When you choose to #KeepitCoastal you are directly supporting the eclectic diversity that local small businesses bring to our communities is what makes the coast so vibrant, unique, and full of character. Each of our local businesses adds something different, one-of-a-kind, and together they create an exciting, livable community for locals and tourists alike.

Research shows that locally owned businesses recycle approximately 63% of their revenue back into our local economy, as opposed to only 14% by multinational corporations, creating 4.6 times the economic impact with every dollar earned! When you #KeepitCoastal you strengthen our communities and encourage our small business owners to continue to grow their business here on the coast.

When you #KeepitCoastal you are creating jobs for the people you care about in our community: your friends, your neighbours, and your family! A successful local business will usually expand, which will open up more job positions that will be filled by local employees in our coastal communities.

A thriving community relies on local tax dollars to maintain the infrastructure, beautify neighbourhoods, and help support important local programs and initiatives. Every time you #KeepitCoastal and purchase a product or service from a local business, the business taxes go straight back into our local community infrastructure!

When you #KeepitCoastal and local small businesses succeed in our community, it encourages others to take the plunge and also become coastal entrepreneurs. Local entrepreneurs often take a unique approach with their products and services to complement other local businesses in our community and create collaboration opportunities with other local business owners!

Supporting coastal businesses helps to sustain vibrant, compact, walkable community centres, and local businesses are also more likely to source their products on the coast. These factors help to reduce: community sprawl, transportation routes, personal automobile use, local habitat loss, and unnecessary air/water pollution. All in all, when you #KeepitCoastal it's a huge win for the coast and the planet!

Local businesses support local charities in our community at a much higher rate than larger corporations, so when you #KeepitCoastal you are helping to increase the number of donations to the local food bank, local youth programs, and other charities that are important to the local people of our coastal communities.

When you #KeepitCoastal you are helping to create more choices at our local shops. Local businesses carry more locally made products, have a flexible inventory and can provide quick response times to customer requests. For example, at one of our small coastal boutiques a customer wanting a particular item may be able to order it directly from the owner — or the owner might discover a market for that type of item in our community and start to carry it in the store all the time!

When you #KeepitCoastal and visit one of our local coastal businesses you will notice that the owner usually knows most of their customers by name—and often know what coffee they normally order, or cut of meat they purchase. Local business owners really care about our community and their customers, are knowledgeable about their products, and are keen to help everyone find exactly what they're looking for.

When you #KeepitCoastal you are helping to create the identity of the Sunshine Coast and each of our coastal communities. Having our streets lined with unique and vibrant shops creates a more appealing aesthetic that is not only fantastic for the locals but it attracts tourists too! People are drawn to unique independent businesses—they create the soul and character of a community!