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Some people live in a city that never quite feels like home to them. Others fall so deeply in love with their community that they feel indebted and choose to give back in powerful ways. One of the most effective ways you can give back to your community is through business. A few specific business types are better for this purpose than most.
The Beauty of Local Business
It used to be that the majority of small businesses were started locally. In terms of managing costs and reaching a market with a specific message, it was the strategy that made the most sense.
With the growth of the Internet, social media, and e-commerce platforms, many entrepreneurs now choose to build online businesses instead of local brick-and-mortar operations. But there’s still something to be said for the latter.
Local businesses are a positive item for a number of reasons. In terms of making an impact on the local community, direct benefits include:
Tourism. When you have a cool business — or a collection of them — people from outside of the city or region may come to visit. When they arrive, they do more than just patronize your firm. They eat, stay, and spend money in the neighborhood. This creates revenue, tax dollars, and general excitement.
Pride. Local businesses give residents something to take pride in. They play a role in creating an identity that local residents attach themselves to and use to spark their own creativity and entrepreneurial pursuits.
Job creation. If you build a successful local business, eventually you may have to hire other people. This enables you to satisfy the labor needs of other people and create jobs for the community.
Stability. At the end of the day, increased tourism, pride, and job creation all mean greater stability and growth for the city you love. That’s a win for everyone!
Three Kinds of Business That Will Benefit Your City
Obviously not every local business yields the aforementioned benefits, but the right ones will. If you love your community and want to make it stronger, here are three specific types of business that will benefit your city the most.
1. The Entertainment Business
This is a pretty broad category, but it’s number one for a reason. People always want to be entertained, and any time you can create a business from which customers walk away feeling they were immersed in something bigger than themselves, you’re likely to enjoy success.
Entertainment businesses include concert venues, theaters, sporting venues, activity-based establishments, bowling alleys, and even bars. Do you perceive a soft spot in the local market where you can come in and meet a need?
2. The Hotel Business
We’re all familiar with hotels, but few people understand what goes on behind the scenes or how lucrative these operations can be. (Quick: How much is a hotel owner’s salary? If you guessed $25,000 or $30,000, you’d be wrong! The average U.S. hotel manager earns $40,000 to $60,000 per year. Many make considerably more.)
Though it can be an intense occupation, few businesses allow you to give back to the city and showcase it to visitors quite like a hotel. When you’re a hotelier, you can make or break someone’s experience in your city.
Assuming you do the job well, you can have a positive impact for years to come.
3. The Food Business
Finally, there’s the food business. Although locally owned restaurants generally have high turnover, the best ones will stick around for decades.
The restaurant business is part service and part food. You must be capable of excelling in both categories. “Getting your new restaurant off the ground can feel like a daunting task,” WebstaurantStore admits.
“However, as the restaurant industry continues to grow, and foodservice trends continue to diversify, there is always room for another extraordinary eatery. With detailed planning and successful execution of your unique ideas, your restaurant business can flourish.”
If you have the right partnership in place, a food business will add tremendous value to your local community and enable you to meet and befriend even more people than you already know.
Create a Business That Matters
You can create any number of businesses online — and there’s nothing wrong with that! But if you love your city and want to make a difference in your community, consider whether you’re capable of launching a local business.
As this article shows, there are plenty of perks and numerous opportunities.
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This content is sponsored by Larry Alton.
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Photo credit: Shutterstock