Should I Go with A Smaller Local Company or Larger Corporation?

This is an age-old question; do we support small local businesses or go with larger corporations that might be cheaper and more commercial.

The answer really depends on your personal preference but for the most part, supporting small business (while they are still small) could definitely be considered a good deed and a great way to help out your local community.

These decisions might not seem so crucial but they are important and help make up the lifeblood of our economy. Small business is the backbone of American commerce. And remember, all small business had to start somewhere. Big box corporations don’t just spring up from out of nowhere, everyone has a starting point no matter how big or small they were in the past or are currently.

However, we cannot just blindly answer this question based on the size of a business. After all, we are looking for the best service for our dollar. Although supporting small business is great we don’t want to just blindly support bad small businesses either. The same goes for getting the cheapest available or best offerings of goods from big box corporations.

Everything depends on our outlook, the product or service we receive and the satisfaction we receive from said service or product all weight heavily into our decision making process.

There’s always the good, the bad, and the ugly. Our goal is to find the good, even if it’s secluded in a haystack and hold on to that good and ideally let others know about that good as best as we can.

Whatever the case may be this is a good rubric to find business to support our dollars with. We don’t want to support business just because they’re small and we also don’t want to support business because they’re the cheapest. There’s a fine line in the middle that is best to follow. If we can attain that middle ground that is going to be our best bet.

Smaller companies might be more appreciative and may incline more towards their customers especially if they’re fewer in number. Newer companies will tend to try to appease their customers and find a certain niche, whatever the case might be.

Larger companies on the other hand will have much bigger and longer standing relationships. In most scenarios it’s better to go with the product/service you like more regardless of the size of the company.

Smaller companies will care about your personal financial situation more than larger corporations there is no doubt about that. On the flip side however, larger corporations will have a more streamlined process down pat and they also might be more consistent. The choice is ultimately up to you and what you value more. Many value consistencies and the known much more than giving a new shot to an unproven small business. I myself like to play a little bit of both sides, I loved supporting small business whenever possible. But I do also shop at Costco because they arguably offer great products and services.

Small business is not always the sole answer, there are just sometimes small business cannot compete with in terms of price and production. For example, in banking smaller banks are usually the ones that tend to be viewed as riskier because they are not “too big too fail”. As ironic as that may sound.

Whether it’s big business or small business we all get our chance to prove why we’re valuable and why what we do becomes a part of who we are. Life can unfold in strange ways, no matter which way you flip it. Small businesses can become big businesses and big businesses can become small businesses.

It feels good to support small business. It’s nice to know the names of people you see on a daily basis or buy food from or get to know after giving repeat business. However it should not be understated that life is full of surprises and what may appear to be true on the surface might not also be the best barometer for making a decision. So be go with your gut and try to diversify! There's nothing wrong supporting small business while also shopping at big box corporations.