Small Business

A family friend, when contemplating to stop into a small business, said something to the effect “I am not giving them my money.” It was a coffee shop and they were going to home-brew at their house. Fair enough, I said - but you can’t have good, healthy, and vibrant downtowns without patronage, turnstiles and purchases. For those that live in small places with small, quintessential, quaint downtowns, remember that “shop small” and “buy local” themes are not necessarily personified and carried out by all residents. Promote when you can, leave a review, think about where you can buy local for something, etc. The spillover effects are tremendous. We had a local entrepreneur legend pass recently, Ralph Parker, former proprietor of the Livonia Inn for ~40 years. He donated to countless charities and fundraisers over the years. Amazon and Wal Mart and McDonalds didn’t contribute a dime. That’s why I gave him, and others like him taking the chance on small business enterprise downtown in our small community, my business and why you should too!