Support Our Small Businesses

Before you point your mouse to online shopping websites or hop in your car for a day of “big box store” browsing, consider supporting our local small businesses. You’ll find better service, competitive pricing, and a selection of goods that may surprise you.

Beyond those benefits, you’ll also help local business owners who depend on the holiday shopping season for a majority of their annual sales. And have you heard of the multiplier effect? When you spend a dollar locally, it becomes income for someone else who also spends locally, creating a ripple effect that benefits many individuals and families. The tax revenue generated also pays for public services you and your fellow citizens depend on every day.

As you read through “The Groundhog,” spend a few minutes looking at all the businesses that advertise in these pages. They know you’re here, and they have chosen to spend money to support the newspaper and entice its readers — you — to give them a try.

Not every advertiser is a business that provides goods, but even service providers such as banks, attorneys, and real estate agencies are locally owned and part of our greater community. And they want the opportunity to serve you as well. November 30 is Small Business Saturday, where the SBA celebrates the 422,000-plus small Alabama businesses and the 1.2 million small Georgia businesses that make up more than 99 percent of the businesses in their respective states. But don’t wait until November 30; the next time you’re ready to make a purchase, ask yourself, “Can I buy this locally?”

Will you join us in supporting our local shops this holiday season? You’ll find friendly faces, unique gifts, and lots of appreciation for your patronage.

Thanks for shopping local!