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Stay Local!

By Lisa Heindel

Real Estate Broker/Owner with Crescent City Living LLC Licensed LA RE Commission

October 29, 2007 02:07 PM

Stay Local

Are you tired of shopping at all of the "big box" stores? Tired of seeing the same in-store displays whether you are on the West Bank or in Metairie? Looking for something unique...something with a local twist or a little lagniappe? Searching for a way to support our local business owners and positively impact our New Orleans area economy?

Post Katrina, there has been a terrific grass roots effort to shop locally owned and operated businesses. How locally do you shop? And how do you know which businesses are based right here in the New Orleans area?

Enter Stay Local!, an organization advocating a return to shopping locally and using local and independent businesses and services wherever possible. With a mission of continuing the New Orleans culture through commerce, the Stay Local! website already has over 1,100 local business listings in categories ranging from auto parts to wholesale foods and everything in between. Need custom jewelry, a photographer, a neighborhood restaurant, a computer guru or a good tailor? There are all here and then some! Find addresses, websites, phone numbers and even maps to store locations of our own home grown entrepreneurs.

Create a local network

Are you a business owner who needs a supplier? What better way to build a network than to join this quickly expanding group of other locally owned operations - spend your dollars here in the metro area too and let's all do our share to support our local economy. Your business may depend on it!

courtesy of soumit at flickr.com

What a positive impact we can all have on the recovery of the entire region by continuing to support our friends and neighbors - especially those who were among the first to reopen post Katrina. When the big boxes were still boarded up, your corner store or coffee shop more than likely was open. If you were not eating MREs, you were probably eating at a locally owned bar, grill or restaurant. Need more convincing? Stay Local! has a great list of the top ten reasons to shop local in New Orleans.

Stay Local! offers free listings for all businesses who meet their criteria:

Business must be based in Orleans, Jefferson, St. Tammany, St. Bernard or Plaquemines Parish.
Majority business ownership must reside in the above parishes
Owner/operator must be responsible for his/her own decision making in marketing, operations and legal proceedings (i.e., an independent business)

Additionally, Stay Local! is offering a monthly email newsletter to keep locally owned businesses informed on a multitude of issues that may affect them. Sign your business up here.

As we move into the holiday season, I hope that each of you takes the time to look over your shopping list and find your own ways to stay local!

Your West Bank Real Estate Specialist

Lisa Heindel, Realtor® and Latter & Blum Inc Realtors® are proud to be members of Stay Local!

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Jennifer Monroe

Indigo Home Team powered by Compass - Charlotte, NC

Real Estate REALTOR®/Broker/Designer

This is exactly the way we do business here in Portland! I buy only local and fresh when it comes to my food, and work hard to make my other purchases from locally owned businesses. I am proud to work for a local real estate agency that has no national affiliation. This way, we keep Portland dollars in Portland!

Terrific post!

Oct 29, 2007 02:14 PM

Lisa Heindel

Crescent City Living LLC - New Orleans, LA

New Orleans Real Estate Broker

Jennifer, this is a new organization and I felt it was important to get the word out that we have CHOICES when deciding to shop, and local is definitely the best way to go. Thanks for commenting!

Oct 29, 2007 02:19 PM

Celeste "SALLY" Cheeseman

Liberty Homes - Mililani, HI

(RA) AHWD CRS ePRO OAHU HAWAII REAL ESTATE

That's right...local! We too support our local everything. Great that this organization is putting the word out that to support your local community businesses is right at your fingertips.

Oct 29, 2007 05:23 PM

Paul Slaybaugh

Homesmart - Scottsdale, AZ

Scottsdale, AZ Real Estate

Good for you, Lisa. I am so tired of watching the advance of chain stores and McHouses in new development. Sometimes I can see the buildings going up and say, "Oh that will be the Starbucks. There's the Ruby Tuesday's." Then you drive past the new homes that all look exactly alike. That's why I always prefer older, established neighborhoods. It's not only good for the local businesses. It's good for the soul.

Oct 29, 2007 06:07 PM

Jason Crouch

Austin Texas Homes, LLC - Austin, TX

Broker - Austin Texas Real Estate (512-796-7653)

Lisa - I get tired of seeing the same stores over and over again, no matter where I travel. I liked this post - great layout and message.

Oct 29, 2007 07:12 PM

Lisa Heindel

Crescent City Living LLC - New Orleans, LA

New Orleans Real Estate Broker

Sally, I try to make it a point to eat in local restaurants, shop in neighborhood stores. It's good to know that all across the country there are the same feelings!

Paul, thank you! We don't have too much of an issue with new housing, since most of our housing stock is older. But I like it that way....they have character that is lacking in most new homes.

Jason, thank you for your kind words and for supporting localism posts!

Oct 30, 2007 12:16 AM

Adam Waldman

Westcott Group Real Estate Company - Hauppauge, NY

Realtor - Long Island

LISA: This is a great company that is especially important for New Orleans. I've always appreciated the uniqueness of smaller stores. The biggest one for me was when most of the mom & pop record stores starting going out of business because of the big stores. There was something great about going in and talking about music to the people that worked at the store. That interpersonal relationship has been replaced by "replaceable parts" in the big box stores. By that I mean that these workers may be in the music department today and in another department tomorrow. They are not the music experts that took the job because they were passionate and wanted to be around music. It's just a job. Good to see that something is being done to keep New Orleans pure.

Oct 30, 2007 12:19 AM

Laura Cerrano

Feng Shui Manhattan Long Island - Locust Valley, NY

Certified Feng Shui Expert, Speaker & Researcher

Lisa, This is such a wonderful idea I'm sorry it's isn't everywhere. I used to shop "local" where people remembered my name, what I liked---and one by one watched them have to close their doors to the BIG stores where it's impersonal and there is never enough help. I love that you have this in New Orleans and would sign on in a heartbeat if they had it around here!

Oct 30, 2007 01:03 AM

Lisa Heindel

Crescent City Living LLC - New Orleans, LA

New Orleans Real Estate Broker

Adam, I know exactly what you mean! We used to have our favorite record store as well (and actually owned one in the mid-80s) and would discover new bands all of the time just by talking with the folks who worked there. I miss that...

Carole, I love when I go somewhere and they remember me like that. Not too much of that anymore unless you do stay local.

Oct 30, 2007 01:54 AM

Sal Poliandro - Helping People Win

RE/MAX Properties - Ridgewood, NJ

Broker Associate

Lisa - Great idea and I also try to buy local as much as possible. When you try to completely shop local it you realize how tough it can be. It is almost impossible to rely completely on local products anymore.

Oct 30, 2007 01:21 PM

Nick M.

Certified Residential Appraiser- West Palm Beach Real Estate - West Palm Beach, FL

Realtor-Appraiser in West Palm-South Florida Real Estate Appraiser

Hi Lisa, great way to offer support to the local, independent small business owners. :) can I give you an internet pat on the back ? :)) I'm gonna poke around on their site now.. take care Lisa! :)

Oct 30, 2007 03:15 PM

Lisa Heindel

Crescent City Living LLC - New Orleans, LA

New Orleans Real Estate Broker

Sal, thanks for your comments...yes, it is hard to shop completely local. Sometimes it requires going out of my way - which kinds of defeats the meaning of "local"

Nick, what a nice comment! Thanks for the pat, but the ones who really deserve it are the business owners hanging in there, not giving up the fight against all of the BOXES!

Oct 30, 2007 03:31 PM

Yolanda Hoversten

Self Employed - O'Fallon, IL

Referrals for O’Fallon, IL & the Metro East

Lisa, what a great idea to help rebuild the area. If the locals don't support their own community, it will be a tougher road for NO. I hope this takes off and I look forward to more of your posts about this. Good work!

Oct 30, 2007 06:04 PM

Lisa Heindel

Crescent City Living LLC - New Orleans, LA

New Orleans Real Estate Broker

Thanks, Yolanda. We all need to support our own, no matter where we live. Those mom and pop stores are the ones that give every city/town some character!

Oct 31, 2007 01:28 AM

Kathy McGraw

CELLing Realty - White Water, CA

Riverside County CA Real Estate

Lisa- Our Chamber has been pushing this for many years....I know my comment is controversial, but it is how I feel.

I would love to shop Local, and do at times...but in a competitive Market if you don't have anything for the 21st Century, or you are way over priced, then I am going to go somewhere else. Also if you "think" I have to buy from you, and have poor customer service skills, then I am going somewhere else.

In some areas you have very few choices, but with the Internet we can shop for value...I say Locals need to give either great Value, or Great Customer Service and not just expect people will do business with you. Those are the types of assumptions I saw overseas when Romania was converting to a Market Economy....and boy were some of the business's in for a surprise when new business's moved in :) :)

Oct 31, 2007 04:25 AM

Lisa Heindel

Crescent City Living LLC - New Orleans, LA

New Orleans Real Estate Broker

Kathy, I don't think that this controversial at all. Any business, big or small, national or local, must provide something to keep you coming back. It could be their great customer service, their unique inventory, their great prices. I do try to use someone local whenever possible just because (like with my lenders) I like to be able to get face to face with them and get to know them. There has been an explosion of small, boutique stores in the area since Katrina...it remains to be seen how many of them will be offering enough of the things that keep people coming back to stay in business.

Oct 31, 2007 06:02 AM