Customers urged to buy local
Burnsville and Rosemount business owners hope cash register bells will be ringing after they implement new shop local initiatives.
Business owners in Burnsville, Rosemount starting new campaigns
by Tad Johnson and Jessica Harper
Dakota County Tribune
As small businesses struggle to compete in the recession, many are asking consumers to “keep it local.”
For many years, groups such as business associations and chambers of commerce have encouraged shopping locally through a variety of methods.
A resurgence of the buy- local message has emerged in recent months in such cities as Burnsville and Rosemount with individual business owners and groups taking the lead.
A group spearheaded by LeAnn Litterer of Frontier Design plans to launch the website KeepItInBurnsville.com in June.
The website will have businesses offering a daily deal on a rotating basis, according to Litterer. The deal could range from a certain percentage off products and services to complimentary gifts for purchases.
Litterer said she has a few businesses signed on already but is seeking more.
“It is about the businesses,” Litterer said. “They have to get involved for it to be successful.”
The concept relies on traffic from local shoppers looking for deals. The website will keep consumers informed of the daily deal through messages connected to the website, in addition to Facebook and Twitter accounts.
Another feature of the website will be a community calendar where people can list their own events from in-store sales to community happenings.
The group also plans to host its own events, including an exposition open to the public for people to discover all the kinds of businesses Burnsville has to offer. The fair could be held as early as June.
The group has been working on launching the website for the past six months.
Litterer said the idea to create a website stemmed from another she saw based on the concept of “the 365 activities people could do in the city of Minneapolis.”
She liked the concept because the site would feed followers with a new activity each day. But she said the website fell short of her expectations because it wasn’t updated daily.
“We want people to think of where that dollar is going,” Litterer said. “Am I sending it to someone in another state or could it be going to the people who could be coaching my child’s team?”
She said it is difficult to change people’s spending habits, especially since so many people travel throughout the Twin Cities every day and may spend money while commuting or in the city where they work.
She said business is also migrating to the internet.
“When we go out and do sales calls we get a lot of people saying they get signs from the Internet,” Litterer said.
The Rosemount Business Council, which is a part of the Dakota County Regional Chamber of Commerce, is another group working on a local campaign.
“The goal is to help business stay in the community and promote redevelopment of Rosemount,” Rosemount Business Council Chairman Paul Eggen said.
Supporting local business is essential to supporting the larger community, said Eggen, a State Farm Insurance agent in Rosemount.
“More local businesses support more local nonprofits and invest more in the community,” Eggen said.
For every $100 spent at small businesses, $68 stays in the community, according to recent studies. A national chain feeds about $43 to the local economy for every $100 spent in its stores.
“People don’t need to buy everything locally, but we’d like them to try to support as many local businesses as they can,” Eggen said.
Eggen said the council is still in the planning stages of its campaign.
“At this point, we are still brainstorming ideas,” Eggen said.
The Rosemount Business Council, which has approximately 12 members, plans to promote The 3/50 Project, which encourages residents to spend $50 at three Rosemount businesses each month.
“They don’t have to spend $50 at each business but perhaps $50 total at three local businesses,” Eggen said.
The 3/50 Project, a movement started by a Minneapolis retail consultant, reports that if just half of the employed U.S. population spent $50 monthly in locally owned businesses, it would generate more than $4.2 billion in revenue.
The council is considering other events such as a Ladies Night Out, which several neighboring communities such as Apple Valley, Lakeville, Burnsville and Prior Lake, host to promote local businesses, Rosemount Business Council Member Stacey Bartelson said.
“Our hope is that events like that will help keep business here,” said Bartelson, a financial adviser at Edward Jones in Rosemount.
Bartelson points out that spending locally also saves money, time and the environment by encouraging people to drive less.
Jessica Harper is at
jessica.harper@ecm-inc.com.
