The Value of Local Businesses
INTRODUCTION
Two primary focuses of Blue Art Studio Company have always been supporting local production partners and finding ways to give back to the community. I believe there is a moral obligation for a business to support the community in which they exist. The people of a community do not always have the resources to support their surroundings individually, which is why a business provides a broader platform to lend a hand - especially when these businesses offer products or services that both individuals and business can access. I believe the more we interact with our community’s resources, the more trust we develop in one another and, hopefully, the more social accountability we create as a group. These are the values I that I believe come from using local businesses as part of our every day life.
Introduction
The Economic Value: Supporting Local Economies
The Cultural Value: Bridging the Cultural Divide
THE ECONOMIC VALUE: Supporting Local Economies
The most obvious of benefits that come from supporting local businesses is the economic value. It is self-evident that the more money spent with in the community results in more money that stays with individuals of the community. However, the view I take on economic value is less about how business owners can make more money and more about how money creates opportunities to spread value. Money, when strictly viewed as a resource and not a symbol of success, has the ability to take communities from distant and disconnected to involved and potentially trusting.
A point of transparency, though. It would be disingenuous to say I don’t believe in the monetary success of business owners and their employees. In fact I believe the owners and their employees have a priority in the success of a business. They keep products and services alive. My opinion on “creating opportunities to spread value” comes from the idea that successful businesses have a moral (not legal) incentive to use their value to give back. However, I also understand the fears of futility, being taken advantage of, or having the community members expect resources that ultimately aren’t theirs to expect. These have been long standing fears of many local businesses when they attempt to reach out to their community. This is where my views on owner/employee priority combined with communal trust comes into play. If a successful business has a moral incentive to give back their resources to a community, then it is my belief that said business has a right to create the boundaries in which those resources are dispersed. I will add, however, that I think these boundaries should ONLY be related to the quantity of goods or time of services rendered and NOT related to groups of people. Discrimination should never be supported.
I recognize this section of the blog is not dedicated to economic statistics - but encouraging local businesses to share their success with the community is a paradigm worth supporting. I believe it is a tall order to create an entire community that believes in supporting its developers AND its members that fall behind. It is asking a lot of people to believe that two opposite ideas can co-exist. But it is interest of this company to do just that. Local economies are an extension of the people that live in it, not just the money that is made through it. Supporting local businesses is a first step in creating that trust - but it requires EVERYONE to be interested.
THE CULTURAL VALUE: Experiencing the Best of Diversity
One of my favorite things about living in a large city is access to thousands of privately owned restaurants. Finding a new restaurant rooted in a new culture has always been one of my favorite feelings. Food has been source of bringing people together since the beginning of time and restaurants offer that source everyday. The best way to experience these opportunities, I have found, is to search for these locations blindly (figuratively speaking). I understand that not every city has safe areas and that location does matter to many people, but whenever possible, search for these restaurants with disregard to whatever area they are in. If it is a mom-and-pop restaurant deep in a Chinese populated region - try it. If it is an expensive restaurant in the heart of a city - try it. Stay humble and stay kind despite anyone that believes you are unwelcome. This approach is exactly what has offered me the ability to connect with more people than I ever thought possible. It is the approach to these local restaurants that has helped create my view on understanding new cultures and different people. It’s amazing what conversations come from relating to food and I think these relationships can be made with similarities outside of food.
The majority of our relationships have been, and always will be, driven by who we interact with on a daily basis. When we involve our local economies in that daily interaction we directly include our neighbors into our daily lives. As such, relationships are born. There is something to acknowledge with this sentiment, though: It is NOT easy jumping into a different community and it requires effort to create a bridge across cultural divides. My point in this section of the blog is that businesses offer a distinct opportunity to create that bridge. They offer a location where most of the social expectations are understood and where the first interaction is an exchange. The cut-and-dry nature of business gives us a starting point and stopping point to the interaction. There is no guarantee that you will be comfortable in situations like this - but comfort isn’t the point, understanding is.
Local business have a distinct feature; they are a direct representation of the people that exist in the community. They are the un-elected representatives of the people in your neighborhood and therefore provide the least political version of the people in your neighborhood. It would do all of us well to bridge these cultural gaps by showing support to those we may not understand. I consider it an olive branch made of money that has the ability to move beyond the promise of a dollar. When we take steps to show our support to small business owners we open the door to the best our community has to offer.
My hope for this blog post is simple; think about how your involvement in the community can create opportunities for others. If you find value in your involvement, which I believe you should, use local businesses as a starting point. In the grand scheme of “new things",” businesses offer the softest entry point. Happy Thanksgiving to all and as always, stay classy.
Blue
