Today I stopped in to visit a local business near my house that sells beautiful candles. Love them but sometimes forget they’re there. I’m so glad I popped in today, though. Kevin, the owner of the shop met me at the door and we just got to talking. Why did I just now stop in when the store is literally a mile from my house? I didn’t have a great answer. But after a good conversation with him, I’m convinced that consumers don’t shop within their communities because they don’t fully understand the benefits to THEM if they do so.

After visiting my local candle shop, I stopped by Newhall Coffee, my local coffee brewer.( Yes, my small town has a local coffee brewer and many STILL go to Starbucks) Nice, huh? But why shop local? Here are some reasons:

- Save time! No long commutes and waiting for ship dates.

- Save money! Don’t pay shipping costs or extra money in gas.

- Meet your neighbors

- Get better service (you just may run into them again, so expect the service to be superior)

- More of your sales tax dollars will stay in your own local community contributing to better parks, schools, and other necessary expenditures.

I love both Candleman and Newhall Coffee because they get it. In fact, Newhall Coffee believes in shopping local so much that they made these T-’shirts! Thank you Newhall Coffee for my new Shop Local Revolution T-shirt. We know you get it!

And our readers will too. So, this holiday season…shop local! It really does matter.