LOCAL IMPACT

Local impact by Jennaye Derge

“Local” is quite the buzz word lately. Many might believe that they know what it means, but localism still sometimes comes off as just a trendy idea or a far-off goal. Shopping locally is much more than avoiding Amazon though, and even further, it’s more than going to your local store to buy your holiday gifts. It’s about truly supporting the circular momentum that the local economy brings to each individual community.

This idea is a bit ambient and less of a concrete action than simply heading down to your local clothing store and buying a pair of pants. Local First board member and president of the Local First Foundation, Ted Wright said “the way you can support local businesses is to change the behavior and world view of your community. That sounds radical of course, but that’s what we’re looking at.”

It is a radical perspective, but it is much more simple than it sounds. Changing behavior and world view to support our local economy can be as easy as spreading the word and talking about local businesses with friends. Interacting with posts on social media from a local business, or leaving positive reviews on various platforms also helps support the local economy.

“People can post reviews if they have a good experience. We welcome good and positive reviews on Google and Yelp,” said owner of 11th Street Station Marcos Wisner. “But word of mouth is probably the strongest way to support us, in my opinion.”

Those of us that live in small mountain communities are lucky to be able to verbally share our support for the businesses we love to our friends and family who, then in turn, also shop at those businesses.

Local downtown sewing shop Stitch sees a lot of business come that way; directly from word of mouth, or, more specifically, from visiting friends and family of residents.

“Bringing relatives in--that’s been a big help for us,” said Stitch employee Cindi Erickson. “We have an online store and when locals bring their relatives in, we have a card we give out with a discount that they can use online.”

The card is essentially a way to allow out-of-town visitors to continue shopping with Durango local stores, even though they may not live here.

Embracing the virtual world is one of the best ways to support local businesses these days, including shopping on local businesses’ online stores, following them on social media, liking and sharing posts and even signing up for business newsletters.

“Joining our newsletter is a really great way to stay updated and to participate in classes that we may be offering,” said Elliot Brinkley, owner of Dancing Willow Herbs. Signing up for local newsletters also helps residents stay connected with the community and vice versa. The more connected to the community a local business is, the better chances it has to positively serve it.

“Making connections in the community, learning who is behind different businesses, going in and introducing yourself, meeting people; it helps all of us businesses feel inspired to continue to do the work that we’re doing, to know who we’re serving,” Brinkley said.

All in all, these connections are one more reason to love the community’s small, independent businesses. Owner of Create Art & Tea, Caprice Fox said, “There is more depth, more passion, more connection. There are a lot of local shops in town where the people are making the things that are being sold.”

So, shopping locally creates opportunities for community growth as well as connections.

However, without supporting local businesses through spending, the establishments wouldn’t be in positions to give back such as through donations and sponsorships. Local cannabis dispensary, Sante, understands that because of its profit margins, the company is in a unique position to give back to the community in ways that benefit everyone. Marketing manager of Sante Malissa McClelland said Sante supports nonprofit organizations, including Durango Arts Center and iAM Music Fest.

“We basically look at what the community is doing that helps the community, and we find the best way that we can participate in that. Any of the sponsorships we do, we do it just because we can … it brings something here to

Durango, it gives the locals something to do, so we like to be a part of that.” In retrospect, it all comes circling back together; our local world view and small behaviors can help local businesses, who in turn, enrich the community we call home.