Loading...
Behind the OPEN Sign
Drive through town early enough in the morning and you’ll see lights beginning to come on.
A restaurant is preparing for breakfast. Someone is opening a shop. An employee is arriving before customers. A delivery has to be received. A register has to be prepared.
By the time we walk through the door, much of the work has already happened.
We see the OPEN sign.
What we don’t always see is what it costs to turn it on.
Before the first customer arrives, somebody has already thought about rent or a mortgage, utilities, insurance, payroll, inventory, taxes, equipment, repairs, supplies, advertising, and a list of expenses most customers will never know about.
Then they unlock the door. And wait.
I think that’s something worth remembering when we talk about local businesses.
“Shop local” has become a familiar phrase. We’ve seen it on signs and social media posts so often that it can become easy to scroll right past it.
But behind that phrase are real people making real decisions.
Someone decided to invest here. Someone decided to employ people here.
Someone decided to take a risk here. Many of them live here too. Their children attend our schools. They sit beside us at church, cheer at the same ballgames, and shop at each other’s stores.
Some businesses have served this community for generations. Others are just getting started and hoping we’ll give them a chance. That doesn’t mean we must purchase everything locally.
Sometimes the product we need isn’t available here. Sometimes price matters. Sometimes selection matters. Sometimes another option simply makes sense. Supporting local business doesn’t require pretending those realities don’t exist. It means understanding what is at stake when we do have a choice. A local purchase may help a business meet payroll.
It may help keep another employee working. It may help pay the utility bill.
It may help an owner replace equipment, purchase inventory, or simply make it through a difficult month. And there’s something else I’ve noticed around our community.
When the school needs a sponsor, when an organization needs a donation, when children need support, when a fundraiser begins, or when another community event needs help, many times we turn to those same local businesses. And they show up. Again and again.
Sometimes their names appear on banners. Sometimes their contributions are never publicly seen. Either way, their ability to keep giving is connected to their ability to keep doing business.
So perhaps shopping locally isn’t only a transaction. Sometimes it’s part of a circle.
We support businesses. Businesses employ neighbors. Those businesses support organizations. Organizations strengthen the community. And the community creates an environment where businesses have a reason to stay. That’s an ecosystem.
And when one part of that circle weakens, the rest of the community eventually feels it.
The next time you pass a local storefront with the lights on, consider what those lights represent.
Commitment. Risk. Jobs. Investment. Possibility. And probably someone inside hoping today will be a good day. When we can support them, let’s remember what we’re really supporting.
Not simply a building. Not simply a product. We’re helping keep another light on in the community we call home.
Around Town Insight™
Every lighted storefront represents somebody who decided this community was worth investing in. When we have the opportunity to support local businesses, we’re participating in an ecosystem that can strengthen jobs, organizations, families, and the community itself.
DrFaye Reader Connections
GET FUNDABLE SUMMIT™
Ready to strengthen your organization and become better prepared for funding opportunities? Register at GetFundable.io.
AROUND TOWN WITH DRFAYE
Know someone whose story should be told, or good work our community should know about? Visit AroundTown.DrFaye.com.
SAVE THE DATE
LOVE: The Experience for Women
February 27, 2027 | 2:00 PM
https://love.drfaye.com/
DrFaye
Chief Fundability Officer — The Fundability Institute™
Host, Around Town with DrFaye | Faith Alive in 5
TheFundabilityInstitute.com | AroundTown.DrFaye.com | FaithAlivein5.com
compliance@drfaye.com
A restaurant is preparing for breakfast. Someone is opening a shop. An employee is arriving before customers. A delivery has to be received. A register has to be prepared.
By the time we walk through the door, much of the work has already happened.
We see the OPEN sign.
What we don’t always see is what it costs to turn it on.
Before the first customer arrives, somebody has already thought about rent or a mortgage, utilities, insurance, payroll, inventory, taxes, equipment, repairs, supplies, advertising, and a list of expenses most customers will never know about.
Then they unlock the door. And wait.
I think that’s something worth remembering when we talk about local businesses.
“Shop local” has become a familiar phrase. We’ve seen it on signs and social media posts so often that it can become easy to scroll right past it.
But behind that phrase are real people making real decisions.
Someone decided to invest here. Someone decided to employ people here.
Someone decided to take a risk here. Many of them live here too. Their children attend our schools. They sit beside us at church, cheer at the same ballgames, and shop at each other’s stores.
Some businesses have served this community for generations. Others are just getting started and hoping we’ll give them a chance. That doesn’t mean we must purchase everything locally.
Sometimes the product we need isn’t available here. Sometimes price matters. Sometimes selection matters. Sometimes another option simply makes sense. Supporting local business doesn’t require pretending those realities don’t exist. It means understanding what is at stake when we do have a choice. A local purchase may help a business meet payroll.
It may help keep another employee working. It may help pay the utility bill.
It may help an owner replace equipment, purchase inventory, or simply make it through a difficult month. And there’s something else I’ve noticed around our community.
When the school needs a sponsor, when an organization needs a donation, when children need support, when a fundraiser begins, or when another community event needs help, many times we turn to those same local businesses. And they show up. Again and again.
Sometimes their names appear on banners. Sometimes their contributions are never publicly seen. Either way, their ability to keep giving is connected to their ability to keep doing business.
So perhaps shopping locally isn’t only a transaction. Sometimes it’s part of a circle.
We support businesses. Businesses employ neighbors. Those businesses support organizations. Organizations strengthen the community. And the community creates an environment where businesses have a reason to stay. That’s an ecosystem.
And when one part of that circle weakens, the rest of the community eventually feels it.
The next time you pass a local storefront with the lights on, consider what those lights represent.
Commitment. Risk. Jobs. Investment. Possibility. And probably someone inside hoping today will be a good day. When we can support them, let’s remember what we’re really supporting.
Not simply a building. Not simply a product. We’re helping keep another light on in the community we call home.
Around Town Insight™
Every lighted storefront represents somebody who decided this community was worth investing in. When we have the opportunity to support local businesses, we’re participating in an ecosystem that can strengthen jobs, organizations, families, and the community itself.
DrFaye Reader Connections
GET FUNDABLE SUMMIT™
Ready to strengthen your organization and become better prepared for funding opportunities? Register at GetFundable.io.
AROUND TOWN WITH DRFAYE
Know someone whose story should be told, or good work our community should know about? Visit AroundTown.DrFaye.com.
SAVE THE DATE
LOVE: The Experience for Women
February 27, 2027 | 2:00 PM
https://love.drfaye.com/
DrFaye
Chief Fundability Officer — The Fundability Institute™
Host, Around Town with DrFaye | Faith Alive in 5
TheFundabilityInstitute.com | AroundTown.DrFaye.com | FaithAlivein5.com
compliance@drfaye.com
A healthy Arkansas County requires great community news.
Please support The Dewitt Era-Enterprise by subscribing today!
Please support The Dewitt Era-Enterprise by subscribing today!
.png)
.png)
.png)