Welcome!

I'm Tami Parks, fourth-generation entrepreneur and small business person. I love small business and consider it the heartbeat of America's marketplace. My family has been involved in real estate, service, and retail; we're just regular people who have a passion for serving others and being our own bosses.

My husband and I have made a committment to run our business, Great Lakes Wedding Gown Specialists, LLC, as a debt-free business. This blog is our accountability partner!

Friday, July 2, 2010

Happy Independents' Week!

No, that's not a typo or spelling mistake.  Independent businesses all around the country recognize July 1-7 as "Indendents' Week", celebrating local, independent merchants, restuarants, and services!

This is an issue about which I am quite passionate, both as a business owner and as a customer.  For each dollar spent at a local, independent business, approximately $.68 stays in the community!  Compare this with $.13 that stays in the community for each dollar spent at a "big box" store.

Local businesses employ local workers; you, your family members, and your neighbors.  The other businesses that they choose to work with for their services, such as accountants, waste pickup, cleaning, etc., are more likely to be other local, independent businesses, too.  The profit dollars are invested back into the same community and not sent on to a large corporate headquarters.

When doing business with a local company, you are more likely to get a better product and almost always guaranteed more personal service.  At the bookstore that I frequent, I get book recommendations from the owner herself.  The coffee shops right near my business will often hand-deliver or call me when my favorite items are on special!

In our family's drycleaners, I cannot count the times that my dad has given special care or free delivery to a customer who needed a piece of clothing or a household article "immediately".  At my bridal store, I can guarantee better quality and service to my brides than the large, "big-name" bridal warehouses; I promise!

Now, I am not naive about the fact that even the large stores with out-of-state headquarters still hire local workers.  I also will admit to enjoying my weekly trip to Target, with it's dollar deals and cute, cheap clothes that I wear for a season and then toss.  But, I will always invest my time and money in a local, independent business when quality and service is a priority.

So, ask you to join me in celebrating "Independents' Week" by visiting a local merchant, building a relationship, and then enjoying the best that our marketplace has to offer!

September's Bride is a proud member of LIBA- Lakeshore Independent Business Alliance

4 comments:

Anonymous August 19, 2010 at 9:33 AM  

registry cleaner , Software program that scans the Registry and appears for obsolete and ill records.
Software generally generate Registry entries for momentary data and pointers to other files, but in no way remove them. In addition, http://www.registry1000.com/ , [url=registry cleaner]http://www.registry1000.com/[/url] if ringbinders are manually deleted through the user.
Registry entries may point out files that don't exist. A Registry software can ahtvniwxnjnjnjnnjaw participate a package of method tools or a stand-alone, registry cleaner software

Anonymous September 3, 2010 at 2:34 PM  

Take Neopoints to archive your highest target on Neopets.
Neopets is a very burdensome plan to reap Neopoints yourself in, it may appropriate months of hardwork honourable to create 1,000,000 Neopoints!
[url=http://buyneopoints.org]Buy Neopoints[/url] and clear the essential Neopets cheats!

Neopets has tons of games you can take part in, and when you buy neopoints, it intention make your experience much bettert!
Essay us absent from today and you won't regret it, Neopoints packages start from fair-minded $2.25!
Buy Neopoints

Anonymous September 3, 2010 at 5:52 PM  

hiya


great forum lots of helpful people just what i need can anybody tell me how they have built there list for people interested in marketing


hopefully this is just what im looking for, looks like i have a lot to read Im trying to find a way to build an e-mail list.

Anonymous September 4, 2010 at 5:11 AM  

hey


Just saying hello while I look through the posts I'm trying to find out how to make an e-mail list with out having to spend a wad of cash on some training course


hopefully this is just what im looking for, looks like i have a lot to read Im trying to find a way to build an e-mail list.