By Gina Long
With the cooler temperatures and rain over the past week, it finally feels like the holidays are near.
I have been spending more time trying to find unique holiday gifts for my family members in Ohio and my friends here in Hutchinson. I always try to buy locally because the gift recipients like unique Hutchinson—and Kansas-centric items. The Cosmosphere, Strataca, Reno County Museum and the zoo have gift shops with merchandise suitable for all ages. The Hutchinson Art Center is an underrated gem.
My sister-in-law likes snowmen, and I always find outstanding gifts for her, my brother, and their son at fundraising events and craft shows.
Shopping locally is not that difficult. By locally, I mean small businesses owned and operated by people I see in church, in line at the grocery store, dining at locally owned restaurants and attending Fox Theatre concerts.
They are citizens who sponsor local food and holiday gift drives, serve as donation collection points, and contribute directly to First Call For Help, the Salvation Army, and numerous other organizations. They help fund summer sports programs and donate hot dogs for playoff tailgating parties. They donate gift cards to fundraisers.
According to a 2023 report from the Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy, small businesses are the top drivers in the Kansas economy. Per the report, available here, between March 2021 and March 2022, “opening and expanding Kansas establishments added 139,226 jobs, while closing and contracting establishments lost 104,468, for a net increase of 4,758 jobs. Small businesses contributed a net increase of 23,371 jobs, or 67.2 percent of that total.”
You read that correctly: Two out of every three new Kansas jobs were created by a small business.
The dollar-and-sense impact multiplies because local dollars tend to stay in the community instead of being sent off to Bentonville or Cincinnati.
Local businesspeople know the community, and they know their customer base. Successful businesses adjust to customer tastes instead of imposing them.
Failed endeavors that appeared overnight, planted a flag, made no attempt to understand community tastes and needs, and tried to undercut established local businesses scattered throughout Reno County’s history. The Atrium Hotel comes to mind: an owner bought a deteriorating property, begged for local money to improve the space, pocketed the profits and allowed it to run down to the point of creating a community hazard. Despite many opportunities to fix the problem, the owner tried to impose his will. Both Hutchinson and Salina are holding him accountable for his negligence.
Craving profit and power, they refused to learn about the community. Beholden to outside agendas, they flopped. Too often, they harmed the community and suffered no repercussions.
Large outside interests introduced a scorched-earth economic policy, and it has taken nearly four decades for Main St. businesses to recover.
Support local in all things because, in turn, they will support you and this community.
