helentc.com - helentc.com 6 Parker Street

Hey it is great to be connected, and it is great to be local.

I am local

I am part of a local neighbourhood, a small community, a large city, a south pacific region, a hemisphere and strangely enough, yes, I am local.

Supporting local starts with my small community. You see we live rurally, we have a small block of shops – a butcher, 2 dairies/corner store, a café, hairdresser, 2 bakeries, chemist, post shop, petrol station and a pub – yep, that is about it!

Imagine this…

If all of us in our small community went to the heart of Auckland city for haircuts, our petrol, our prescriptions etc… the ultimate result would be our ‘local’ shops and enterprises would close.

Now, ponder the concept in our beautiful industry….

Answer this question – If none of the locals shopped in your store would your business survive?

For most of us in retail, unless we have an incredible online presence, and one that is globally recognised and very successful – the answer is NO!

So we can all agree that ‘Local’ is important right!

Next question – Look at your stock and your supply chain …

How much of it is local?

Yes, from your town, your city, your country, your hemisphere – New Zealand and Australia..

Do you make a conscious effort to support suppliers from your own community/country first?

Have you ever thought about considering the ‘local’ supplier over a big international player?

What happens if we don’t support ‘local’ – easy, they disappear! And, if the locals don’t support you, then the chances are you will disappear.

There are 3 reasons why I love LOCAL:

1. I can build a personal relationship with my customers and my supply chain. They understand my market and my business model.
2. It is more cost and time effective to deal with local suppliers – I don’t have the same freight charges, customs, import costs and time delays with delivery.
3. It is a two way street – I support local and local support me.

The surprising fact is that when I have made a conscious effort to look for local suppliers, I have found in a number of cases something more brilliant than I could have found by going off shore.

But, then I am an individual, I don’t need to follow what everyone else does. I don’t need to have the same, look and behave the same, I am comfortable in my skin being different. I love being individual, different and of cause I love being ‘local.

I want to aggravate and agitate your thought process around ‘Local’…

So, how ‘local’ are you?

Are your shoppers ‘local’?

How dependent are you on ‘local’ for your revenue stream?

Do you support your ‘local’ community?

Do you engage with your ‘local’ supply chain?

Do you choose ‘local’ over international suppliers?

Here is one of my challenges to you for 2018:

1. When you need a supply chain – think ‘local’ first
2. When you work on growing your business, think local first – what does your local community want and where would they most appreciate the supply from
3. Make contributing to ‘local’ part of your DNA – give back to your local communities

For me, yes – proud to be ‘Local’

See you in your local area sometime soon!

Thought for today: