Coffee, shoes, and toilet paper

Since 1995, I’ve had the great privilege — and challenge — to serve as a retailer, nonprofit leader, Main Street community development director and buy local disciple. I don’t believe in buying local via a guilt trip. Rather, at my core I believe that buying local is simply the right thing to do. Local business owners must have their act together — with the right prices, the right merchandise, the right hours, the right employees, the right location, the right menu, the right service — if they expect customers to visit, shop and support their businesses. If you desire an easy, Tuesday-Friday part-time schedule, owning a retail store or restaurant is absolutely not the career for you. To put it mildly, small business ownership is far from easy (and I contend harder than ever) and not for the faint of heart.

Take some time to visit — and spend money in — Czech Village, New Bo, Uptown Marion, Mount Vernon or any of the neighborhood Main Street commercial districts. I have zero patience or sympathy for someone who shops at their favorite store once per year and then is shocked and dismayed when it suddenly disappears. Our collective independent, locally owned retailers, restaurants and cultural attractions are what make our cities into communities. We depend on them to make our neighborhoods unique and to bring them to life. People need to put their money where their mouths are about local. Think about this before you buy your daily coffee and purchases.

The shoes I’m wearing today are from SOKO Outfitters, my pants are from Bauman’s in Mount Vernon, my daily coffee comes from NewBo Roasters, Brewhemia or Café Saint Pio, and my current book is from local author Jennifer Zach, available at Next Page Books.

Moss Plant Shop, NewBo City Market and The Daisy were easy answers for Mother's Day. RAYGUN, Scribe and Scout were just as easy for great gifts and cards for graduates, along with sweet things for a soon to arrive great niece.

My colleagues in Hampton, IA, had a wildly successful ‘Buy One Product Local’ campaign. That product? Toilet paper. Yes, toilet paper. Many businesses got on board and found ways to create interesting displays, including stores that never sold toilet paper. People visited just to see the displays — and buy local, period. Hampton received national attention for their wildly successful toilet paper campaign.

Take a moment to consider:

• Local business generates over 70% more local economic activity per square foot than big box retail.

• Spend $100 at a local independent business and $68 is produced in local economic activity.

• Spend $100 at a non-local big-box business and only $38 in produced in local economic activity.

• Money spent at a local business generates over 3.3 times more wealth for the local economy compared with money spent at a chain-owned non-local business

• If every household in the United States were to shift $10 per month in their typical spending to a locally owned independent business instead of a national chain, over $9.3 billion would be directly returned to local economies.

Stop — today — your addiction to the daily delivery from the big truck dumping boxes at your front door.

Please think twice about where you spend your income. Spend wisely. Your neighbors need and depend on your support to keep their doors open. Do not buy local because you feel guilty. Buy local because you love local.

Jim Miller, CMSM, is executive director of The District: Czech Village & New Bohemia.