Which do you prefer? : Small tea business vs "The Big Guys"

   Small businesses put in a lot of love for their customers and always make sure you are #1 on their list. Which little things do they do while keeping us in mind? Here is a list of points that shows the contributions that small tea businesses make just for you.

1. Support yourself: When you buy from an independent, locally owned business rather than a nationally owned business, significantly more of your money is used to make purchases from other local businesses, service providers and farms - continuing to strengthen the economic base of your community.

2. Support community groups: Non-profit organizations receive an average of 250% more support from smaller business owners than they do from larger businesses.

3. Keep our community unique: Where we shop and where we eat and have 

fun is what makes our community home. Our one-of-a-kind businesses add to what makes our community distinct and original. Our tourism businesses also benefit - when people go on vacation they generally seek out destinations that offer them the sense of being somewhere different.

4. Reduce environmental impact: Locally owned businesses can make more local purchases requiring less transportation. They generally set up shop in town or in city centres as opposed to developing on the fringe. This generally means contributing less to sprawl, congestion, habitat loss and pollution.

5. Create more good jobs: Small local businesses are the largest employers nationally and in our community, provide the most jobs to residents.

6. Get better service: Local businesses often hire people with a better understanding of the products they are selling and take more time to get to know their customers. 

7. Invest in community: Local businesses are owned by people who live in your community, are less likely to leave, and are more invested in your community’s future.

8. Put your taxes to good use: Local businesses in town centres require less infrastructure and make more efficient use of public services compared to nationally owned stores entering the community.

9. Buy what you want: A marketplace of tens of thousands of small businesses is the best way to ensure innovation and low prices over the long term.  A multitude of small businesses, each selecting products based not on a national sales plan but on their own interests and the needs of their local customers guarantees a much broader range of product choices specific to your needs.

10. Encourage local prosperity: Entrepreneurs and skilled workers are more likely to invest and settle in communities that preserve their one-of-a-kind businesses and distinctive character.
    
(Via. Sawadee Tea House )