CULLMAN – Small businesses are the lifeblood of any community. They are essential to its survival and equal to a thriving economy. Not to mention that the benefits of supporting small businesses reverberate throughout the whole community. Cullman has great small businesses all over town that contribute much success to our town and its residents, and they are grateful to every customer that walks through their doors.
“I love working with the people around here,” said owner of Fallalary, Denise Phillips. “Customers are always so nice, even when they have a complaint they are nice.”
When you invest in your local shops, they invest right back into their community. The private research firm, Civic Economics, has done several studies showing this trend. Their research in Austin, Texas showed that locally owned companies put three times as much money back into the economy as bigger chain stores. This is something Stacey Lindsey, owner of Classy to Sassy, knows all too well.
“I would say that more than half of the money made by my business goes back into the community,” said Lindsey. “When you shop locally you’re investing in Cullman. We do everything possible to help, like sponsorship for football programs, yearbooks and charities, you name it, and we try to give to it all.”
Cullman customers and growing economy has inspired more small businesses to open their doors. Businesses like Donut Joe’s and a new shop called Younique Boutique have set up shop and love the community. Gidgett Overton, one of the owners for Younique Boutique, says that her favorite part is how small businesses work together to help each other out.
“We opened up in June,” said Overton. “And in that time we have seen a lot of positive things. The town has a lot of events that help bring in customers like Oktoberfest or Christmas in Cullman. Another great thing is that if we don’t have what the customer is looking for, we are happy to refer them to a shop that will, and we have others refer to us. It’s nice to help each other out like that.”
Truly, Cullman is a great place to try your luck as an entrepreneur. We are a growing community that will only be better year after year. If businesses work together to help one another, and our local government continues helping to promote shopping locally, we are set to have a healthy and thriving town for years to come.
