We’ve stressed the importance of local businesses in many of our articles. The reason we constantly advocate to supporting the local business is that it incites growth and progress to any city or state. Naples, Florida and its surrounding areas have always placed a high importance to these businesses and because of that the region has always gained the benefit of its effects. Trade among locals is as old as the state of Florida itself; many would argue it’s even older, dating all the way back to pre-Columbian times. The reason why it has such a long history is simple to us – trading amongst local and small businesses works.
The people in the region of southwestern Florida had always maintained a healthy bond of interdependency among each other. We can trace this back to the first settlers of the Everglades where a loosely knit group of men made up of generally outlaws and army deserters called the “Gladesmen” who lived off the land and traded food and supplies such as pelts to the Native American tribes who have settled in the land centuries before and who have been bartering goods across villages long before white people stepped foot on the land.
This kind of trading relationship has continued to this day. The Gladesmen are long gone and the Native Americans no longer barter goods the way their ancestors did. Instead, this interdependent relationship took on a new form. Many of the chefs of Naples city and Marco Island depend on the local farmers and fishermen for many of the meat and ingredients they use to make the freshest and the most savory meals their restaurants are known for. So, farmers and fishermen have their produce sold from the get go, which lets chefs cook their amazing signature dishes and customers leave their restaurants with their palette pleased; and you have yourself a nice chain of pure satisfaction.
Now we check up upon one of the strong suits of this region which is the tourism industry. Major local businesses in the region depend highly on the natural gifts that much of southwestern Florida is blessed with. Businesses from charter rental companies, to kayak and boat rental companies down to the small stalls that set up around the beach area all depend on the bounty of Mother Nature. Thankfully, there are wildlife sanctuaries and preservation centers that have truly amazing volunteers and conservationists who work their best to maintain the eco-system in the region fully alive and well. So, this means that because of the effort from the people in the preservation areas, the charters and the guides and the business owners around the beach get to operate and this in turn would make the visitors pleased which would then attract more visitors in the future. Are you seeing a pattern yet? Of course you do.
This is the main reason why we would always recommend for people to buy local. Buy local because no one else would buy them except the locals. Eventually, this local industry would grow so as to attract non-local buyers and this could only mean more for everyone. So speak local, buy local and be local.
