Nine Good Reasons To Shop Locally First

Buying goods and services at locally owned businesses:

1. Strengthens our community and economic vitality.

2. Recirculates more dollars in our community. Studies show that significantly more money will stay in Clark County when purchases are made at locally owned rather than nationally owned businesses.

3. Supports and strengthens local jobs and businesses. Small local businesses are the largest category of employers nationally.

4. Preserves and enhances our unique community. Our one-of-a-kind businesses give Vancouver its distinctive character.

5. Nonprofits and community organizations receive greater support. These organizations receive, on average, three time greater support from smaller, locally owned businesses than from national chains.

6. Customer Service is better. Local businesses often hire people with more specific product expertise, providing better customer service. and owners who live in the community are motivated to treat customers who are neighbors with respect in order to keep a good reputation in the community.

7. Local business owners invest in community. When owners live here, they're less likely to leave and more likely to be invested in the community's future.

8. Public benefits far outweigh public costs. Local businesses require comparatively little infrastructure investment (because its already in place) and make more efficient use of public services

9. Competition and diversity lead to more choices. 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 customers, guarantees a broad range of product choices.