Local First is about choice and using your purchasing power to cast a vote for those things you believe in.

   Your purchasing power makes you the most sought after person by every merchant out there so why not utilize that power to vote for a stronger local community? You could choose to spend and send your money out of state and enrich some other far off community by making a purchase at one of those national chain stores, but, Casting your vote for a stronger community is as simple as choosing to make a purchase through a local merchant. 

Here is a few examples of the power of Local First.

1. For every two jobs national retailers bring to a community, three jobs are lost due to local businesses closing down.
2. When you shop locally owned businesses, your money is re-circulated over and over and may create as much as 75% more tax revenue to your community and state.
3. Local businesses raise the standard of living in your community through the recirculation of their profits and purchasing their goods and services from other local businesses.
4. Millions of dollars of tax revenue subsidies handed to chains by financially-starved local governments drain even more tax revenue from your community and state.
5. Blighted empty shopping areas are created in your community when chain stores re-locate to a more lucrative shopping center, or leave the area altogether.
6. Local businesses are unique enterprises that contribute to the character of your community by offering a more diverse selections of goods and services.
7. Independent businesses provide meaningful service with a personal touch. It matters to them that you are satisfied and will come back again.
8. Carefully planned predatory pricing practices have allowed national chains to establish virtual monopolies as they drive local competition out of business. And then they raise their prices.
9. Purchasing locally grown food stuffs helps the environment first by consuming vegetables that grow in the region naturally so require less water and soil fertilization, and secondly, reduces the transportaion energy and pollution that would have otherwise been created from shipped in food stuffs.

So, How Do I Get Started!...WELL... Get Into IT! ... Make a choice with a few simple steps:

• Make a choice to find a locally owned business.
• Dine at a local, independent restaurant and treat yourself to a unique and personal dining experience.
• When you shop online with out-of-state companies, it doesn't contribute a dime to the local economy. So check for members who offer the same products locally.
• Look for the Local First Arizona logo when you shop and tell other independent businesses about Local First Arizona.
• Use this BUSINESS DIRECTORY to locate businesses offering specific goods or services.

   As you can see, Local first is not at all that difficult to get into and for just a tad bit more fore-thought you can have a far deeper sense of community, a feeling of belonging to a culture you helped define and creating a greener world for you, your family and your community.

Shantal Chase