Shop locally to better your community

Black Friday's big box blowout deals are gone.

Cyber Monday sales will be over soon, too.

Now that the hoopla over what the major retailers say will be their best deals of the season is behind us, we encourage you to pay special attention to the locally owned shops and eateries that help define our communities.

Local entrepreneurs are more competitive than ever, even if most can't boast the deep discounts found in sales fliers or the too-good-to-be-true prices found on unfamiliar Web sites.

The dollars spent at a locally owned business are an investment that ultimately pays off in the form of town pride, a strong tax base and potentially higher property values.

Local owners reinvest in the community by patronizing local printers, insurance agents and accountants. They hire local architects when they want to expand and local interior designers when they want to redecorate.

The American Independent Business Alliance estimates that every $100 spent at a locally owned business pays off in the form of $45 community investment.

"Dollars spent at community-based merchants create a multiplier effect in the local economy, meaning that from each dollar spent at a local independent merchant, three or more times as much typically goes back into the local economy compared to a dollar spent at chain owned businesses," according to a report by the alliance.

"Challenges of the Future, Rebirth of Small Independent Retail in America," a 2004 study underwritten by the Illinois Retail Merchants Association and other organizations, estimates that 90 percent of America's businesses employ 20 people or fewer. Those small businesses make up for 40 percent of the gross domestic product.

This is the heart of American entrepreneurship. It deserves our support.

We would not suggest you avoid chain retailers. Those companies employ many of our friends and neighbors and support many community organizations. Regardless of where a store's home office is based, all local shopping funnels needed sales tax dollars to that municipality's government. These well-known retailers are paying property taxes that help fund our schools, libraries and parks.

They are a valuable and necessary part of our business community.

We just suggest you make it a point to stop into an unfamiliar downtown shop or restaurant on your next outing. Surely there's a store with a window display that has caught your eye or maybe an eatery that has received rave reviews. Take the time to look around, meet the proprietor and become familiar with what they offer.

Chances are, you'll find something you can't find somewhere else. You're likely to receive personalized service. And you can buy something knowing that you are contributing, not only in that individual's business, but doing something for your community as a whole.