How to Invest in Another Mama: Shop Small Shop Local
Family togetherness wins can come when we least expect them. Sometimes they come in big, flashing revelations, but other times, they come as a gradual awakening.
I've been waking up to this family togetherness win for quite some time.
It's the realization that investing in another mama (and family) by shopping small and buying what we need locally can have a big effect on our kids and our own families.
I'll explain.
It started many moons ago when my sister became a self-employed hairstylist and I saw the beautiful relationship she has with each of her clients and the impact each sale (and each tip) made on her family and everyone at the salon.
It grew stronger when my husband and I worked for the billionaire family that owns a big box store chain in America and witnessed first-hand how they treat people as less-than because of their wealth (It's a long, weird story) and even stronger when my husband worked for Amazon's Camperforce a couple of times.
And it's been growing stronger each year since as I buy something I need or want from a small business, get to know the owner, and see the faces behind the things I buy.
Yesterday, as I celebrated my mom on the second anniversary of her death by taking my kids shopping at my favorite local stores (and popping into my very favorite for a mama treat while they weren't looking), the realization became more clear.
It's the realization that getting to know makers, creators, artists, and small business owners builds relationships, and building those relationships makes us better at family togetherness.
It's the realization that we can either invest in other families when we buy things we need or we can feed the big money machines - it's up to us, and we vote either way with every purchase we make.
It's the realization that our kids see what we choose, and we're teaching them how to shop and live and grow relationships, too.
It's why I buy candles from my friend Megan, muffins from the family that runs our local bakery, pillows from a friend of a friend who lives down the street, pies from our local pie lady, pizza from the shop down the street, and coffee mugs from a new friend I met on Etsy.
It's why I get to the local farm when I can and order coffee beans from my favorite roasters back home and my new favorite in my new home state, why I go to small, locally-owned bookstores now (and sell my own books there - one in Maine, one in Georgia) instead of the big ones, and why we rent e-bikes from the guy my friend Owen knows.
It's why I order mailing labels, journals, and Halloween masks and Baby Yoda masks on Etsy, and why I purchase birthday cakes, health help, homeschool help, e-books, books, Anxiety toolkits, personal development, photoshoots, Lightroom Presets, and all kinds of things created by other mamas.
And it's why we work for a family-owned campground which led to my family finding our home after seven years of traveling and me deciding to run my own small business from here.
I've become quite the small business customer these days.
(thanks to my small business owning friends)
But I keep failing at it, too.
When the pandemic started, like a lot of people, I panicked and started ordering everything online. I forgot that I could order from my favorite small businesses and took the easy route by ordering everything on Amazon. One day while shopping the Amazon pages for a candle, it hit me:
Why would I buy a random candle from Amazon when my friend Megan makes hand-poured candles I know I love?
Thankfully that moment helped me realize that I can open the Etsy app on my phone just as quickly and easily as I can open the Amazon app.
Thankfully, my friends have helped me, too. Like one who recently mentioned that while almost all small businesses are struggling due to the pandemic, a claim has been made that the owner of Amazon could give all of his 800,000+ employees a raise of $100K+ each and still be as wealthy as he was before the pandemic started. (Here's that tweet.)
Clearly, Amazon doesn't need our money nearly as much as our local mamapreneurs do.
Also,
So many times it actually ends up being CHEAPER to buy local.
Way cheaper.
Some price tags may look higher at first glance, but when we factor in the quality and longevity and the fact that we actually LIKE what we're buying and will take care of it longer, it's a no-brainer.
And for those things that do cost more at the small shop, as my friend said just the other day,
So what if you spend an extra couple of dollars to buy a hand-made face mask or coffee mug or whatever? If those extra dollars are going into your neighbor's pocket and could help them stay in business, it's totally worth it.
{And as a bonus, we get to grow our hearts bigger by investing in another family and show our kids what it's like to build relationships, exchange value for value, and honor someone else's talent.}
And buying gifts for people we love are so much cooler from local shops, too.
This weekend, if you're in the market for anything from a coffee mug to a candlestick, a spoonrest or even a yummy lunch, grab a family member you're building a deep relationship with, slap on those face masks, and get to a small business close to you. Or hop online and search Etsy for the shops closest to you and get to ordering.
My guess is you'll feel the love just like I do.
Small Businesses featured above:
there are so many more I could mention, but I can't remember them all!
