How do you think the idea of a local business is changing (or not)?

[OrlyS]

Hi Seller Community!

I'm a researcher at Square and I'm looking into some nunances of running a local business. I'm curious to learn:

• What comes to mind when you hear the words "local business" or What does "local business" mean to you?
• How do you think the idea of a local business is changing, if at all?
• (Hopefully other Sellers will find this helpful too) What do you recommend to Sellers like yourself to stand out in your community and/or adapt to any changes? (Tools? strategies? etc)

Let’s discuss! I’m looking forward to hearing more. Thanks.

[MudFire_Dex]

Ooooffff - I don't know how I feel about this - I think the term 'local business' has less meaning now because I think larger chains or small chains with footprints in multiple states like donut shops are perceived as small or local businesses because they are local to the individual. The definition of small business can include structures with up to several hundred employees and millions in revenue and also a person making pots and selling them at craft markets making less than $50K a year. It is hard to consider the terminology "local business" when a business has a larger corporate backing structure. I think that sometimes small business isn't understood by the consumer or the employees thinking we all have the safety net of a larger corporate chain.

We try to be open, honest, transparent, and flexible in our offerings as well as being a compassionate community. 

In my former business, ceramic supplies, we failed ultimately because I gave a lot of free education to draw in customers (classes, demo-nights, etc) but didn't have the cash flow to support ordering the inventory needed by the store at all times. We had to discount deeply to keep up with larger online retailers and compete with companies shipping into our state for larger equipment (predating some sales tax law changes that would make this easier now) we had to discount our products by the same as the online retailer and then even more to compensate for the sales tax. 

I'd like to see a discuss here on this topic and participate in it 🙂

[OrlyS]

Hi Deanna, 

Thank you for your thoughtful and detailed response. There's a lot for me to mull on here, especially around the idea of perception vs. actual small/local business, and a lot of points I'd also love others to chime in on (feel free to tag a seller buddy or two to participate, if you feel comfortable). I also really appreciate that you candidly shared what didn't work out for your former business. The details are really helpful to understand, and hopefully will help other sellers reading this. 

Warmly,

Orly 

[maxpete]

GREAT questions @OrlyS! Tagging some other sellers in the community here and interested to hear their thoughts! 

@ryanwanner, @Lovewell, @bonny, and @Bronze_Palms 

[OrlyS]

Why thank you @maxpete! And thanks for tagging some seller buddies. Hope to hear your thoughts, everyone! Should be an insightful discussion

[JK_Fiber_Art]

Hi OrlyS,

Good question !

What comes to mind for me is "locally owned businesses".   If you live year round in a small Mountain Resort town - the business owners also live in town - many run the businesses by themselves while others have the luxury of hiring help.  With the exception of the Ski Area (which is owned by a large corporation) - the majority of the shops, galleries and restaurants in town are small (and I mean small) businesses.  What these folks cannot do is compete price wise with the larger businesses or chains however, you will find friendly honest service, that's a big difference - it's personal.   You don't find that with larger businesses.   So the next time you visit a small Mountain Resort Town - support the locals - they are the ones behind the scenes who make things work. 

[OrlyS]

Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts with me. It's really helpful to understand the importance of friendly, honest service, the personal touch, and the role a local business plays as someone who makes things work in a mountain resort town (or similar). 

[Lovewell]

Love this! Local Business definitely had a buzz. Our community here in Ventura since 2020 (and all that came with that) seemed to really realize how important we are! Are they still shopping at chains? For sure. But they are more mindful. 

As a coffee shop we get to “compete” with ⭐️💵 So what are we offering that’s different? How can we as a local business give a completely unique experience that makes us first choice. 

We make sure to be involved in our community! We have a culture of generosity. If we want people to come spend their money then we also need to invest back into our community. Providing coffee for non profits, major events, and service days. 

Hospitality is what can set you a part from the big guys! 

[OrlyS]

I'm so glad to hear your community in beautiful Ventura realizes how important you are, and supports you. It's helpful to know that you're thinking about how to be unique, and you're deciding that one way to do that is to be involved, and reinvest, in your community. Thanks for sharing

[Doran]

This is a hard question these days.  For me, a local business is owned by a local and employs locals. Local should be a business that contributes to the local community.  So many small chains pop up here and people think they are local businesses and when I meet the owner at a mixer or something they rarely even spend time in town.  These days all labels seem to be relative.  

[OrlyS]

Thanks for these specifications, Doran. Bummer to hear the owners of these small chains don't spend time in your town, but it's helpful for me know that's what counts-- or doesn't!-- as "local" for you

[ryanwanner]

Great questions, @OrlyS, and it's on a topic near and dear to my heart.

When I hear "Local Business" I immediately think of a biz that's owned and operated by someone in the area. My definition is clarified by the line "if there is a corporate office not located in or near the biz location, it is not a local business."

I think the definition of Local Business is only changing by the big players, simply because they need to make themselves feel local. Many of the big chains in the area have started advertising that they're local, simply because the people that work there are local. DUH, of course the people who work there are locals. It doesn't mean that the chain is a local operation. For the majority of small businesses I work with, the definition of Local has actually gotten clearer: direct relationships, both in front of the counter with the customers and out the back door with suppliers.

As for standing out, I do believe that it really comes down to connections. Get to know your customer. Not just at a "they get x product" level but at a "how did Timmy do at his baseball game?" level. Get embedded into your community. Sponsor Trunk or Treats and the like, join community organizations, make yourself known. And--most important of all--don't expect to make money at any of these events. If you do your job correctly, comp'ing product for advertising's sake should bring it back into your store multiple times over. It's all about making that connection. At the same time, support all the local businesses you can. Carry their products in your store if possible. Patronize them instead of a chain. Like, comment and/or share social media posts. Become their champion. With any luck, they'll do the same. And soon your community will have a strong, stable, locally-minded focus that will be hard for Joe Consumer to ignore. You spend money at a local shop and talk about it to your friends, they check it out. They see this, start spending money at your store, they tell their friends, they check it out. The money is circling around and bettering the community instead of going to some Corporate Ivory Tower somewhere. It's an absolute win.

[OrlyS]

Thanks, Ryan. So interesting to hear that the big players feel the need to make themselves feel local. What's your take on why that is? 

I hope it's helpful for other Sellers hear to learn how you stand out by making deep connections, and by supporting other location businesses in a myriad of ways 

[SwiftwiredCSS]

Local businesses are in my opinion struggling in some degree due to the increasing low prices and presence of large, online based competitors. They have seemingly bottomless resources and take business away from local businesses.

I am in the security industry and find it hard to compete with a lot of these entities, who depersonalize the experience.

I always put my customers first, and strive to obtain a highly professional and tailored experience for my clients and always try to provide a high level of service, product quality, support, and implementation of their security goals. I am a new business, so standing out in my community is both very difficult and yet a rewarding experience. Trying to new advertising methods, revising the website and SEO improvements are all good things to work on the stand out and get seen on local searches.

[OrlyS]

Thank you for these helpful insights. I appreciate your candor on the difficulties you're facing too, and your tips on methods to try to stand out online, as well as stand out in terms of professionalism and customer service. I hope these are working well for you! 

[DinaLRosenberg]

Like others have mentioned- local businesses are those that have owners that live in or near the town/village they serve and employ residents of the same.

Shopping local is big- especially this time of year. As a local biz we give to organizations in our community year round and it's nice when residents remember our shop when it's time to purchase holiday gifts.

We stand out because we lead with education and expertise. Can you buy from Amazon or Temu and get product cheaper? YES. Can someone from Amazon or Temu tell you the difference between Tarot and Oracle? Beginner spell book recommendations? Tell someone where crystals are mined? No.

We also have integrity and make everyone feel welcome. We won't sell someone something just to make a dollar- we make sure we are leaving our customers and visitors better off than how we met them.

[OrlyS]

Hi Dina, thanks for sharing your thoughts. It's definitely interesting and helpful to hear that you're echoing what others are saying about the local presence of owners and employees. It's helpful to understand the role that education and expertise play in standing out among your competition, and the value of integrity that is so important to your business!

[AKO_Liquor]

i think the defnintion and/or concept of "local" is changing. i think we need to define and understand that in order to understand what local business is. To me, as of late, it just sounds really gimmicky. Is it locally owned? is it locally owned AND operated? Is it just a nearby business with local employees and an absentee owner who lives somewhere else?

I own and operate a business in a rural area. its a small town just on the outskirts of a small city. i live next door to the business; in that scenario, nearly everything is a "local business"