Support Your Local Businesses – It’s So Very Important

Everyone talks about “Shop Small, Shop Local,” but do they do it? People complain to their local municipalities and chambers, saying, “Why can’t you keep businesses open?”, but did the local community support the business? To keep a business open it takes hard work, capital, and support from the municipality, the chamber, and especially the community.

We see many posts online – who do you recommend for this, where can I find this? It’s awesome that people are asking, but it breaks our hearts to see many of the posts referring to businesses in other communities. Yes, they need support also, but please look to your own community first, as they are the ones who have kids in school with your kids, who donate their time and money to local nonprofits and sports groups. If we don’t support them, they won’t last!

We also see posts asking for businesses who offer reasonable pricing. What is reasonable to one person may not be to another. Focus should be on customer service, the quality of the service, etc.

It takes two to three years to make a small business profitable, and it may become truly successful once it hits the 7 – 10 year mark. Statistics show that successful small businesses are built over years, not months. Once open, they need to grow their client base, create long-term clients, build up a cash reserve to get through lean times, and do more than just break even. They need customers!

When you see a small business raising prices now and over the coming months, it’s not to make more money, it’s to stay open, keep their employees working, and continue to serve their customers. They are seeing the same price increases that we are (groceries, utilities, etc.).

Please continue to shop local and support small businesses during these difficult times. Look to the chamber website at www.oswegochamber.org for the list of our many wonderful local businesses.

Oswego Area Chamber of Commerce : 25 E Jackson Street : Oswego, IL 60543 : 630.554.3505 : http://www.oswegochamber.org/