Edward Everett Hale once said, "I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. And I will not let what I cannot do interfere with what I can do."
We often hear those around us say, "I am just one person. What difference can I really make in my country or even in my local community?"
The larger the community, the more prevalent this thought process tends to be. I would counter this very flawed thought process by saying, historically, nearly every major change begins with a vision by one person or a very small group of individuals.
It has also been said that we can't change the wind but we can adjust the sails. By adjusting our individual sails, we can indeed influence the future of our local communities for the better, one individual at a time.
How do we adjust our individual community sails? One of the more obvious answers would be to become knowledgeable and vote. Another might be volunteering to serve on a local nonprofit board. You could volunteer with a civic or service club. Consider becoming more educated regarding local issues or volunteer or assist with a citywide cleanup.
All these and other avenues are certainly worthy and noteworthy and they can make a huge impact on your community. How we volunteer and attempt to make a difference might be viewed as somewhat intangible and hard to notice; that is okay. Let me suggest one habit you can incorporate into your daily routine that will make a large, noticeable and tangible impact on your local community.
When residents (and city leaders) make a commitment to spend as many of their dollars with locally-owned and operated businesses, that will make a huge difference. Studies show that every dollar spent locally in this fashion carries a compounding community revenue impact of three to five times greater value than dollars spent with non-locally-owned big box or national chain establishments. It is a situation where the sum is much greater than the individual parts. It is a situation where one plus one can equal three, four or even five.
Imagine what a three to five times greater value for each local dollar spent would mean when it comes to funding your local firefighters, local police, city services, local events, your local roads and parks, or local public investments?
To put it in practical terms, if a community or county with a population of 25,000 had every resident committed to spending just $25 more each month hyper-locally than they might have otherwise spent out of town or online, that would generate $7,500,000 additional dollars floating throughout the community each year. What would an additional $7,500,000 floating through your community mean for jobs and standard of living in many households? It doesn't end there.
What does $7,500,000 look like after compounding? When factoring in the three to five times compounding impact of $7,500,000, it becomes $22,500,000 to $37,500,000. Factor in a 5% local sales tax and your community leaders now have an additional $1,875,000 for local police, fire, roads and so forth. It all started with a small commitment by local residents to do their part in building a future for their children.
That is only the tip of the iceberg. Imagine how much more competitive your local business base could be with those new dollars circulating throughout the community. How many new jobs can be funded with those dollars staying within the community? How many entrepreneurs can flourish with the support of the community? These are real dollars with enormous community impact, all starting with each person committing to support his or her community.
In today's environment, the very fabric of the economic-financial base in your local community is under a relentless attack on many fronts. A community's ability to support its hyper-local businesses isn't just a nice thing to do; it will be a matter of financial survival for your entire community in the future. I might even further suggest the future may already be arriving as the gale-force economic and demographic trends or winds are gathering steam.
Community leaders must be forward-thinking, as must each citizen. Forward-thinking involves understanding current and future trends. It means looking ahead and adjusting your community and individual sails to the prevailing winds so we don't get thrown off course.
I'll close with a quote by Andre Gide. He said, "Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore."
John Newby, of Pineville, Mo., is a nationally recognized publisher, community, business and media consultant, and speaker. He authors "Building Main Street, not Wall Street," a column appearing in 50-plus communities. He is the founder of Truly-Local, dedicated to assisting communities create excitement, energy, and combining synergies with local media to become more vibrant and competitive. His email is [email protected]. Opinions expressed are those of the author.