Who's eligible to join?
Defining "local"
Who's eligible to join a BALLE network? Sometimes determining which businesses are local and independently owned can be difficult. How about a locally owned McDonald’s franchise? How about an insurance agent with a national company and a local office? Many businesses participate in cooperative marketing, offer exclusive lines, and have all sorts of other business agreements.
We define a locally owned business as one where the community member has full autonomy and local decision-making authority with respect to his or her business practices.
A simple survey like this one might help you figure out which businesses in your community are locally owned:
- Is the business privately held (not publicly traded)?
- Do the business owners, totaling greater than 50 percent of the business ownership, live in your local region?
- Is the business registered in your state, with no corporate or national headquarters outside your region?
- Can the business make independent decisions regarding the name and look of the business, as well as all business purchasing, practices, and distribution?
- Does the business pay all its own rent, marketing expenses, and other expenses (without assistance from a corporate headquarters)?
How does BALLE define "local region"? Is it our neighborhood? Our city? Our county? Our state?
“Local” is really the area that people in the community consider to be local. Is your region defined by natural landscape features, or historic boundaries? Rural communities may define themselves by county, or by multiple counties. Some local food campaigns have noted that a two-hour drive from farm to table is often considered a "local" food-shed (like a watershed). In a large city, it may make sense to think in terms of both the greater metropolitan area and the business district neighborhood, depending on the situation.
The point is to look at what decisions about personal and business purchases will strengthen your local economy and community. If you buy your food at this store, where will the profits end up? Will they stay close by and get reinvested locally, or fly off to corporate headquarters in another state? Can you buy steel or building materials from a locally owned supplier, and does that shorten the shipping distance? Can you buy those items from a local producer?
