) local
fl^Unity, say business owners by Mott Comer. Q-Notes staff
described straight ally and perennial NC Pride'
Fest supporter. Ghanem agrees with Wooten
— shopping locally brings benefits for both
her and customers.
“We have better quality, not just in ingredi
ents,but also quality of production,” she says.“We
see our customers face-to-face and we aren’t
operating with cookie-cutter recipes. We can
make products to our customers’ satisfaction.
Wooten says part of being a local, inde
pendent retailer is offering something different.
“If we all owned everything we bought
from big box stores, we’d all be the same,” he
says. “If you want to have places you can go to
find things that are different, things that can
challenge or surprise you, it is important to
shop at an independent retailer who is willing
and ready to go out and search for these
smaller vendors or unique items or those
products not mass produced.”
Ghanem refuses to shop at franchise-
owned retailers. She thinks Durham locals
think and shop similarly. “I think this area in
particular is aware of local shops,” she says.
“Customers know the owner and feel a differ
ent relationship with them.”
John Paul Womble is a long-time commu
nity leader and owner of Passage
Consignment Shoppe in Raleigh. Like
Ghanem, he thinks local community mem
bers and business owners can work hand-in-
hand to make their local neighborhoods and
economies a better place.
“We talk about the importance of support
ing the community and taking leadership roles
in every area, but it is important for the com
munity not only to support businesses, but for
businesses to also support the communityj’he
says. “Some business owners ask,‘Why is the
community not supporting me?’ but at the
same time these businesses aren’t supporting
the community. It is a dual responsibility”
*• With the economic downturn, small busi
ness owners and families are taking a hit.
Womble says the perception in consignment
businesses is that an economic crisis auto
matically means a boost in business. Womble
cautions — that small boost is a double-
edged sword.
“With money being tighter you want to find
the best bargains and deals and stretch your
dollar further than normal,” he says,“but then
there are other folks who have been laid off and
are desperate to sell items from their home just
to pay their bills and feed their families.”
Working locally, small business owners see
first-hand the damage job losses and layoffs
have on their family, friends and customers.
It’s that local relationship that allows Ghanem
to treat her customers well, especially in this
tough economic climate.“I feel their loss and
they feel mine. It is a matter of supporting
each other.”
Womble says shopping locally first is itself
a way to give back to your community.
“If you listen to the news and larger pic
ture of the economic impact, when one person
in a white collar industry loses their
job, by default another four, five or six
people in service or support indus
tries lose their jobs as well,” he says.
“Every time you support a local busi
ness you are underwriting a local
economy in ways you don’t even see.”
Wooten, Ghanem and Womble all
agree — shopping locally will
inevitably lead to better local
economies and communities. Instead
of seeing your dollar split up and
sent off to internation^ vendors,
overpaid CEOs and stockholders
across the country, you can instead
see it split between more locally-
hired employees and small business contribu
tions to community non-profits.
“I’m going to pay local employees and give
back to the community by donating to the
Crape Myrtle Festival, the AIDS W^H-Ride,
local churches for bake sales or silent auctions
and civic organizations,” Wooten says.
He challenges folks to think long and
hard about the last time they heard of Wal-
Mart supporting a local charity event or giv
ing back to a local non-profit: “They are try
ing to sell the largest number of items at the
highest profit for their corporate stockhold
ers. For a local business, our stockholders are
the community.” >
^I(fiinestone ^agmnts
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Sunday, April 19 th, 2009
. Pageant Starts - 8pm • Cheek-In - 6pm
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An oHifirji [jfeiirninr;^; in
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( ]
only online
• Guest Commentary: Can we imagine a local
community that supports itself
. Lending a helping hand: ASO events, fundraisers
. EarthTalU: Living near a gas station
more at q-notes.com!
■ V-
/ft.', ii/
APRIL 4.2009