The Bits in Between: Keep Local Business Alive

Last month, we saw two Tucker Main Street businesses close their doors for good. For ten years, The Garden Enthusiast had supported gardeners and backyard nature watchers; for ten months, Nailed It DIY Studio had brought out the creative side in kids and adults alike with crafting classes. While the pandemic may have contributed much to their demise, it can’t be totally blamed. Each of these businesses had a variety of factors that combined to bring about their closing, and many of those factors had no easy solutions. When each of these businesses announced their closing on social media, the posts were flooded with comments, many expressing surprise, sadness, or condolences. But how many of these people had actually supported the businesses? Are we sometimes partly to blame when our business neighbor decides to throw in the towel? Many of the social media commenters had frequented the businesses but also many of them had never set foot in the door. When any business closes, it is a loss to the community in terms of lost jobs and reduced resources. But when a local business owner decides to close up shop, they aren’t just losing their job but the jobs of many others, and often a substantial personal investment of time and money. They have to deal with a sense of loss, of failure, and of letting customers and employees down. Losing a business is probably one of the worst events in a person’s life.

While we can’t be responsible for a pandemic, or for a bad economy, we can still support local businesses, even in the bad times. Shopping in-person over the past eighteen months might have been difficult; could we have changed our business more to online? Amazon reported record earnings during the pandemic; how much online shopping did we route to our local businesses? How many of us expressed sadness over a business closing but had never gone into the shop? Did we spend any time promoting the business or its resources to others? Businesses don’t go out in a vacuum. If you hear, think or know a business is struggling, ask how you can help. Business owners are our neighbors; if your next-door neighbor was ill and struggling, wouldn’t you ask how you could help?

Small Business Saturday is November 27, when holiday shoppers are encouraged to patronize brick and mortar businesses that are small and local rather than big-box stores or online retailers. Make sure this year you honor your local businesses but don’t wait until then to come into one and shop. Let them know you value their contributions to the community. Go in today and buy something.

Lizbeth A. Dison Publisher and Editor