Why Shop Local?
Several of the tips that Heidi notes in the interview are included in her best-selling book, Shop Local: A Practical Pain-Free Guide to Shopping With Purpose. These tips include how to be more mindful of why we buy and where our money is best spent to have the biggest impact and benefits to the local community.
The author explains how independent and locally owned businesses reinvest a greater portion of revenue back into the community rather than sending money to corporate headquarters elsewhere. Says Heidi, “Shopping locally is not something that’s only seasonal. It’s good to support local businesses throughout the year to keep our communities thriving, give us diversity of choice and build our local economy.”
Heidi’s book also raises awareness about our buying habits and to not always assume that small local stores are more expensive. She reminds us that we may think we’re getting a good deal on price but that the value of our time and quality of the product or service we’re buying may actually cancel out any savings. “We should be asking ourselves what’s most important about our purchase and whether it’s really worth buying something online or at a lower price at a big-box store. Especially when you may not be getting the best quality or you have to spend twice as much time returning or re-buying an item that looked good online but is actually 10 times too small.”
Making the shift is when you have a plan.
Following the 5 basic steps laid out in the planner makes your own shop local shift that much easier.
- In the first few pages, you’ll answer questions to help you explore your values and shopping habits.
- Next, you’ll choose which of the Focus on Five areas you’ll use to shift your spending for the month.
- Then you can print out the progress pages to note the steps you’ve taken to Shop Local every month.
- Use the Daily Intentions page to write down your mini goals that you can use to Shop Local in your everyday life.
- Finally, as you become more mindful of your Shop Local Shift, you can use the last few pages to note all your favorite local indie businesses in your neighborhood.
About the Book
Shop Local: A Practical Pain-Free Guide to Shopping With Purpose is an enlightening, inspiring and transformational guide that will change the way you shop forever. In this book, the author shares real-world stories highlighting why it makes sense to buy from local neighborhood businesses. She shows how rewarding and fun it is to shop at local indie businesses instead of going to major chain stores and how this helps our communities. Packed with clever ideas and easy-to-follow tips, the book offers all you need to support local indie businesses and shop local.
Shop Local Book One Sheet {pdf}
About the Author
Heidi Butzine [pronounced bud-zeen] is a best-selling author, entrepreneur and wine aficionado. Her most recent book, Shop Local: A Practical Pain-Free Guide to Shopping with Purpose, is part of her personal mission to get more people to support local businesses everywhere and strengthen the communities where they work and live. Heidi earned her executive MBA from UCLA and her bachelor’s degree from Cal State University, Dominguez Hills. Heidi is a Southern California native who lives in Redondo Beach where she grows Zinfandel grapes, dabbles in photography, painting and garagiste winemaking.
