Choosing local makes a difference

COEUR d’ALENE — Shopping locally was the theme of the first Choose Local Fest at City Park Saturday.

Event organizer Nels Jensen from the Inland Northwest Heart of Business said he was not impressed with the “Shop Local” movement at first, but when he dug into the details, he learned a community the size of Coeur d’Alene would see an increase of $3 million in revenue if shoppers shifted one percent of their purchases from national chain stores like Walmart to local retailers.

“That money doesn’t dissipate,” he said. “That money compounds and grows.”

Chad Von Lind, owner and maker at Craft & Lore in Coeur d’Alene, said the impact of choosing local retailers is huge.

“I never fully understood the importance of local business until I started my own business,” he said.

It’s changed the way he shops, and the way he sources materials.

“We want it as locally-made as possible,” said Von Lind, who builds his high-quality products almost exclusively with American materials.

According to Jensen, every $100 spent at locally-owned retailers yields $47.70 for the community. At locally-owned restaurants, the number increases to $64.90. At chain stores, only $13.60 comes back to the community, and the number drops to $0 with $100 in online purchases, added Jensen.

In addition to the impact that choosing local has on the community, a major theme of the Choose Local Fest was the benefit of local businesses helping one another.

Nate Parker of N8’s Tech Services started his smartphone repair business three years ago in a basement and now has a storefront in the Silver Lake Mall. He said customers can look him in the eye and know exactly what’s happening with their phone. It also helps that he can do the work cheaper than the national competition.

“I can do it locally for a few hundred dollars, or they can send it off for a few thousand,” he said.

Parker started off just helping people recover their data, but found that he needed to also fix the phones in order to recover the data. So, he taught himself smartphone repair by watching videos on YouTube.

While growing his fledgling business, Parker would refer computer repair requests to Anthony Nichols at Nichols Computer. Nichols said about a third of his business was in smartphones, but he didn’t like to do the work, so he would return the favor and refer customers to Parker.

After a period when Nichols and Parker referred business to one another across town, Nichols invited Parker to set up a bench inside Nichols Computer. The result was that business for Nichols Computer doubled, said Nichols.

“We need each other,” he said, regarding cooperation among local businesses. Parker agreed, adding that money stays in the family when we choose to spend our dollars with local businesses.

Like other entrepreneurs at the Choose Local Fest, Bob and Gail Emmons of B&G Sweet Heat Peppers & Marinade in Spokane gave credit for their business success to the support of local customers and local businesses. They partner with local Inland Northwest retailers to drive business to their stores, and in turn to receive business from those stores’ shoppers.

Social media and word of mouth from neighbors has made the business grow organically, said Gail. After ordering jars of candied jalapeños from Texas for years and playing around with recipes to make his own, Bob decided to sell some jars of the sweet, spicy treats to help his kid go on a trip. A year later when the trip had come and gone, friends and family were still asking for the peppers. Three years later, Gail works full-time on the business while Bob pulls double duty on the enterprise and his other job.

Despite the allure of Amazon and chain retailers, some vendors indicated many customers prefer to shop local. Lena Phillips of Cherry Bomb Organic Garlic in Newman Lake, Wash. said local food growers are great because customers can know exactly where their food is coming from and can talk to the growers. Similarly, customers in the market for a high-end product want to buy locally.

“It’s a turn-off if it’s made out of the state or country,” said Von Lind. She said small businesses have two obstacles to overcome: the convenience of being able to buy everything at once at a big box store, and price point. In response, Von Lind gives locals discounts of 15-20 percent at the Craft & Lore workshop and at local events.

Jensen said he’s not against chain stores or Amazon, but the community needs to know what happens when they make their shopping decisions. In 2016, 14.6 percent of gross sales in the United States went to Amazon and online, he said. Nothing came back to the local community from those purchases.

“That trend could mean your job,” said Jensen.

The inaugural Choose Local event included food trucks, live music, a beer and wine garden, family fun zones, and a fine arts and farmers’ market, all of which came from local businesses, according to Jensen.

To learn more about the festival and how to Choose Local, go to www.chooseloc.al.