Buy Local Program Helps Businesses Grow,
Charities Provide, and Consumers Save

Tim Ready is vested in the Mooresville/Lake Norman community. In return, he asks that same community to invest locally. Tim Ready relocated his family from Princeton to Mooresville in 1998. He found Mooresville to be the perfect place to raise a family and continue to develop an idea that would help strengthen the community. Ready, raised in a small town before “Category Killer” Retailers, “Big Box” National Chains, and a “Starbucks” on every corner, knew the importance of local businesses and their value to the community. After three decades in sales and marketing, Ready shunned the corporate world in search of a way to help others. Ironically, an area chamber would later work on the same kind of plan and eventually partner with the entrepreneur.

After reading a study conducted by a Chicago economics firm, Ready began to build a business model. The study analyzed ten locally owned restaurants, retail stores, and service providers and compared them with ten national chains competing in the same categories. The end result proved that spending one-hundred dollars at one of the neighborhood’s independent businesses created sixty-eight dollars in additional local economic activity, while spending the same one-hundred dollars at a chain produced only forty-three dollars worth of local impact.

The difference was due to four factors:
1. Local Payroll -- Locally owned businesses spent a larger share of their revenue on local labor because they carried out all management functions on site rather than corporate headquarters.
2. Procurement – Local retailers spent more than twice as much buying goods and services from other local businesses. They banked locally, hired local accountants, attorneys, designers, and other professionals; advertised in local media; and sourced inventory from local firms.
3. Profits – Because their owners live in the area, a larger portion of the local retailers’ profits stayed within the local economy.
4. Charitable Giving – Local retailers donated more on average to local charities.

Armed with this information and over three decades of sales experience, Tim was ready to test his business model. The premier edition of Buy Local Mooresville/Lake Norman was published in April 2009. A consecutive May edition solidified the monthly run of what promises to be a successful endeavor. Luckily, the Mooresville-South Iredell Chamber of Commerce had recently unveiled a Buy Local campaign. Symbolic of the overall mindset, the two entities teamed together bringing credence and validity to the master plan. This success has resulted in a new partnership with the Lake Norman Chamber of Commerce and the first issue of Buy Local Lake Norman is set to be published in August.

One of Ready’s first customers was Gold Gym’s Dr. Kevin Craft. Craft agreed to purchase a full page ad, then provided two additional references. Sooner than later the local savings guide added an automotive dealership, several restaurants, a hair salon, and a day spa to their list of advertisers.

Now working on the third issue, Ready has implemented internet advertising and is soon to announce a key tag program that will rival any discount advertising known to Lake Norman and surrounding communities. Window decals and point of sale materials help publicize the program as well as let others know there is strength in numbers. There is also a page dedicated in each magazine listing its supporters. Ready believes incorporating the power of print with internet marketing will maximize business for those who have historically been unable to effectively market their goods and services. It also provides a niche for those with limited computer knowledge and another for those who get information from the world-wide web.

From a single idea born in New Jersey, to partnering with local chambers, to conveying multiple ways to grow local mom and pops, Buy Local Mooresville/Lake Norman strives to drive the local economy. Simply put, Buy Local!