Supporting small business is a way in which the community can help support their own members. Small businesses hire locally, shop locally, and can interact with customers and their community in ways that larger corporations are unable to do. For all these reasons, Asif Ali Gohar feels that it is important to support local small business whenever he can.
Beginning with things that you purchase frequently and that are not a large investment is a great way to support small businesses. Coffee, breakfast, stationary, and books are all great items to purchase from a small business. Knitted and handmade items are also wonderfully made in homes around your community. The money from these types of items is more likely to find their way back into your community as they will also shop locally, eat in local restaurants and enjoy their coffee from the small coffeeshop on the corner.
Another way to support small business is to tell other people about them. Sharing positive experiences and recommending them to your friends. By doing this people are more likely to use a business, as they will trust their friend’s judgement more than online reviews or other suggestions. Sharing your favourite small business with family members and friends will help that business to gain new customers and find the support of the community. If you can share how they are better than large chain stores or larger corporations, then they will be able to keep their business open.
Social media offers a place of interaction, advertising, and sharing information. It is also one of the many ways in which you can support local businesses. Asif Ali Gohar uses his own social media to share pictures and posts about his favourite small businesses when he is there, and afterwards. By doing this he is increasing the awareness of the store, and is encouraging his family, friends, and coworkers to try the locations and to visit themselves. By sharing the business posts, liking their pictures, and interacting with the page for the small business, the interest in them will grow and more people will become aware of their location.
Small businesses can bring a lot of positive interactions to a community. They support local efforts and groups, they offer jobs to people that are local. They even spend their own income within the community as they go ab out their daily lives. Supporting small businesses can keep a community vibrant and thriving, and it helps individual community members to grow their businesses and to support their families, Asif Ali Gohar feels that supporting small businesses creates a positive chain of events in his community and encourages others to do the same. This can be done by spending money at the business, sharing your knowledge of the business with others, and offering recommendations, as well as simply interacting with their social media. All of these things can help to support them even when you aren’t buying from them directly.
