I woke up to this in my Facebook feed this morning, shared by our downtown organization:
It’s hitting all over. This is in Shippensburg, right down the road from us.
Businesses that have been around for over a dozen years are closing their doors forever.
Even food businesses that can still do take-out & delivery right now.
Also gift shops. Bookstores. Specialty shops. Dance studios. Theatres. Clothing boutiques.
If you have a “little” business you love, now is the time to shamelessly promote them.
Get on their website and buy something, even if it’s something small.
Do whatever you can to help them. Call them to order. Contact them through their social media pages. If you’re uncomfortable buying a gift card to use later, pick out something special for yourself or a loved one.
Before you buy your next widget or “necessity” from a big box store, ask around to see if you can get it local first. You might pay a little more, but you’ll be surprised that in most cases you’ll actually pay less.
Keep in mind that most of these businesses aren’t able to get any funding much less get it in time to pay their bills.
It’s just a matter of fact that these businesses need money now if you want to see them remain open.
They don’t just need likes on their social posts or all those other “free” things you can do to support local.
THEY NEED CASH.
So next time you think to yourself, “Oh man I really loved that business. Too bad it’s gone… I miss it” I challenge you to ask yourself this instead, “What could I have done to help them remain IN business?” And start doing that now for the ones you want to see continue after this is all over.
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