Coffee Combo

A Simple Way to Save the Economy   by Gary Marx

Nobody is giving ‘Main Street’ a handout or a bailout, and the average America family spends around $3,000 per year to eat out, and even up to $7,000 in some communities. If we just keep a third of that in the local community, rather than feeding some ‘corporate piggy bank,’ that would be $990-2300 that each family could pump directly back into their communities.” I am on a quest to save the local economies, my idea is that local spending creates long term growth, and that is what creates jobs.

When you look at McDonald’s alone, $24 billion in revenue for 2010, lets keep just a third of that ($7.92 billion), or even a quarter of that ($6 billion) in the local communities. When you add in the other ‘corporate giants’ we’re talking some astronomical figures – our recovery begins with us. It’s not where the politicians decide to spend money, but where we decide to spend our money. I challenge each and every one of us to stop buying from national brands just one day each week, then grow upon that. I think you’ll find you prefer that custom, personable approach from the local businesses and everyday people, just like ourselves.

Buying Local is the Key to Saving the Economy, Creating Jobs and Sustaining Growth!

Local businesses are one-of-a-kind. You won’t find them on every street corner, or in every other city in America. They are the product of hard work and dedication from a member of the community. Some small business owners may work endless nights, for little pay and little acknowledgement just to devote themselves to their dreams. So when you go out and buy a $10 meal from one of the corporate giants, it is pushing that small business owner closer to shutting their doors for good.

According to the Small Business Administration, nearly “50% of the the small businesses fail within the first five years.” Consider the number of families in your community, maybe its a small city with about 2,500 families. If those families spent half of their $3,000 ‘eating out’ budget in the community, would the small businesses benefit from a $3.7 MILLION injection of revenue? I really think they would. Now, maybe you live in a larger city, with 190,000 families, and just to be on the lighter side, maybe they spend a third of their $3,000 ‘eating out budget’ locally, hold your breath, could we use $190 MILLION in a city the size of Detroit? (number of families is based on the size of the population in a city, divided by the average family size of 4 or 5)

You don’t think you spend $3,000 each year on dining out? If you have a family of 4, and you eat out once each week, for a fast food meal, you probably spend about $1,200 each year! That doesn’t include: pizza night, special occasions, road trips, work lunches, late dinners, football snacks, catering, business lunches, morning coffee or donuts, snacks at the gas station…well, you get the idea. For just the two of us, last year my wife and I spent $2,118 on Dining Out (and that is not including the times when we used cash), and this year, we are up to $3,381 so far. Again, those numbers or for just 2 people, no children. Growing up in a family of 7, my parents spent about $40 each week on ‘pizza night,’ mainly supporting a local business, and helping them with about $2,000, each and every year.

Local businesses create local jobs. Jobs that cannot be exported overseas, jobs that will help sustain the local economy. The effects might not be immediate, but the results are always the same. Increased workloads lead to ‘Now Hiring’ signs being posted. In some instances, the conditions of working for a local business, and I speak from experience, are much better than in the corporate world. The wages can be from minimum wage, to competitive to even higher than minimum wage, it really depends on the business and the industry. One thing usually holds true though, small business owners treat their employees much better than the corporate piggies ever wish they could.

Beautification, beautification, beautification. A main street surrounded by mom-and-pop business that cater to the needs of the community and the desires of the business owners is much prettier and approachable than a main street crowded with big-box stores and corporate piggies. Just walking across the parking lot of a local big-box store is enough to qualify you for your daily workout. You don’t find that with small, mom-and-pop stores, not usually. I’d rather see a local community devoted to 1,000 small business rather than hog-tied to a handful of big-box stores.

Competition. A group of small businesses can create a market within the local community that will promote better pricing and lower the cost to consumers. Not that this always happens, but if one local restaurant sells a $1.99 breakfast, the others might have to come up with something just as enticing…but the corporate piggies simply can’t lower the price of their $1 Egg Muffins or their $5 combo meals, they are tied to their corporate profits and set prices.

And, most importantly, customer service. There is nowhere else in the world where you can find Jack, except for at Jack’s Italian Bakery, and there is nowhere else in the world where you will find Joe, who runs City Coffee House. Yeah, you might get a friendly face, a smile and a bit of chit-chat from the barista at ‘Sunbucks’ or ‘Jim Hoortins,’ but I am convinced that you will never find the kind of devotion, love and dedication from employees that you do from small business owners. A small business owner will give you time, attention, get to know you and appreciate you, not because you’re just another check, but you are the reason they can pay their bills, you are the reason they live their dreams, you are the reason they wake up each and everyday and go to work, because it isn’t work to them. It is the culmination of their life’s ambitions, it is something they might be able to pass on to their children, and it is something that gives them joy.

With all this in mind, how can we not support our local businesses? I cringe when I look up and down a city street and see nothing but ‘corporate piggies,’ all I can hear is ‘oink, oink, oink,’ then I’m stuck with no other choice than to cave in and buy something I’ve had across five different states that tastes exactly the same no matter where I am. Next time you buy a $5 Hot and Fresh pizza, think of Bella’s Pizza down the street, where a $10 large pizza is 10 times as good, or think of Don, from B.C.’s pizza walking into an unemployment line because a Happy-go-Lucky Pizza just put them out of business.

Don’t read along and agree with everything you just read, but go out into the world with a different perspective, because change begins with a single person. This is honestly the most simple way we can save the economy, and stabilize it permanently. You won’t find Jack (of Jack’s Italian Bakery) or Joe (of City Coffee House) relocating any jobs they create overseas. Even as business owners themselves they support and build up their local communities.

About the Author

Gary Marx is the Owner and CEO of Dinesational.com. Dinesational supports rebuilding and stabilizing the economy through buying and supporting local businesses.

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