If local small businesses are supported by local shopping habits, they can afford to keep and fairly pay employees. Some of us make sure we meet payroll before we pay ourselves. The bottom line is simple. Business is dependent on sales.... if sales drop, business owners either close, or stop employing others in order to feed themselves. For most of us, our business is our bread and butter, at pretty high risks in small markets like Owen Sound. There are no highly paid executives, and no shareholder payouts on the backs of frontline workers.
Most of us scrub floors and toilets, serve our customers and treat them like friends, pay our taxes, donate to community causes, and try to be fair to our hard working employees (if we have any). There appears to be a misconception that you pay more by shopping local. Firstly, do, your homework to compare apples to apples; secondly, look at the shipping and travel costs built into buying elsewhere; thirdly, as described above, consider the consequences of not supporting local business. A downtown core with empty stores serves no one.
Ruth Parsons
