SUPPORTING SMALL BUSINESSES ACROSS AMERICA

FOUNDER OF INDEPENDENT WE STAND TEACHES US TO SHIFT OUR MINDSET TO “BUY LOCAL” SO OUR PURCHASES SUPPORT OUR LOCAL ECONOMIES

**LIVE FROM MAIN STREET IN SYKESVILLE, MD**

Bill Brunelle

Co-Founder of Independent We Stand

According to the Small Business Administration (SBA), for every $100 spent at small businesses, $48 is put back into the local economy. But if that same $100 is spent at big box store or national retailer, only $14 makes it back to our local economy. Main Streets are the heartbeat of America’s cities and towns. They play an important part in the long-term success of communities and help build a sense of place. If every family in the country shifted just $10 a month to locally-owned, independent businesses instead of national chains, more than $9.3 billion would be directly returned to local economies.

A Federal Reserve report shows the pandemic resulted in the permanent closure of roughly 200,000 U.S. establishments – individual companies account for about two-thirds (roughly 130,000) of the extra closures. The hardest hit small businesses, according to the Fed study – barber shops, nail salons and other providers of personal services. In this interview, Bill Brunelle, co-founder of Independent We Stand will talk more about the organization and share the positive effects of buying local including: 

• When you eat, play and stay local— those businesses, in turn, continually pump your hard-earned dollars back into the local economy by way of taxes, payrolls and purchases. This translates into more money for roads, schools, services and new jobs in your community.
• Independent retailers return THREE times more money to local economies than national chain retailers.
• Independent restaurants return TWO times more money to local economies than national restaurant chains.
• Independent retailers return SEVEN times more money to local economies than online giants.
• Residential neighborhoods served by a successful independent business district gained, on average, 50 percent in home value as compared to citywide markets.

For more information please visit: www.independentwestand.org

MORE ABOUT BILL BRUNELLE:
Bill Brunelle is co-founder of Independent We Stand, a cause-marketing campaign sponsored by STIHL Inc. with support from associate sponsors Do It Best Corp., Nationwide Marketing Group and tmbr. Independent We Stand is dedicated to educating communities about the importance and strong economic benefits of supporting locally owned businesses. Independent We Stand inspires small business owners across the country to celebrate their locally owned status and help consumers understand the importance of supporting them.

Produced for:  Independent We Stand