Look Around To Discover More Ways To Support Local Business?

My wife and I recently began going to a local Italian restaurant in our neighborhood. Before, we would drive 15 minutes one way to satisfy our pasta and pizza cravings. But we decided that we needed to do more to support local business in our own neighborhood, so we gave 5 J's Italian Restaurant a try.

Boy, are we glad we did! This is not an article promoting the restaurant as much as it is an advertisement to give local businesses a chance to prove themselves. We had driven by the restaurant for nearly two years before finally deciding to give it a shot. And it delivered. It is now our Italian restaurant of choice.

The question for every consumer is this: How many local businesses do you ignore or take for granted? Consider hardware and do-it-yourself stores, for example.

It's common for consumers to shop at the big box stores to get most of what they need. They tend to have a big variety and prices are low.

However, how many of us have made the quick trip down the street to the local hardware store when we need just a few nuts and bolts? We've all done it. And we were very glad the store was there because we didn't want to have to battle the crowds at the big box store.

But honestly, buying a couple dollars worth of stuff really isn't supporting local business. They need us for a few of the bigger purchases as well. If not for those they will become as extinct as the dinosaur. And someday we'll bemoan the fact that we didn't shop there more often.

It's understandable that we all need to look for ways to save money, and the big stores give us that opportunity frequently. But what I've found when I shop at the smaller local stores is that I usually get better service- which not only saves me time but can also save money - and that they often have some pretty good sales.

Be more observant throughout your local neighborhood. What are the opportunities to support local business instead of always giving it to the big name chain outfits?

Restaurants, hair salons, drug stores, clothing shops, to name a few, are great additions to an area. We often take them for granted until they're gone.

Now if they just don't offer a good product, or their service is bad, or if their value is poor (too high a price for what you get); it's understandable if you don't give them your business. But if they stack up to the competition pretty well, then they should be worked into your rotation.

If it's our desire for small local business to remain in our neighborhoods, we need to support local business, even if they are a little more expensive. We all benefit from it in some way or another.