Independent We Stand is a movement of independently-owned local businesses across the country dedicated to educating their communities about the importance — and the benefits — of 'buying local.' You can support the cause and help revive the local economy by shopping at the locally-owned businesses in your community. Buy their products. Eat their food. Use their services. In turn, these locally owned and operated businesses will continually pump your hard-earned dollars back into the local economy by way of taxes, payrolls and purchases.
Get involved in the movement! Register your local business, recommend your favorite and take the pledge to support locally-owned and operated businesses and you can help make a difference! Research shows that if you shift a portion of your spending from national chains and the Internet to independent locally-owned and operated businesses, you can have a dramatic effect on your local economy. It's time to take a stand!
"5 Clever Social Media Campaigns to Learn From." By Todd Wasserman - American Express OPEN Forum 2.20.2012
You don't have to be in the market for a Super Bowl ad to learn who the world's biggest marketers are. In fact, as a quick visit to Facebook illustrates, social media has a leveling effect: Whether you're Coca-Cola or Jones Soda, your Facebook page looks pretty much the same. Coke's billions won't buy a dedicated wing on Twitter, either.
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Indie Thoughts Guest Blog Post - How Do You Spend Your Hard Earned Dollars?
My wife does most of the weekly shopping and most always seeks the best selection along with price. Like many smart shoppers, she frequents businesses that feature sales as well as used clothing and furniture. Always sharing with me what a great deal she got on this or that. She is a very frugal shopper and consumer. I on the other hand shop based on convenience or on the way home, again because I live with a professional shopper.
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New Study: Locally Owned Businesses Contribute to the Health of their Communities. BALLE/Science Daily 2.09.2012
Counties and parishes with a greater concentration of small, locally-owned businesses have healthier populations -- with lower rates of mortality, obesity and diabetes -- than do those that rely on large companies with "absentee" owners, according to a national study by sociologists at LSU and Baylor University.
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