Small businesses exist to meet a local demand. Northeastern North Carolina is home to a number of small businesses with an employee base of a lot less than 20 persons. They face the same regulatory and statutory demands of other businesses. Their ability to serve the communities, they do business in, depends upon the commitment the community is willing to make. The majority of the sustenance small businesses receive, oftentimes, is in direct correlation to the community’s ownership as stakeholder.
The most overlooked function of small business is its ability to create jobs. When small businesses do well, they hire. This is the basis of community and economic development. If they do not get your business, they cannot hire. A healthy workforce does more for the community than just provide for families. Community provisions are relational here. Local governments are struggling to provide needed services. Relying on a tax base that is far from adequate to meet fixed demands is a juggling act. When faced with an emergent need, things get far more complicated. With rapid unemployment, record high underemployment, and a growing unemployed teenage population, communities in the northeast, are reliant on small business to hang in there with them.
The public demand for us to do better is exploding with legislation like SB4, sequestration and health care. It is time we take charge of local economic growth; supports that were once counted as dependable are no more. But what is available, is the money you work hard for to take care of your family. Turning money over in our community is what our “right now” strategy can be and must be as we continue to figure all this out. Persistent poverty is not a badge of honor but a badge worn too long by good people who are working hard and who must work hard.
Remember, small businesses take risks by opening here. The economic benefit of increased local expenditure is vital to the overall growth of the community and the region. The more we spend locally, the greater the overall benefit.
In the absence of malls and boutiques, fancy restaurants and cafes, smaller enterprises risk family savings and brand names, to help us access products and services that might otherwise be out of reach. No region or community can meet all of our needs. Being supportive of local businesses means you help enrich the entire community. So, let’s shop local beginning right now!