Hurry in, shop local, help sustain a local business
It’s that time of year when local businesses are trying to figure out how to get through the end of the year amidst the holiday chaos. Hospitality and tourism businesses are especially feeling the pain of the student population being gone until the start of the spring semester.
Tallahassee is more than a football and politics town. I acknowledge those are heavy dollar traffic times of year, but small businesses cannot solely rely on those busy days to survive and sustain themselves. The other six months of the year are when our small business owners need the most help from those who live, work and play in Tallahassee year-round.
To put all our eggs in one basket is not a realistic way to operate as a business. Events tend to bring in out of town visitors which helps drive the local economy. Restaurants, hotels, and other service industries help fuel the businesses around them when people are here.
If you’re in town for the holidays keep the workers who are here in mind as they are working through one of the slowest times of year. A lot of them rely on their wages to get through the holiday season. Until it picks up again, I strongly encourage you to shop and support local businesses over the big box and national ones as local dollars go right back into the local economy.
Get out and explore the areas of town you don’t make it to throughout the year. Take a short trip to our neighboring communities like Thomasville, Georgia, Monticello, and Marianna. Tip extra as that could make your service industry worker’s year. You never know what someone is going through outside of work so every little bit could brighten that person’s day.
The local boost this time of year is the magic formula to help keep these businesses afloat until the new year. As a respected colleague says, “locals supporting locals” is more than a mindset, it should be a lifestyle.
Places like Railroad Square, Downtown, Midtown, Southside, Bannerman Crossings, are here year-round and are eagerly awaiting you, especially if you haven’t been by in a while. Most of them are open seven days of the week.
With all the businesses that have come and gone this year let’s help give those remaining a chance to have a sustainable future. The more we frequent small, local businesses the less chance they have of closing and the better opportunity they have to stay around for years to come.
Mike Goldstein owns and operates Capital City Pedicabs and is a proud resident of Tallahassee. You can reach him at Ccpedicabs2012@gmail.com.
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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Hurry in, shop local, help sustain a local business/ Opinion
