C.J. Rhodes, the owner of RnR Rentals and a veteran member of Town of Osoyoos council has committed to a “shop local” philosophy in his personal and business life for the past 170 days. If more people knew of the immense impact on the local economy by shopping locally they would follow his lead, said Rhodes. Photo by Keith Lacey.

 

 

C.J. Rhodes says he actually sleeps better over the past six months since he and his wife Lisa adopted a committed “shop local” philosophy into their personal and business lives.
The well-known Town of Osoyoos councillor – he’s just finished his fourth year as a member of town council – has spoken about the importance of supporting local businesses during most of the time since he entered the political ring and became an elected official.
Earlier this summer, Rhodes and his wife made a commitment to not only talk the talk, but walk the walk and do everything humanly possible to purchase everything they consume as a married couple and as the proud owners of R n’ R Rentals in and around Osoyoos.
With very few exceptions, they have been able to maintain that commitment and it has made a positive impact on their lives, said Rhodes.
“I feel comfortable in saying that it has become ingrained into our daily lifestyle over the past six or seven months and it’s feeling pretty darn good,” said Rhodes, who opened his equipment and tool rental business 11 years ago in Osoyoos.
As a successful business owner, veteran town councillor and longtime member of the South Okanagan Chamber of Commerce, Rhodes said he has been aware of the many benefits of adhering to a shop local philosophy for many years.
However, like many others, he didn’t always adhere to that philosophy when it came to his personal and professional life.
“I would be lying if I said I only shopped locally in the past,” said Rhodes. “I did support the concept and tried to support local businesses whenever I could, but it wasn’t always a top priority and I was looking at the bottom line when it came to purchasing equipment and parts, especially for the business.”
Since becoming committed to his own shop local philosophy, Rhodes has kept a daily log of purchases for his rental company and discovered he now spends 22 per cent more supporting local businesses than he did seven months ago.
“And it would be a heck of a lot higher if I could find all of the commodities I need to run my business at other businesses in town,” he said.
The impact on shopping locally is immense in terms of dollars that stay in the community, local job creation and overall economic development, said Rhodes.
“If people really knew the overall economic impact on shopping locally, I really think more people would do it,” he said. “It’s especially important in small towns like ours as the overall economic impact is even more crucial than in the bigger cities.”
A small example of how his personal shop local campaign has gone is he used to purchase a regular order for office supplies in Penticton, but those same commodities are now purchased locally for a few dollars more each month, said Rhodes.
“It makes a small difference, but if every small business in town did it, it would have a significant impact,” he said.
Adhering to a shop local philosophy is even more difficult in this high-tech age as business owners of all sizes can acquire many of the goods and services and products they need online, said Rhodes.
“It all has to do with a personal philosophy and changing your mindset that you are going to support local businesses and support your local economy,” he said. “It comes with some challenges for sure, with the most important one being personal discipline and recognition that it’s important to support other businesses in your community.
“While many people still believe you should go where the best price is in all circumstances, when you realize the overall economic impact benefits that come from shopping locally, you realize your personal choices are making a difference.”
While he would like all local residents to follow his lead and shop locally, Rhodes said he empathizes with two particular demographic groups that have to watch every penny.
“My heart goes out to people on fixed incomes, particularly seniors, and young families, who literally have to watch every penny,” he said. “If they travel out of town to save a few dollars or purchase items in bulk to save some money, I can’t say I would find any problem with that.”
Rhodes said while he can’t convince everyone to shop locally, he’s going to keep trying.
“I get reactions ranging from ‘I will shop wherever I feel like it’ and ‘how dare you’ to ‘I really support what you’re doing and way to go,’” said Rhodes.
Holly Plante, who is the wife of town councillor Mike Plante and vice-president of the South Okanagan Chamber of Commerce, said the chamber has long promoted a shop local philosophy across the region as it represents residents in Okanagan Falls, Oliver and Osoyoos.
If every resident of this community made a commitment to purchase only five or 10 per cent more of their goods locally than they did one year ago it would have a huge impact on the local economy and be the difference between a lot of small businesses struggling to doing well, she said.
Bonnie Dancey, chief executive officer of the South Okanagan Chamber of Commerce, said a longstanding policy to promote shopping locally has paid dividends for area businesses, but it won’t change the mind of a lot of people no matter how hard you try.
“I’m afraid there will always be a good percentage of people who will shop where they think the best deal is,” she said. “We have small towns here in the South Okanagan and when those people travel to Penticton or Kelowna, many of them are going to spend a day shopping and that’s likely not ever going to change.”
As CEO, her job is to continue spreading the message that shopping locally results in money spent staying in the community and strengthening the entire economic base of the community, she said.
Almost half of every dollar spent locally is spent again to support other businesses at the local level, she said.