Master’s degree. I’d made the move from Economics to Human Rights, and the north to the south.
And as part of it all, I spent a lot of time looking at how big mining corporations were messing up communities in South America. They’d come in, make as much money as possible and then leave. Leaving the community they’d built to depend on them behind.
Communities, not corporations
When you shop small, you’re sending your money to communities, not corporations.
You can trust that folks are paying their taxes. The supply chain is usually more transparent. And your money is going directly to the human behind the business (who are usually paying their staff a decent living wage, whilst treating them with the respect they deserve).
That money is then spent locally, ethically and independently too. And so the cycle continues.
“Local businesses don’t only build a stronger economy — they also build a stronger community. Relationships between small businesses are important in creating a cohesive, welcoming community identity, with businesses supporting each other.”
The street in the town where I grew up
There’s this street in the town where I grew up, where I used to work in a homewares shop by day and a pub by night after I left school, saving money to go to on my first solo travels.
That street was filled with independents. In fact, I don’t think there’s one chain on it to this day.
The small businesses on that street were their very own community. They’d support each other. They had each other’s backs.
And whether it’s local bricks and mortar or small, independent and online, that community feel is still there. People want each other to succeed. It just feels good. And to quote Mastercard (oh the irony), that’s something money can’t buy.