It is crucial for the next two months to BUY LOCAL!
COVID-19 will result in some industries and countries doing
better than others – but without our support local small businesses will suffer
Wow, this certainly escalated quickly. In the United
States the coronavirus went from a minor story to a national emergency in a heartbeat.
It seems like yesterday - March 11th - when the World
Health Organization declared the coronavirus a pandemic. That for me was the
turning point...
Life got a little trickier – what about the family, work, school, NCAA tournament,
baseball, etc.? I had to scramble to put six weeks of lectures and material for my courses at Marquette University online. And life for millions of people has changed almost overnight as they adapt to the changes in daily activities.
In Marquette University’s Applied Investment Management (AIM)
program, the students learn how to evaluate companies and industries. And one
thing is very clear with the COVID-19 pandemic – local small businesses will likely fail
without their customers.
Before you order everything you need for the next two months online from
Amazon.com, think about how you can support your local retailers. Jeff Bezos' business will survive the pandemic, but your local bakeries, restaurants, and retailers won't without your support.
Think about going out and supporting your local businesses. While you should follow the CDC’s guidelines
on restaurants, I hope you try to eat out (or at least order take-out) - and we should consider other ways to support small businesses.
Alright, if you can't eat out - then order carry-out or
delivery. And if you can safely buy something locally instead of buying it
online from Amazon or some big box store's web site, then do your best to support small
businesses. Also, if you need something from a hardware or craft store - or anything else – then call and ask them to hold it for you. Who knows,
they might actually deliver it to your home.
Why should we do this? Well, because it matters - you see, if we don’t support our local
service providers and retailers, then they will fail. At this time we need to
support each other and not let the next two months destroy what remains of our
local businesses – Amazon, Walmart and Target have already hurt many to the point of breaking.
Over the next two months please be safe and smart. If you are sick, stay home and don’t go to work or school. Call your
parents and tell them and other people that you are close to that you care about them. This is a
good time to read the books you’ve been putting off or to find creative ways to
connect with friends with more than a one-line text.
While it is important to
follow the social distancing suggestions of the CDC, don’t allow our local businesses down –
the next two months are critical to their survival.
Take care of yourself and each other - and see you in May!
