Why You Should Support Local Businesses

17 Aug 2022

When you think about where your money goes, it’s likely that you picture a bank account and then a few bills. But what about the businesses that make up our communities? They’re often the backbone of any community: they provide jobs, entertainment and places to hang out. So, we’ve just written a few quick reminders of why you should support local businesses.

I Love Communities was created with one clear goal: to help all our local businesses, independents, and community groups thrive. The last few years have been so tough for us all, but especially our locals. The following reasons are just a few of why it’s so crucial we support them:

It’s Good for the Local Economy

Supporting local businesses is good for the economy.

For starters, it keeps money in the community and keeps jobs in the community. As we know, typically small businesses are run by people who live locally. Therefore, the money that they earn from their business in turn gets reinvested into the community. Pop into any bar on a Friday night or grab a lunch in a local coffee shop like Plumcake to see what we mean – chances are they’ll be full of local business owners!

Plumcake Cafe – a ‘homemade’ heaven

Furthermore, since most local businesses operate on a smaller scale compared with large corporations, they tend to not only provide employment opportunities but also help sustain other aspects of life. Numerous local businesses (ourselves included) work with local schools like Bramhall High to take on apprentices or provide work experience for those just starting out in their careers, who in turn may one day go on to start their own business in our community.

Cheshire Home Fragrance beautiful showroom

You’ll Find Things You Won’t Find Anywhere Else

Local businesses are often more likely to have unique products, and they’re more likely to have been made in their own community. Not only does this mean that you can get your hands on something special and unique, it also supports innovation when trying out something new.

Plus, you’ll know that it won’t have been manufactured overseas, and will almost certainly have been made with love. Local favourites like Cheshire Home Fragrance and Ems Easy Eco are testament to this… Collectively our team has spent countless hours in their stores browsing what they’ve got in – come join us!

Em’s Easy Eco – a fabulous zero waste refill shop

They’re the Heart of a Community

Local businesses are the heart of a community. They’re more likely to give back, sponsor local events and causes, and support local charities. Take our recent Paws & Play ‘22 event as an example, where countless local businesses came together to sponsor the event and ensure that a fantastic community day for both those on two legs and on four legs was had. Special shoutout as well to the fantastic Bramhall Dog Groomers, who were our top dog sponsor for the event.

The brilliant Bramhall Dog Groomers

When you support your local businesses, they’re more likely to support others in return. This can mean everything from donating money for school field trips or sports teams, or supporting other charitable causes. Local estate agents, Mosley Jarman have just launched a pyjama appeal for Childrens Hospitals, Eds Hair are regular supporters of our local rotary, and Footcare by David Taylor collected donations for unwanted clothes/shoes to support refugees fleeing from the war in Ukraine, just to name a few.

You’ll Get Better Service

How many minutes have you spent on hold over the last year? And don’t even get us started on the hold music… To many big corporations, the individual is merely a consumer, rather than a valued part of their community.

Whether you’re spending 50p or £50, local businesses are more likely to help you with your problem. They can provide recommendations and suggestions that may be helpful in solving the issue at hand. Because they care about you. If they don’t have the answer right away, they’ll do their best to find it for you. Save your ears (and your sanity) and shop local.

Find the perfect gift at BE Lifestyle Boutique

You’ll be Helping the Environment

Sadly, this is an increasingly important reason as to why you should support local businesses. When you shop local, your product won’t have to have been flown from halfway across the world. The environmental and social impact of industries like fast fashion have been well documented – but shop with fantastic independents like BE Lifestyle, Caro Boutique and Arnouts Shoes with the knowledge that their products will have been more ethically sourced and produced than many fast fashion companies. Also, going back to the fabulous service that we get from our indies, Modiste not only offers all of the above, but owner Sue, is also a talented seamstress and can nip or tuck anything for the perfect fit!

The same can be said for the food that we purchase and consume. When you buy from chains, food often comes from halfway across the country or is flown in internationally. Likewise, questions remain about food quality and just how exactly it was produced. Shopping local with our butchers like HG Beard or Corry’s, greengrocers like Unwins, or fishmongers like Oceanwave means you’ll not only be getting a better quality product, but also a more environmentally friendly one.

Independent fashion from Arnouts Shoes

When any product is loaded for long distance travel, tons of packaging is used to try to prevent the goods from being damaged. A quick stroll into the village with your favourite bag for life to hand would be a much more environmentally friendly way to shop. Plus, it’ll save you marching on the spot in front of the telly come 9pm each evening – every little helps (no pun intended) when trying to hit that daily 10,000 step target!

How You Can Support Them.

If it wasn’t already, it should be pretty clear now why you should support local businesses. If you want to, there are plenty of ways to do so. You can buy from many online or find out where they’re located and go check out their products in person. But even if you don’t have time for all that – or don’t feel like it – you can still be an advocate for Bramhall by telling other people about the benefits of buying local.

Better yet, you can find a full breakdown of goods and services that are available in Bramhall in our local directory.

Our village has everything we need all in one place. And it’s about time we started shouting about it.

Get in touch and tell us what you LOVE about the wonderful independents in our village!