Tools for Growing Local Businesses

MAKING THE CASE FOR LOCALLY OWNED, INDEPENDENT BUSINESS

• Books & Films
  Our recommended reading and watching list.

• Declaration of Independents
  Lecture delivered by Stacy Mitchell at the 26th Annual E.F. Schumacher Lectures.

• Key Studies
  Summaries of a variety of studies that have examined the hidden cost of chain stores and the benefits of locally owned businesses. 

• Locally Owned vs. Chain: The Local Premium
  This one-page factsheet explains how dollars spent at locally owned stores circulate in the local economy.

• Selected Articles from the Hometown Advantage
  Read about latest research on the impact of chain retailers and the benefits of local businesses.  Sign-up for the newsletter.

• Why Support Locally Owned Businesses?
  Our top ten reasons.

LAUNCHING A LOCAL BUSINESS ALLIANCE AND BUY LOCAL CAMPAIGN

• Survey Finds "Buy Local" Message Benefitting Independent Businesses
  For the fourth year in a row, a national survey of independent businesses has found that those in communities with an active "buy local" campaign have experienced markedly stronger revenue growth compared to those located in areas without such a campaign.

• Buy Local Slide Show
  View examples of how communities are promoting the importance of supporting locally owned businesses.

• Catalyzing Your Own "Buy Local" Movement CD
  Available from the New Rules online store, this CD contains 130 slides synched with audio.
  

• How to Start a Buy Local Campaign
  Buy local campaigns are changing people's shopping habits in cities across the country. This 4-page factsheet offers tips on how to launch one in your community.

• Map of Local Business Alliances
  Click the markers on this map to link to more than 120 Buy Local and Local First initiatives nationwide.

• Selected Articles from the Hometown Advantage
  Read about some of the most effective "buy local" and "local first" campaigns in the country. Sign-up for the newsletter.

• Other Organizations:

  • American Independent Business Alliance (AMIBA)

  • Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE)

  • IndieBound

FINANCING LOCAL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT 

• The Vital Role of Community Banks
  Small local and regional banks provide the majority of loans for small businesses. Expanding these local financial institutions would increase credit for independent businesses and reinvigorate local economies. 

• Financing Local Grocery Stores: The Pennsylvania Model
  The Fresh Food Financing Initiative has seeded more than 50 independent grocery stores in urban neighborhoods and small-town downtowns.

• How to Launch a Community-Owned Store
  Citizens in a number of towns have formed community corporations, raised capital through local stock issues, and opened their own department stores.

• Grassroots Financing is Underwriting a New Crop of Neighborhood Businesses
  Just as CSAs have played a key role in the rebirth of small-scale farms, so too may these new community-supported enterprise models help launch a new generation of independent grocers, bookstores, and other neighborhood businesses.

• SBA Loan Guarantees
  These guarantees allow banks to absorb more risk and thus to make loans to a much larger number of small businesses.

• Selected Articles from the Hometown Advantage
  News on strategies to develop and expand independent businesses. Sign-up for the newsletter.

ENACTING PUBLIC POLICIES THAT SUPPORT INDEPENDENT BUSINESSES

Use the "Rules" menus in the right column to explore a wide range of local, state, regional and federal policies that can curb the power of big retail corporations and strengthen and grow independent businesses.  Here are some of the kinds of policies you could pursue in your own community or state:

• Require an economic impact review before large retail development projects can be approved.

• Adopt local land use policies, such as a store size cap or formula business ordinance, that foster unique, community-scaled businesses.

• Make "buy local" the policy of your city and state government through a local purchasing preference.

• Eliminate public subsidies that underwrite the construction of malls and big-box stores.

• Close a common state tax loophole that gives big retailers a significant edge over independent businesses.

• Advocate for reviving antitrust policy and enforcement.

• To ensure a level playing field, require large internet retailers to collect sales taxes just as local stores must.  

REVITALIZING DOWNTOWN AND NEIGHBORHOOD BUSINESS DISTRICTS

• Other Organizations:

  • Community Land Use and Economics
    A consulting firm that helps communities create vibrant, dynamic downtowns and neighborhoods.

  • National Main Street Center
    Effective model and many resources to help revitalize downtowns and neighborhood business districts.