PRESIDENT'S VIEW
Keep it Real Keep it Local BY ILENE HOROWITZ
H
ave you ever noticed how much technology impacts your day to day life? We wake up each morning to the sound of our phone, use technology to travel from place to place, and even shop online. I truly noticed technology’s predominance when I realized last minute that I needed a gift. So, of course out of convenience I quickly turned to the internet. As I was submitting my order with careful deliberation, I realized online shopping lacks the luster shopping downtown has! I receive such joy walking downtown, popping in and out of different shops, and building relationships with shop owners, but the internet’s prevalence changed society’s shopping habits.
Just like the internet changed society’s shopping habits, the internet changed how people search for homes. According to the National Association of Realtors®, 50 percent of buyers found the homes they purchased on the internet compared to 28 percent who used a real estate agent. How can we expect home buyers and sellers to use an agent when we don’t support our local businesses, and instead shop out of convenience online? We want people to use us instead of internet-based companies, and it’s the same for local business owners. Owning and running a business is the same as owning a home—it’s the cornerstone of the American Dream. There are 565 municipalities in our great Garden State, meaning there are
hundreds of thousands of opportunities to keep it local and put money back into our economy. Life can be busy between family, friends, and work; however, it should never be busy enough that we forget to support our communities. What does community mean to me? There are more definitions than you can imagine, but most suiting for me and Realtors® is one I found on Dictionary.com, a social group of any size whose members reside in a specific locality, share government, and often have a common cultural and historical heritage. Involvement in the community is bringing awareness to what we do as Realtors®. We do this by our involvement and interaction with local businesses, in addition to our own volunteering efforts. Some ways you can get involved in the coming months are Realtors® Care Day on Sept. 25 and the Miller Keystone Blood Drive hosted by NJ Realtors® on Oct. 7. I, myself, run a blood drive twice a year with New Jersey Blood Services. Building connections and establishing relationships are things you can’t do through a screen. By taking the time to hear the stories of local businesses and making purchases through them instead of hitting add to cart on our devices, we’re enhancing our towns and making them more desirable for our clients. Owners of these brick and mortar shops and restaurants are the heart of the entrepreneurial spirit, let’s partner
with them to make our towns more enticing for buyers. Keeping businesses open positively impacts the economy, allowing for more money to go towards infrastructure and schools, which drives buyers to choose your town. Better your business and get to know your local business owners—keep it real and keep it local.
TOP 10 OF KEEPING IT REAL AND KEEPING IT LOCAL
1 6 2 7 38 49 5 10 Hearing Local Business’s
DRIVING
Stories
JOB GROWTH
Supporting your Local
Local Businesses Add Character
Economy
Local Business Owners Invest in COMMUNITIES
ENHANCES
Democracy
CUSTOMER
Increases Competition
Keeping the Entrepreneurial Spirit Alive
Putting Your
SERVICE
TAXES
to Good Use
NEW JERSEY REALTOR® | September/October 2019 | 3
