Loree Gaikowski, WSACD Director

It’s Christmas week, the pressure is on. You find yourself parked on main street, wondering where to start. As you step out of your car the lingering smell of hometown cooking in the air mixed with the Christmas decorations on display stir some excitement.

As you enter a shop, familiar smiles greet you. Little do you know just how thankful they are to see you. But you do know that smile will know exactly how to help you find what you are looking for, and you find yourself returning the smile.

For many local business owners, they came into 2020 hoping for great things. Oddly enough, those great things came wrapped in all the blessings that matter and an incredible appreciation for local and visiting consumers.

Shop local. You hear it all the time. But what drives you to shop local? Why do you choose local? Have you ever stopped to think about the risk involved in opening your own business? The faith they must have in their community to make such a risk or what it means to the shop owner to see you walk through their door and invest in their shop?

For the consumer, shopping local may be a simple purchase at a shop and nothing more. Did you know that for every $100 spent locally, $68 of the stays in the local economy? That number gets even higher when the business owner can source locally made merchandise. Employee wages being spent locally, sales tax revenue circling back around to support local infrastructure and projects, and with solid infrastructure and local projects, tourists are inclined to come for a visit, or take the step of making our community home. A choice to shop local really does make a long-term difference, especially in small, rural communities.

When our local businesses are alive and doing well, our community will flourish. I understand not everything can be bought locally, but it may surprise to find out how much actually can be, and how willing our local business owners are to move heaven and earth to get sought after items here for you.

In a collaboration with our local newspaper, The True Dakotan, Wessington Springs Area Chamber & Development has been highlighting local business owners in our “Passion for Business” series. We hope to introduce you to the smiles that greet you at the door, encourage you to go in, look around and see what you may find. Most importantly, create a dialog between consumers and businesses, encouraging conversations on how our businesses can better serve you.

Isn’t that what it’s all about? Why they take the risk of owning a business, relying on the local community for their very livelihood? Because the bittersweet reward of a greeting smile when you walk through their door, reassures them they are a valued piece to the puzzle of our community, helps them find their pulse and know they are still alive and well.

So I ask, are you doing your part to shop local when you have the opportunity? Are you appreciating the investment of the smile behind the business, and the sponsorships they do for local events, activities and even the local Christmas tree on main street?

How might we engage conversations to encourage small business shopping throughout the year, and not only on the holidays?