The words “Lemonade for sale” are sloppily painted on a sign, and we can’t help but stop and willingly pay double the asking price for a cup of lemonade that we, most likely, will not even drink. As a smiling child hands us the cup of lemonade, we imagine this little person one day presenting their own business idea to a panel of investors on “Shark Tank” with a sweet story of how their love of business all started with a lemonade stand in our very own neighborhood. 

When we see this youth-inspired business in our local community, it feels very natural to support that effort. We enjoy the opportunity to encourage the American Dream and give those children a taste of success for hard work and creativity. 

Fast forward 20 years and those little lemonade stand entrepreneurs have grown up, encouraged by that very American Dream we all love and have faith in. They are our local business owners, and they live for our support. 

Here are four reasons to support local business this holiday season, and always.

It strengthens local economy

To quote online sources, independent local businesses return more than three times as much money per dollar of sales locally than chain competitors, and buying on the web creates almost no local benefit- just a few minutes’ work for a delivery person. Most of us are not economists, but this makes (lots of dollars and) sense for our community’s economy to shop local.

Community-minded business owners

The people who have started a business picked our community for a reason: they love it and support it in many ways. And if someone loves and promotes my neighborhood, I can promote them too through purchases and online social media sharing.

Creativity in our turf

Not many people have the responsibility of a business owner who most often are managing employees, sales, client relations, product or services, interior decorating, and marketing that business. All of those aspects take a great deal of brain power and creativity. Communities with great creative minds inspire society in a big way. They see opportunities and not problems, have fun with taking risks, and make our area of the globe more beautiful. Let’s encourage that!

Masters of their craft

The small business owners own a business because they truly love what they do, and probably have been doing it for a long time. You are not interacting with an employee of a large company that might just be there for the paycheck. These owners and their small circle of employees are passionate about their products and/or service. They want you to have a good experience at their store, and will go above and beyond for you. Personalized attention like that is worth supporting.

There are many extra benefits for your community when you shop local, and this local support reinforces the American Dream we still believe in for the future generations.