What’s your favourite small local business? Your go-to restaurant? The boutique where staff know your favourite colour or the mechanic who always fixes your car on time – and on budget?
Your local MLA wants to hear about them!
“With the pandemic lasting longer than any of us anticipated, we’re seeing many small businesses that are finding it increasingly difficult to hang on,” says Abbotsford South MLA Bruce Banman.
As a former mayor and small business owner himself, Banman understands the challenges facing many business owners. He also understands that the implications of those challenges reach far beyond local storefronts – they impact families, staff and other supporting local businesses.
That’s especially true here in Aldergrove, where small business comprises such a large percentage of the local economy: When small business suffers, everyone is affected.
It’s with that in mind that Banman is urging everyone to shift at least some of their spending to local small businesses. The message: If we don’t, we may lose them forever, he says.
With that in mind, Banman has teamed up with the radio station 107.1 Country for Local Motion: Banter with Banman. On Fridays at 4:15 p.m., Banman joins host Curtis Pope to talk about the importance of supporting our local entrepreneurs and eateries, explore steps we can all take to help AND offer the chance to win some amazing prizes from local businesses.
(In fact, rumour has it that the top prize might even include a visit with your local MLA, who’ll arrive with a well-stocked gift-basket!)
Supporting those who support us
“I think we need to be mindful that when we needed door prizes for our sports team or school fundraiser, it was most likely the local business people who contributed. They believe in paying it back to the communities that support them, and now we need to do the same,” Banman says, noting he’s not opposed to the larger-scale businesses, but that a diverse mix is essential for a vital community.
“These are our neighbours, these are our friends and if we want a strong, diverse economy, if we want healthy competition, if we want our favourite shops and restaurants to be here when the pandemic is over, it’s important that we take the time to support them.”
And in doing so, you’ll be supporting more than one business. Studies have also shown that every dollar spent with a small business has six times the impact locally, he adds.
Hoping for a viral reach through the power of word-of-mouth advertising and social media, “share a good experience you’ve had at a local business or get take-out and post a thank-you,” Banman says. “We’re already known as one of the most giving communities, now we need to reassess how we shop. It’s about doing what’s right, and it’s about doing what’s thoughtful. After all, we’re all in this together.”