{"id":665,"date":"2014-07-10T14:24:13","date_gmt":"2014-07-10T14:24:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nelsonboydlaw.com\/blog\/?p=665"},"modified":"2019-08-27T20:09:37","modified_gmt":"2019-08-27T20:09:37","slug":"shop-locally-and-strengthen-your-community","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nelsonboydlaw.com\/blog\/articles\/shop-locally-and-strengthen-your-community\/","title":{"rendered":"Shop Locally and Strengthen Your Community!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Seattle<\/a><\/p>\n

One Christmas, we intentionally tried something different– we \u201cshopped local.\u201d\u00a0 We went to several holiday bazaars in Sequim and Port Angeles and shopped for everyone on our list– and it was wonderful.\u00a0 In Sequim, we met a woman who wove a lovely two-sided purple scarf that we gave to Jeff\u2019s mom.\u00a0 We also met a delightful young couple that hiked out to the New Dungeness Lighthouse with their camera with the massive lens during the middle of a storm (a 10 mile round trip hike!) to take a picture that they made into a jigsaw puzzle that we gave to Jeff\u2019s dad.\u00a0 In Port Angeles, we met a retired man who paints lovely notecards of local scenes that I gave to my godmother.\u00a0 We also bought a dated, handmade wooden ornament from a lady in Port Angeles to add to our collection. We had a fun time shopping, never felt the press of the mall crowds, and our family and friends appreciated receiving something unique and handmade. We also felt good knowing that we had contributed to strengthening the communities we know and love.\u00a0 It was a win-win.<\/p>\n

The choices we made while Christmas shopping extend to the decisions we make every day.\u00a0 We try to make conscious decisions about where we choose to spend our time and our money.\u00a0 Do we shop online or at \u201cbig box stores\u201d and national retailers, or do we shop locally from business owners who live in our community, know us by name, and appreciate our business? We choose the latter and hope you will, too.<\/p>\n

Small businesses are the backbone of America. Their owners live in our communities, pay real estate and school taxes, hire our friends and family members, contribute to community causes, and carry goods and services that will meet the needs of the people who live in our community. They are what make our communities unique and interesting places to live.<\/p>\n

By contrast, national and international corporations are focused solely on the bottom line. They are not interested in enhancing the lives of people who live in the towns where their stores are located. In order to do that, they would have to know those people and care about them. Make no mistake, they don\u2019t.\u00a0 Instead, they specialize in selling goods that were manufactured overseas and trucked in from centralized distribution centers. They pay the lowest wages to their employees and often don\u2019t provide them with employee benefits. They engage in abusive litigation tactics against people who dare to sue them, regardless of whether those people were injured on their property as a result of the corporation\u2019s negligence or whether their employees are suing them for not paying the wages they are entitled to under the law. Quite simply, they are bad community citizens.\u00a0 Why would you want to support that?<\/p>\n

We encourage you to \u201cshop local\u201d and strengthen your community. We think you\u2019ll be delighted by the services and goods that this type of shopping will improve and enhance your happiness quotient.<\/p>\n

Here are a few of the local businesses that we love:<\/p>\n