We've heard it all before. Support small, support local, get behind small businesses. But should you really? You'll never find a more biased opinion on the matter than ours, so with that disclaimer out of the way, here's the very fair, very balanced article.
The honest answer is that the question gets hard when you're staring at a similar item from a major retailer for half the price and all of the convenience. We get it. We all know we should support small, but push comes to shove and the lines blur. So here's what actually happens when you do.
Small businesses ARE the culture of a neighbourhood
Isn't it interesting that no community is defined by its big retailers? It's the little shop in the back streets, the bakery down the alley, the boutiquey soap shop. The character of a place is built from its small, independent businesses, and they only exist while people choose them.
They're communities inside communities
When we think about our little coffee shop, we think about the people. Paramedics stopping in daily, mums groups, running groups, work-from-homers, families. People have become genuine friends because they kept crossing paths at Wildflower. That still blows us away.
They're run by real people, employing real people
No board, no unseen CEO. Just locals chasing their dreams and working their butts off, usually employing more locals along the way. Independent businesses also take the creative risks the big players won't, which is where the interesting products come from.
Your money stays in your area
Spend at a chain and your dollars work their way up a corporate ladder. Spend small and they go into the pocket of someone who lives, shops and gets their hair cut in your area. Supporting local is literally investing in your own neighbourhood.
They give back
Small businesses punch way above their weight on community support. Our own fundraisers over the years, from bushfire brekkies to junior football sponsorships, only happened because people supported us first. Check the community section of our ethics page to see what your coffees have funded.
And the honest bit
Eight years in, it still feels surreal that people support our little dream. With the store especially, we take big risks buying stock, and the bank account does not look good afterwards. We come in every day crossing our fingers that people keep caring.
Ri and Jack have been known to let out a little cheer when an online order comes through while we're eating dinner (this is true and we're not ashamed).
So if you've ever chosen a small business when it wasn't the convenient option, from all of us: thank you. It means more than you'd believe. And if it's not something you've thought about, have a look around your area this week. You'll be changing someone's life.