By Bing Chou
At the end of the day, I spend my money in Boulder because my friends and neighbors deserve it. Each of the people that are a part of the businesses all around you have made an investment into their organizations and therefore an investment into your community. I reinvest in those businesses whenever I can.
The owners, of course, have invested their own money, often leveraged by loans and investors’ money, to launch and grow their businesses. What are often overlooked in the discussion, especially for successful businesses, are the blood, sweat, and tears that they’ve poured into trying to offer something of value to our community.
Part of my job at the Boulder Small Business Development Center is to ask aspiring and current business owners the question: “What’s keeping you up at night as an entrepreneur?” I’ve heard well over a thousand answers, which are varied and can be unpredictable, but never once have I heard “Nothing. I sleep great at night.” Whether successful or struggling, every owner sacrifices a part of themselves to run their business.
I’ve been there before. As a former business owner in Boulder, I know what it’s like on to have your name on the front door and to see your business grow, as well as what it’s like to lose sleep over making your next payroll and to have to tell your customers and employees that you’ve got to close your failing business. It was far more than money that was at stake – part of my identity was wrapped up in it too. My blood, sweat, and tears are multiplied many, many times over by the other business owners all around you.
For every business here in Boulder, there are many more employees who also sacrifice a part of themselves. In striving to do their jobs well, the cashier at your favorite bookstore, the server at your weekday lunch spot, and all the others have made their investment into your community too.
When I first sat down to write this post, I thought I’d be making an analytical argument for Buy into Boulder. My plan was to read the studies, follow the money, crunch the numbers, and show the leverage that spending your dollars locally has on doing great things for all of us. I studied engineering and economics for goodness sakes. While the result is the same, the voice of the proud neighbor in me is louder than the logical spreadsheet jockey in me.
The vast majority of the business owners and employees that I’ve described live locally – they are my friends and neighbors – and deserve to have their investment in my community supported by be reinvestment in them.
