2. Unique Businesses Are An Integral Part Of Our Distinctive Character. The unique character of the area is what brought us here and will keep us here.

3. Put Your Taxes To Good Use. Local businesses in city and town centers require comparatively little infrastructure investments, add more to our tax base and make more efficient use of public services.

4. Customer Service Is Better. Local businesses often hire people with more specific product expertise and they invest in their employees for better customer service.

5. Most New Jobs Are Provided By Local Businesses. Small local businesses are the largest employers nationally

6. Local Business Owners Invest In Our Community. Local businesses are owned by people who: Live in this community; are less likely to leave; and are more invested in the community's future.

7. Competition And Diversity Leads To More Consumer Choices. A marketplace of thousands of small businesses is the best way to ensure innovation and low prices over the long-term.

8. Environmental Impact Is Reduced. Local businesses make more local purchases requiring less transportation and usually set up shop in town centers rather than on the fringe. This generally means contributing less to sprawl, congestion, habitat loss, resource depletion and pollution.

9. Non Profits Receive Greater Support. Non Profits often receive greater support from local business owners, sometimes as much as 350% more money, than they do from non-locally owned businesses.

10. A growing body of economic research shows that in an increasingly homogenized world, entrepreneurs and skilled workers are more likely to invest and settle in communities that preserve their one-of-a-kind businesses and distinctive character.