PICK 3. SPEND 50. SAVE YOUR LOCAL ECONOMY

Greetings!

I was recently made aware of the 3/50 project and wanted to share my thoughts.

What three independently owned businesses would you miss if they disappeared? Try stopping into those businesses and say hello. Pick up something that brings a smile. Did you know that if half of the employed population spent $50 each month in locally owned independent businesses, it would generate more than $42.6 billion in revenue? Did you know that for every $100 spent in locally owned independent stores, $68 returns to the community through taxes, payroll, and other expenditures? If you spend that in a national chain, only $43 stays in Indianapolis. Spend it online and NOTHING stays in Indianapolis.

The 3/50 project is a buy-local movement to help save the "brick and mortar" businesses that this nation was built on. If you visit www.the350project.net, you can rally 'round the campaign by signing up. The site is filled with talking points to help retailers tell the buy-local story. Awareness is the main driving point for the campaign. When you buy from local businesses, you are supporting the person who sits next to you at church, the parent you see at your kid's soccer games, and the people who keep your community vibrant by paying taxes, employing people and spending their advertising dollars locally.

I welcome you to visit the site, learn more about it, and go to its resource page to download the free flier to hand out to your customers. While we all seem to be mesmerized by the “global” news, I feel it is important to bring awareness to our local Indianapolis community.

This movement is great awareness, especially for furniture dealers. Many of our “on-line” out-of-state competitors are actually not furniture dealers; they are "order gatherers" and therefore do not keep your money in the local community in which you live.

Think about it………..your own job may depend on it.