The Computer Buzz

February 12th, 2009

Nome and Paul Van Middlesworth - owners - The Computer Factory
 

Buy America?
Buy North County!

When times are tough most of us tend to hunker down and watch our spending more closely. Even if we're not being adversely affected by the economy, we are constantly reminded that many of our friends and neighbors are struggling to get by.

When the economy tanks, Congress always begins to echo the populist theme "Buy America." It does make sense that we should at least make an effort to support American businesses rather than sending our hard earned dollars overseas. It also makes sense that we should support businesses that are owned and operated by people who live in our community for the same reasons.

The difference between buying from a LOB (locally owned business) and a NC (national chain) is obvious. When you buy from a LOB the profit stays in the community. When you buy from an NC the profit goes somewhere else.

Until we opened The Computer Factory we never thought much about where we spent our dollars. Fifteen years as "downtown merchants" and members of the San Marcos Chamber of Commerce and business community have helped us understand and appreciate the importance of supporting the LOBs in and around our community.

The people who own and operate businesses live here, send their kids to school here, pay taxes here, support our churches and civic organizations, support other LOBs and most importantly, they are our friends and neighbors. The people who own the National Chains do all these things too, but they do them somewhere else and they are not our friends and neighbors.

Of course we realize that Wal-Mart, Lowe's and Starbuck's employ local workers and management, so do the LOBs. The difference is not employee salaries, it is that the return on investment of the NCs leaves town while the investment returns of LOBs get spent locally.

That doesn't mean that we never shop at the "big box" stores or eat at a National Chain Restaurants, we do. But over the years we've made a determined effort to do business with LOBs.

We dropped B of A as our business bank and now use an LOB, Discovery Bank. What a wonderful difference. When we need home improvement materials our first stop is Star Builders supply on Grand Avenue. When we need a new home appliance our first choice is Yingst in Vista. Our favorite restaurants and Bistros are LOBs. We use LOBs for automobile service, home and business maintenance, dental, medical, veterinary, advertising, printing, travel, florist, and just about any other service that can be provided by a LOB. We also recommend our fellow LOBs whenever we have the opportunity.

The emphasis on using LOBs has paid big dividends over the years. Not only do we get wonderful service, we also get to know some mighty fine people. Even the editor of this paper.

If you haven't thought about supporting your LOBs before, maybe its time you did. It's good for the community and good for you too.