While legislators and economists wrangle back and forth in Washington about how they are going to pull us from this current financial maelstrom - a solution that, as you've already witnessed, isn't going to come nearly soon enough - some imaginative, and immediate, remedies are needed in a bona fide circle-the-wagon fashion. Let them talk a blue streak about bailouts and rescues in D.C.; in Lexington we need to band together and employ a proactive, and immediate, tactic.
I, along with any other employee here at Smiley Pete Publishing, don't have a fix-all solution to elevate the economy, local or national, from the doldrums, but we do know it will require some green - more green than the hair on the Grinch's hide, that's for sure - and some concerned, like-minded people working in unison.
This is that special time of the year when people, no matter their financial hardships, will dig into their pockets and purses, though maybe not as deep as last year, to spread around a little holiday merriment. Before you jump in your car and squander the better part of the holiday season navigating a parking lot labyrinth looking for a spot, consider spending your hard-earned money at one of Lexington's locally-owned businesses.
In fact, don't consider it; do it. Do it without question, without hesitation. We've never directly asked our readers for anything, except maybe from time to time to read our magazines in a highly visible public space, but this year Smiley Pete Publishing is challenging you, our readers, to spend at least $100 of your holiday budget in a Lexington locally-owned business.
Most challenges, when offered, have some form of reward awaiting those determined enough to heed the call, and this is no different if you look at the math. On average, statistics have shown that for every dollar spent at a locally-owned business, 45 cents stays in the local economy; compare that with only 12 cents per every dollar spent at retail chains. If $100 is spent locally for every copy of the 62,000 copies of the Chevy Chaser and Southsider Magazines and Business Lexington we publish with this challenge, nearly $14 million will get pumped into the local economy. How's that for a reward? Somehow or another, in some form or fashion, the benefits of that money are going to trickle back down to you, your family and your community while at the same time helping to fortify the backbone of Lexington's economy.
For some of you, patronizing Lexington's locally-owned businesses is nothing new; for others, poking your head into these unique shops and boutiques is like venturing into a foreign world far removed from the long, windy parking lots and dull, fluorescent light bulbs of strip malls and chain stores. Shopping locally is an alternative I can recommend as far as I am allowed to make a recommendation.
In the past few weeks I've spent a lot of time with some of Lexington's local business owners (shameless plug: see my photo gallery of some of these owners online at www.smileypete.com), and aside from having the luxury to flex some creative muscle to remain resilient when the economy turns sour, I have found that they are a wily lot. It is safe to say that I have, unintentionally, already spent my $100.
Admittedly, you are going to be hard pressed to find some of the more high-end gadgets that have recently begun to dominate the top of wish lists (items like iPods and gaming consoles), but virtually every other item is fair game - especially gifts that everybody buys year in and year out: books, clothing and accessories, music, and, of course, gift cards.
The people from Local First Lexington are more than willing to point you in the right direction if you have any difficulties finding a specific gift from a local business - you can e-mail your questions to info@localfirstlexington.com. For fun, you can also find an interactive Question and Answer session on our Web site with our publisher and Local First Lexington board member Chuck Creacy - you can submit your inquiries about where to find gifts from locally-owned businesses and he will get back to you online throughout the holiday season.
All of us at Smiley Pete Publishing hope you will take this challenge seriously. Aside from assisting the Lexington economy in a true moment of need, spending time at locally-owned businesses brings a hint of the holiday spirit back into the shopping experience. We urge all of you to share these experiences with us - we'll make sure to share it with other readers.