(1) Redirect your cash flow: According to the U.S. Bureau for Economic Analysis, as of 2010, average annual personal income in America was $43,593; and employed people are still spending, especially on discounted and low-cost purchases. If you make a conscientious effort to re-direct some of your shopping dollars – say 10 percent of that average, which is $4,359 – to local businesses we will see a change over time. More small businesses will flourish and hire new employees.
A friend of mine opened a boutique in 2009. Whenever I am purchasing clothes or jewelry that I know she carries I buy from her rather than going to the mall. Other local ladies have also shopped with her consistently since she opened. As a result, she went from no full time staff members to hiring a full-time store manager, assistant manager and several sales associates in less than two years.
Large companies tend to use technology, temporary staffing firms, or pile on more work to well-paid employees when there are upticks in demand. A small business has to hire more quickly with an increase in demand because it is not practical for us to sign long-term contracts for software driven operations, pay extra fees to a temporary staffing firm or pile on more work to a modestly-paid employee who may head for the door.
We can’t make Fortune 500 companies invest any of that $2 trillion in new hires but where do you think they got that money from? Everyday people who spend every two weeks gave it to them in the form of purchases. Commit to spend at least 10 percent of your consumer dollars with a business that will hire – most likely that’s a small, local one.