Earlier this week, Toronto Mayor John Tory announced a new program, titled “ShopHERE,” that aims to help local small businesses develop virtual storefronts during the COVID quarantine. It’s a great step to help support the local ma and pa shops that make up a crucial part of our economy. The thing is, it shouldn’t have taken a pandemic to make us want to support small businesses.
Local businesses have a ton to offer us as consumers that bigger companies can’t deliver. They offer unique, one-of-a-kind items you can’t find anywhere else. Their products are usually made with a level of care and quality that’s far too uncommon these days. And small businesses usually bring a level of pride and passion to their business that the minimum-wage cashier working at that big box store down the street has no desire to match.
These folks work hard, every single day, to bring you and I products and services that they are SO passionate about. So why is it that, so often, it’s the big guys that take our money? In a word, it comes down to price. We’ve been willing to sacrifice quality, personability and passion in order to save a few bucks. It breaks my heart to see a small business making good, quality products with care and passion lose out because they can’t compete with big box stores that have their products made in China at a fraction of the price.
The good news is, we seem to be moving in the right direction. More and more, I hear about people who purchased a cake, or a blanket, or silverware at a local shop instead of going to Walmart. People seem more willing to pay for quality products that come with a compelling story these days. For the rest of us, I hope that this quarantine shines a much-needed light on the local businesses whose livelihoods depends on our support.
Wrapping it Up
For everyone who’s been supporting small businesses during this quarantine, good on you. For everyone else, I get it – a whole bunch of us are in a tight spot right now, and not everyone has money to spend. When we come out of this though, remember that the decision to shop local shouldn’t be based on a marketing campaign; it comes from your values and what you believe is worth supporting. Hopefully we can all do a little more to support local small businesses going forward, well after the COVID quarantine is a thing of the past.
