Want to find something unique and special for loved ones this holiday season? There are dozens of gift guides on the internet, but we’re offering something unique: a guide to local gift giving.

When we buy from locally owned businesses, more of that money stays in our local economy. In fact, one study in San Fransisco revealed that just a 10% shift in retail sales toward local businesses would create thousands of new jobs and $190 million in economic activity. We don’t have to spend more, just spend smarter.

Please mark your calendars now for our Buy Local Week Celebration, taking place Monday December 1 at the Appaloosa Grill. (more details about the event) This event will be an opportunity to learn more about how local businesses build a stronger local economy, as well as to connect with local business owners. Our special guest is Mayor John Hickenlooper, entrepreneur and ardent supporter of our local businesses. He'll also be speaking about what local businesses mean for our community now.

With the economy dominating news and politics, and the market crisis impacting businesses everywhere, we are faced with an uncertain future and real challenges. Investments are literally disappearing off the books, and credit is scarce. We just don't have the money we need to keep our businesses going and to pay our bills. And with local businesses in our neighborhoods closing every day, we can't afford to wait for Washington to figure out a solution that will work for us.

So then what can we do?

Fayette County, PA has hired Robert Junk as the local economy manager, who's leading the way for the town's "Think Local, Produce Local, Buy Local'' initiative (launched in July). This article in the Herald Standard paraphrases Junk as saying,  'With rapidly rising energy costs, rising health-care costs, growing food costs, currency devaluation, inflation and the expectation that these conditions will continue with no lasting relief in sight, communities are being forced to re-evaluate their food systems, transportation systems, economic systems and the basic way they do business in their local community.'

On the way to our local biz coffee meeting this morning, I saw this very cool sign for Marczyk's Fine Foods in Uptown:


What a fun and playful way to spread the message of Local First! I can't wait until we have our Colorado Local First posters and stickers in the great local businesses throughout town. Want to help make that happen? Find out how to become an underwriter for the campaign.

One of the biggest strengths of local businesses is our ability to create lasting relationships that inform, nurture and strengthen our businesses and those of our peers. Think about this: when the non-local competition faces increased costs and decreased revenue, what is their response? They close stores, lay people off, and demand lower prices from their vendors - anything to maintain the profit margins they (and their investors) require. And what about local businesses? How many of you have forgone your pay in order to pay your employees? Or given a little more time to your customers to pay that invoice?

Today has been a very exciting one around the Mile High Business Alliance! We're happy to welcome our three newest members: Oogave Soda, Fresh Organic Office Delivery and Bear Creek Marketplace. This afternoon, the nifty google alerts tool let me know that the awesome folks from Fresh Organic Office Delivery posted in their blog about joining the Mile High Business Alliance! It's good to hear directly from the businesses who are getting involved why they think this is important.

We spend a lot of time recommending that you patronize local businesses before going to non-locals. Here are just five reasons why we say local business builds better community:

1. Environment
By buying things made closer to home, you're cutting down on fossil fuel use, reducing your carbon impact and saving money.

2. Local Economy
Local businesses buy more often from other local businesses, so the money you spend is retained in the community in a more concentrated fashion.

3. Local Flavor
The experience at a local establishment is completely unique - providing the local flavor of the area.

4. Community Care

Check out this article about another community rallying around local food, local farms, and other local business. I especially like this quote from Roger Baylor, co-owner of the New Albanian Brewing Co. He says, "(Buying local) is important for its own reasons, but it’s a selling point too. It keeps the money here. And it helps preserve something distinctive — life is not just about the best price."

Whew! Things are really hopping around Denver and the business alliance as we prepare for the DNC. Yesterday, we spotted this in Highlands Square:

Got your own Colorado Local First action shot? Please share it with us?

Want your own Colorado Local First stuff? Check out our online store.

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