Small business needs you
The power of spending consciously has never been more impactful than in 2020. Between January to today we have experienced significant, tragic disruptions to our lives and livelihoods. Small businesses are the bedrock of Australian goods and services; we may head to the obvious spots like Myer, Woolworths and Amazon for items that we don’t need to think too much about but it’s the times when we are looking for looking for something special or specialised that we will miss the corner IGA, the local boutique bottle shop, the art collective on the high street and the café down the road. Small businesses bring the flavour and variety into our lives and it is important to support them now more than ever.
We received an email newsletter from Tasmanian artist and maker Helen of Pili Pala this week and were struck by her words:
“I’d love to urge you to spend your pennies with a little bit of thought. I realise now might not be the exact time you’re going to choose to spend your money (because… you might need to put it towards toilet paper), but when you do decide to make a purchase, whether for a gift or yourself, big or small, please consider exactly what you’re buying. Where does it come from? Who does your purchase support? Can you change your purchase to something that supports a small business instead?”
There are still communities struggling with the impact of the recent bushfires and we are now all impacted by the economic ramifications of COVID-19. Where we can and feel able, it would be great to consider where we are purchasing from and where our money can do the most good we can. Here’s some links to help make conscious spending easy:
Movements like Spend with Them, It’s My Shout and Shop Our Stores are providing platforms to highlight makers from bushfire areas and those affected by virus restrictions.
Your Grocer helps subscribers place orders with multiple local shops through their site and then collects and delivers it to your door. There’s a waitlist at the moment, but they’ll get in touch when a spot opens up. In the meantime, Prahran Market are running a trial home delivery service.
Coffee ordering app, Hey You, have built into their platform a menu item to shout your neighbourhood cafe a virtual coffee. 100% of the sale will go to your chosen venue. Look out for this menu item on your favourite local's menu (your order won't actually be made, but it will help cafes stay afloat during these tough times).
Curated gift stores like Red Parka, House of Handmade, the Social Studio, Melbournalia and Craft Victoria can put you in touch with local makers that will help you show a loved one how special they are to you even when you can’t see them – or fill that space on the mantle that working from home has made you notice from the first time.
Melbourne’s entertainment industry news sites are working overtime to keep our vibrant food and arts culture humming during this time, give them a follow to keep current with the latest about who’s open and what they’re offering:
For the moment the best advice is to stay at home and with further adaptations needed to the way suppliers and services operate, we can support small businesses by making conscious decisions about how and where we buy our essentials when we need to go out, as well as when we buy online.