"Think Global, Act Local"

While we haven’t seen the numbers from this year’s small business Saturday, we can probably assume it was a rousing success. The campaign garnered over 2.7 Million “Likes” on Facebook and had the Twittersphere buzzing with thousands upon thousand of tweets tagged with #smallbusinesssaturday.

President Obama’s campaign even gave the event the presidential push.

All of this is extremely heartening to see, especially during harder economic times. The phrase “Think Global, Act Local” is more than just a cute rhyme that fits well on t-shirts and placards. Working locally to improve your community is one of the most effective acts of kindness that you can undertake, and the results of working locally are typically felt right away. Even if you don’t have the time to volunteer or help out, you can do your part by putting a little thought into where you shop and buying from local, small businesses. Small businesses create jobs, pump money into the local economy and helps everyone in the community.

eLocal put out an awesome and highly informative Info-Graphic that shows exactly how doing something as simple as buying from local, small businesses instead of giant chains can both help your community and the natural environment:

As the graphic shows, buying from locally owned stores does more than just help your hometown. It really can have far reaching effects both economically and ecologically! So instead of buying groceries at Wal-Mart, drive out to a Farmer’s Market. And instead of doing your holiday shopping at Target, try and throw a little business to smaller, specialty stores.

Yes, doing this can take a little more time and energy, but the effects are wide reaching and, as eLocal’s graphic shows, well worth the effort. Hopefully we can extend the amazing reception Small Business Saturday received and continue to help local stores get a piece of the ever coveted market of holiday shoppers.

So enjoy your holiday shopping, and remember to give a little love to your local small business.