Shopping locally is one of the best ways to preserve local character and promote successful, sustainable communities.
According to Statistics Canada, 98 percent of employers are small businesses and they hire just under 70 percent of the total private labour force.
With this many of friends, family and neighbours owning or working for small businesses, it is crucial that they are able to succeed.
Local entrepreneur, Debbie Viveiros, joined the Bradford Mammas Facebook group just four years ago. Since then, she has been able to grow her mortgage business by helping the self-employed small business owners in the Bradford and surrounding area.
“Since I started my own business, I’m way more conscious today than I was even a few years ago about shopping local,” said Viveiros. “I realized that I needed to be working purposefully toward building community.”
After spending time with the local ladies in the group, and seeing how dozens of women were facing difficulties in running their own businesses, Viveiros teamed up with the group's creator and administrator, Genna Colucci, to help foster the local business spirit in Bradford.
The two women have rented the arena floor of the Bradford Memorial Community Centre, brought about 40 vendors together from the group to showcase their work for the group’s second ever vendor show.
In support of their event and local businesses in general, Viveiros has also kicked off the Shop Local Challenge. The challenge is an opportunity for shoppers to win $500 by supporting a locally owned and operated small business with at least a $100 purchase.
“Our goal is to encourage 1000 people to each spend $100 at a local business and put $100,000 into our community by December 11,” said Viveiros.
One of the motivating factors for the Shop Local Challenge was after seeing more self-employed people in the Bradford area and the need to help ensure their success in the community.
“We’re trying to get people to realize that shopping local is important,” said Viveiros, “Amazon is convenient, but they don’t sponsor your kids’ soccer teams. If you get people thinking about how and where they spend their money, it can make a really big difference.”
To enter the challenge, customers must send their proof of purchase from any local small business to the email: [email protected]. “That proof of purchase will be your entry into the challenge,” explained Viveiros.
If you spend $100 at the upcoming Bradford Mammas event on Nov. 2, you’ll get an extra ballot for the challenge.
“We’re excluding the franchises,” she continued, “While franchises are important, with many donating to events and charities in town, this contest is about the mom and pop operations and home-based businesses that need to bring in dollars for the end of the year.”
To find what you’re looking for in the Bradford area, check out the partial lists of small businesses on the Bradford Board of Trade Business Directory here or the Shop Bradford Directory here.
