Roxie In my recent blog about Small Town Living, I mentioned that Tara and I were going to spend the next couple of months talking about our small town, and the importance of shopping local and supporting small businesses. Living in a small town comes with extra responsibilities that you don’t often feel if you live in a more metropolitan area. I have found that there is so much to be mindful of when choosing where to spend my time and money. It can become very overwhelming to realize you need to think about things like: where you are contributing your sales tax dollars, job creation and stability for the people that work and live in your neighborhood, SPLOST money, T-SPLOST money ….. when you just needed to buy groceries and pick up some light bulbs! Part of my personal awakening of small town responsibilities came after Matt was elected Mayor and I was more deeply exposed to the inner workings of how our little city functions, but most of it has come from owning and operating a small business for the last 16 years. Our little town has struggled to keep businesses open and thriving and, while part of that responsibility falls on the business owner, a large part of it falls on the consumer.
I have watched the business of retail change so much over the years and it has become very hard to keep up with! It has been my responsibility as the business owner to keep up with the trends, to keep up with technology, and to adapt, as much as possible, with the ever changing world around me. Tara and I spend a lot of time thinking about what it is our consumers actually want and balance that with the look and the feel of our brand and what we want to offer.
I have made efforts to hire young people and listen to what they have to say in an effort to keep things fresh, new and relevant. This is a hard balance because I also have to keep things as comfortable as possible for my older customers that absolutely do not want to have their receipt texted to them and they would really prefer to write me a check. (Yes, we still accept checks.) We are proud to accept Apple Pay, even though I have only ever had two people use it! We offer as much customer service as possible, which we see as a draw and a reason for someone to choose to shop with us instead of a big box store. We offer complimentary gift wrap, we help you take your bags to the car, we will fill out your check for you if you forgot your glasses, and have even looked up phone numbers in the phone book for folks who have called and asked us to. I can’t say I am crazy about looking up phone numbers for people when it seems like such a simple thing they could do for themselves but it is a simple way that I can offer an extra service and a way I can set my store apart from a Wal-Mart or T.J. Maxx.
We offer a full service bridal registry with free gift delivery to local showers. (Our customers never actually have to touch their gift, we take care of everything!) One Saturday I received a phone call from our closest Belk store. The Belk employee was trying to help a customer that was choosing a gift for a bride that was registered at my store and the customer couldn’t remember the name of the bride, she could only remember that the bride was registered with me. Though it pained me that someone drove to a neighboring town to shop at another store, located in another county, I still answered all of their questions. I didn’t make the sale and my county received no sales tax benefit but I still did what I could to be nice and helpful with the hope that everyone involved will have good memories of working with us.
It is also my responsibility as a business owner to promote what I have going on and make sure that the information is available to as many people as possible. I understand completely that I can’t just open the doors to my business and expect people to come running. Oh if it were only that simple! It is a constant battle to compete with all the noise on social media and the already flooded email in-boxes. I am blessed to have a lot of good help in this department! Katelyn and Tara do an amazing job taking pictures, planning social media posts and scheduling emails. We have to work very hard every day, not just to win new customers, but to keep our existing customers coming back. The thing that we feel is our biggest responsibility and the thing that is most important to us is that we KNOW our customers. We know who prefers lemon in their tea and who doesn’t, we rejoice when new babies are born or when grandkids are getting married, we mourn with those who have lost loved ones, and we listen to those who just need someone to talk to and some place to be.
Now, on to the responsibility of the consumer. I would say that our biggest challenge in Ocilla, GA is getting our locals to choose to shop local. It seems like such a simple concept, but it is lost on many. I really do not mean to sound scolding, but the absolute truth of the matter is, if YOU like having a local pharmacy, or local hardware store, or local gift shop, or local cafe …. you need to shop there. It is truly that simple. If you, along with your fellow townsfolk, make an effort to frequent those places, even just a couple of times a month, it would make a huge difference.
One Saturday I had a very sweet lady in the store that came to attend a baby shower in our Cafe dining room. She was so complementary and went on and on and about what a nice place we have and how pretty the building is and that she had no idea what was in the store. I asked her where she was from and she said “oh I have lived in Ocilla all my life.” I had a real “check your face” sort of moment. While I was flattered by her compliments, I was left speechless by the fact that in the last 16 years she had not once checked us out to see what we were all about. I truly did not know what to say. She then proceeded to ask me about the buildings on either side of mine that are being renovated and told me that she was so glad someone was doing something with them, that she just hated to see all the empty buildings downtown. Now, I am not trying to throw this woman under the bus here, she was very sweet. She, like many others, is just not connecting the dots. If you do not like that there are empty buildings in your town or in your neighborhood, then you need to support the businesses that are there. Those are not hard dots to connect. You cannot leave the action to someone else and just assume that others are supporting them so you are off the hook. By doing your part and choosing to shop local, you are not only helping those businesses stay afloat, you are helping folks keep their jobs, you are helping contribute to your communities sales tax dollars and you are helping to breathe life into your small community. That may seem a little over the top, but please take a moment to imagine how different your community would look if all of your small businesses weren’t there anymore.
I am not telling you to never go to Wal-Mart or Lowes, I am just urging you to start with your local options. I have to order online or leave our county to shop from time to time, 1. Because I can’t get everything I need here, and 2. Because sometimes it is fun to get out of town and see something new, I get that. I am not trying to convince you to never leave your town. I am just saying, give your local folks the first chance. Don’t automatically assume something is more expensive, and if it is weigh out how much more you are spending in gas to drive somewhere else to get it. You may be surprised how much your community has to offer, and how much it will be able to grow and add if it is full of people who support what is going on there. This goes for services too. Supporting your local hospital, doctors offices, mechanics, accountants and hairdressers is just as important! It may be more convenient to order things online, but supporting your local grocery store may be more important than the convenience of Amazon. Our little town of Ocilla only has one grocery store. In fact, other than 3 Dollar General Stores (yes 3) our one grocery store is the only place to buy groceries in our county. A few years ago, there was a period that lasted a couple of months that our grocery store closed and it was an awful time. Would you like to talk about convenience? The convenience of running to the store to pick up something quick was taken away. We were forced to drive to our neighboring county to buy groceries and we all realized how much we loved having our little grocery store and how much we missed it. Matt and other community leaders worked hard to recruit another store and we are proud to have a very nice Piggly Wiggly. I will be perfectly honest with you, I am worried that we may lose our grocery store again one day because of the lack of support of our local citizens. It goes back to the point of, if you like having a business or service available to you when you need it, you have to make sure to support that business and service in the in between times.
O.k, I will get off my soapbox for today and let you have a break! If you have made it this far and you are still reading, just try to remember that there are small businesses everywhere that are the lifeblood of the small communities where they operate. If you are able to change your mindset set from what is easiest and cheapest to asking yourself what you can source locally or from a small business, not only will you meet some great people and receive really awesome customer service, but you will also be able to feel really good about doing your part to help someone stay in business, help someone keep their job, and help a struggling community to grow and thrive. I know that I am writing this as the owner of an online store and yes, I would love for you to choose to support The Southern Mercantile! Just know that every purchase you make from us helps keep our store open in downtown Ocilla, GA. Not only that, every sweet email we get from you or encouraging comment on a blog post, helps energize us and spurs us on to keep trying to make great things happen for our little home. We would love for you to drop by for a visit sometime! Tour our lovely shop, eat the best fried chicken you have ever tasted at Chicken Delite, and drive out to have a glass of wine at Paulk Vineyards. We love where we live and we can’t wait to show off all the things we are proud of!
I truly believe that there is hope for small towns and that there is opportunity in those places for businesses to grow and thrive, but the hope and opportunity will only come if the people that live there get on board and support and help promote what they have.
If you are interested in learning more about the challenges and the joys of small town living, check out Matt's latest project, Small Town Podcast.
If you are interested in learning more about the challenges and the joys of small town living, check out Matt's latest project, Small Town Podcast.
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