The Lincoln Chamber of Commerce is asking local businesses to Buy Lincoln First -- that is, to purchase as many goods and services locally as possible. How much of an effort do you make to purchase goods and services locally?
Generally speaking, cost plays a big role in my purchasing decisions. Depending on the product or service being purchased, that may help or hurt the chances that I buy locally. Many other factors also figure into the equation: convenience, service, selection, past experience, first impressions, and so on.
Regular readers know that I typically favor local and regional restaurants over national chains. No surprise there. For groceries I prefer the regional Hy-Vee over the local Russ's family of stores. The neighborhood hardware store recently lost out to Lowe's when it came to buying a mailbox, but in the past I've spent a couple bucks more to shop at the neighborhood store simply because of the convenience. One of the local advertising guides recently paid off for a small tree services company (Hi, Ed!). The Missus and I buy most of our athletic shoes from Ann over at Lincoln Running Company, but general athletic purchases tend to come from Scheel's or the web.
Hmm, I should do an audit of my purchases to see where all my money goes. That could be interesting.
Comments
See what your friends and neighbors have to say about this.
I try to buy locally as a rule, however there are some things I know I won’t buy at the local hardware story (don’t buy your bulk screws at True Value, for instance, because the metal is too soft and they break or twist).
That said, I do buy some things at chains/franchises and I do eat at franchises, although it’s always under protest with my family. If given a choice, I will always eat at a locally owned restaurant over a chain. I try to do the same with purchases.
I would probably be shocked to see an audit of how I spend my money. I bet I don’t put it where my mouth is as much as I think I do.
I think it’s important to not just lump all “chains and franchises” in together like they are some evil empire. In many, many cases, the franchisee is just as local a person as you or I. True, a royalty fee may head back to the home office, but the bulk of the funds can stay here.
Of course there is the issue as well that the vast majority of the employees that get paid to work at the “chains” are Lincoln residents as well, so it is also good for them if they get paid here and shop here. It’s not like if you go to Outback for dinner and spend $50, the entire $50 just goes out of state.
I respect mom ‘n pop operations a lot - but the risks are just so high, and that’s why so many people go the franchise route. It doesn’t make them bad folks or their money unwanted in Lincoln.
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