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Grim: Why supporting local businesses matters

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As a fast-growing and young city, Surprise has seen the predictable national chains and franchises dot our city with their buildings and their familiar signs. 

They are the ones with the capital and resources to build the new construction and open their business. Obviously, these companies have done their research and know they will turn a profit in our city. 

Profits are good, but unfortunately those profits don’t stay in our city. I’ve seen numerous jokes on Facebook about “another Burger King” when people ask about what is being built on a certain corner. 

But what about the local business owner? The local business owner is the one that works, plays, and lives in our community. There are five ways that local businesses outperform their chain competition. Those five ways are with wages and benefits paid to local residents, profits earned by local owners, the purchases of local goods and services for resale and internal use, contributions to local nonprofits, and sponsorships to local youth sports programs. 

I know our spending habits are changing to shopping online instead of going to the local shop. Let’s make an effort to find those products local. Yes, it might be a little inconvenient, but in the long run, buying from a local business will benefit our local community. 

When my wife and I go to other places for vacation we usually do a food tour. The reason we do that is we get to learn about the community and about how a business got its start. By visiting these local businesses, we really get a sense and a feel for the local community. 

I’ve seen way too many local restaurant owners come and go in Surprise. Most of the time the food and atmosphere are great, it’s just people make the decision to go to the popular chain restaurant. 

I want to encourage you to find some of the locally owned restaurants to visit. Let’s give them our support. When the day comes to buildout City Center around City Hall, I would like it to be lined with locally owned businesses that will bring the taste and flavor of Surprise to our winter and spring training visitors, instead of another national chain restaurant. 

Greg Garcia, Cassandra Salamone, and I saw a need in our local business community. Local businesses didn’t have a good way to connect, network, and coordinate. 

We came together to provide networking events for the local business owner. We are calling these events EPIC Networking Series. If you’re a local business owner, you can look for us on Facebook. Our goal is to get the small businesses to work together and to also help the new business owner get up and running. 

Our city has resources for small businesses to help them be successful as well. A great example is the incubator for new businesses. It’s called AZ TechCelerator. You can contact them at aztc@surpriseaz.gov. Also, if you go to the city’s website you can find resources by searching for “business help.” 

We live in an amazing city. To get to the next level though, we will need a strong local business presence.

I’m asking my fellow residents to find those good local businesses and support them, then help spread the word about them. 

Editor’s Note: Raymond Grim is a local business owner and member of the Surprise Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission.