What Does Buying Local Really Mean?

What is the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the term "buying local"?

There’s the obvious implication: a local company is one that’s owned and operated by people who live in the area. They’re probably part of and active in the community—in our case, in the Gallatin Valley of Montana.

Buying local also often means you can expect a personal touch: that your calls are answered warmly, that the sales process doesn’t make you feel crowded, that what your order is delivered on time, that you feel like you are heard and acknowledged.

We hold these things at the heart of what it means to be a local business ourselves. Mattress Mill endeavors to personalize your experience from start to finish.

After all, what you spend is an investment in a local business. In very real terms, your money is transformed into capital for that business, capital that is used in your own community. The dollar you spend is really a dollar invested in the people of your neighborhood. It supports the diversity of your community, and that support branches out exponentially.

By keeping dollars at home, your money has more noticeable footprint, because you’re supporting the very people who make up your community. It’s not just the about the person who owns the company, but also all the jobs related to the company: the person selling you the bed and the team of people making your mattress, right down to the person sewing the cover or building the mattress itself.

In the end, you want to go to a place where you don’t feel like a number, like a cog in the assembly line. Granted, local businesses are not without their faults—part of having the personal touch is being human, and humans are flawed! But the difference in how you’re treated by a business is not so much the circumstance, but in how that business values its customers.

So the next time you think about what it means to buy local, consider just how deep your impact is. Not only are you supporting your community, but the people who make up that community. Buying local is the sum of both.