Great Places to Do Business…
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- Accounting, Bookkeeping Services
- Advertising, News
- Agriculture Sales
- Alberta Registries Office
- Automotive Sales, Service
- Automotive Parts, Supplies
- Automotive Service, Tires
- Banking, Financial Services
- Bed & Breakfasts
- Bottled Water, Coolers
- Bus Line
- Cabinetmaker, Carpenters
- Cable, Internet Providers
- Catering
- Chemical Toilets, Septic Systems
- Clothing Stores
- Communications
- Computer Sales, Service
- Construction, Contractors
- Crafts, Hobbies
- Dental Services
- Department Store
- Eavestroughing
- Education, Schools
- Electrical Contractors
- Electronics
- Employment Counseling, Training
- Engraving, Awards, Gifts
- Entertainment
- Esthetic Salon, Day Spa
- Event Rentals
- Farm Implement Sales, Parts/Service
- Farms, Ranches, Feedlots
- Financial Consulting, Investing
- Fitness Center
- Fireplaces, Stoves
- Floor, Window Coverings
- Flowers, Gifts
- Footwear Store
- Freight, Trucking
- Fuel Centers
- Funeral Service, Monuments
- Furniture, Appliance Sales
- Glass
- Giftware, Toys
- Grocery
- Hair & Beauty Salons
- Hardware Store
- Health Food, Supplements
- Heavy Hauling, Trucking
- Heavy Truck Sales & Service
- Home Business, Distributors
- Home Centre
- Home Decor
- Hydraulic Hose, Fittings
- Individuals
- Insurance Agencies
- Janitorial, Cleaning Service
- Jeweller
- Landscape Contractor
- Lawn, Garden Care
- Lawyers
- Liquor Store
- Machining, Welding
- Manufacturing
- Meat Processing, Market
- Medical Services
- Military
- Mobile Mechanical Service
- Motels, Inns
- Municipal Government
- Office Supplies & Furniture
- Oilfield, Industry
- Optical Services
- Organizations, Associations
- Pharmacy, Photo Finishing
- Picture Framing, Artwork
- Photographers
- Plumbing, Heating Contractors
- Printing, Copying
- Promotional Products
- Property Management
- Real Estate Agencies
- Real Estate Appraisal, Property Assessment
- Recreation Vehicle Sales, Service
- Recycling Depot
- Renovations, Residential & Commercial
- Residential Inspection
- Restaurants
- Safety Training
- Sports & Recreation
- Storage
- Tattooing
- Transit Mix
- Travel Agencies
- Variety Stores
- Vehicle Rental
- Water Well Drilling, Water Treatment
- Welding
Q: Why shop locally?
- A: Local merchants can provide things you can’t get from the “big city” stores.
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About the “big stores”…
- Have they ever bought ads in your yearbooks or tickets for your school activities?
- Have they ever opened after hours when you were in desperate need of something they sell?
- Have they ever bought tickets for your church suppers of contributed to worthwhile community projects?
- Have they ever put up your posters in their windows?
- Have they always been handy and willing to service their merchandise when you needed it?
Your local small merchant provides these extras because he or she is your friend and neighbour, and you see them every day in your community. All they ask in return is a chance for your business.
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Let’s Not Forget About Taxes…
There is another very important reason to shop locally, namely, the health of your community infrastructure. Safe communities need good streets, good lighting, good parks and playgrounds, good policing and especially, good water and sanitation. Then there are hospitals and schools, swimming pools, arenas, rodeo grounds and museums, to name but a few of the essentials that we normally take for granted.
We depend on a robust business community to share in the cost of maintaining a high level of service and a quality living environment. Without businesses, the burden will pass to you in the form of increased residential taxes and user fees.
Preventing the erosion of infrastructure and services is far less costly than replacing them, simply because the expense is measured in today’s dollars, not the deflated dollar of the future.
The Bottom Line…
Your buying power increases (or decreases) in direct proportion to the level of local business activity. By shopping locally, the one dollar you spend will go through many hands, generating economic benefits for the entire community at every step along the way. Just as a farmer would not irrigate his neighbor’s fields instead of his own, we need to water our own garden, or rue the day when the harvest is poor.
