LocaLLinx.org, a special project of Kitchener’s award-winning digital marketing agency, D1Zi Digital, is launching a free solution to help small businesses across Canada in their efforts to survive the devastating impacts of the Covid-19 global pandemic.
All solutions start local. Today isn’t ‘business as usual’ and our community’s vibrancy is being severely tested by the global pandemic. The local businesses that we count on to make our lives more comfortable and convenient – the shops, the cafes, the services – are struggling for survival.
These are our friends, our family members and neighbors…they are us.
“The idea is to utilize a tried-and-true alternative farming business model, Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA),” states Tori Mikhnovsky, founder of D1Zi and driving force behind LocaLLinx.org . “The basic premise behind CSAs is that citizens, mostly in urban environments, link up with farmers in the winter time and ‘buy shares’ in that farm’s future crop. Once the crop comes to harvest, the farmer distributes the ‘return’ in the form of vegetables, fruits and more. Sometimes that ‘return’ comes weekly for a diversified farm; sometimes it comes at the end of the growing season. Remember, the time between planting some crops and harvest can be as long as six months or more, and most of the investment required is up-front, at planting. “
“With Community-Supported Local Economy (CSLE),” Mikhnovsky continues, “citizens like you and I can support our local businesses – our favourite restaurants, bars, bakeries and service providers – by ‘buying shares’ that can be redeemed in a number of ways. Imagine subscribing to a local baked-treats-of-the-week package, or pre-booking a meal at your favourite restaurant for the first night they open after the all’s-clear has sounded. These are the things that you and I can do, as consumers, as citizens and as friends, family and neighbours to help one another through this Covid-19 pandemic.”
Seven out of 10 Canadians work for small businesses. Most small businesses are struggling to survive the chaos and confusion that comes in the wake of Covid-19. And we, as consumers, need their goods and services, now and in the future. A solution was needed to begin to bridge the gap between LOCKDOWN and ALL’S CLEAR.LocaLLinx.org is aiming to be part of that solution, and is planning to roll-out more robust iterations of the site in the days ahead.
“You are only truly as strong as your strongest link,” smiles David McConnachie, Mikhnovsky’s partner in this endeavour (as well as in life). “There’s an old phrase that any one can be heroic when heroes aren’t required. We Canadians aren’t being asked to be too heroic as we work together to fight the Covid-19 pandemic. And we Canadians are pretty good at pitching in, helping out and doing our part. For small business owners and their employees, suppliers and, yes, their customers and patrons, it’s a razor-thin margin for error at the best of times, and needless to say these are NOT the best of times. But they will get better if we can continue to do our part, even if only moderately heroic like continuing to support your local personal trainer through his video classes.”
LocaLLinx.org uses the idea behind “Community Supported Agriculture”, a tried-and-true solution that allows consumers to ‘buy shares’ in the winter of a farm’s future crop, thereby sharing the upfront financial investment AND then sharing the fruits (and vegetables) of that farm’s labour. Some CSA programs provide weekly ‘returns’ of produce harvested that week. Some CSA programs provide the ‘return’ at the end of the growing season, especially for things like pumpkins. You are helping the farmer to bridge the gap between planting and harvesting, a period that can last for months.
LocaLLinx.org believes that Community Supported Local Economy is a natural evolution of the CSA model AND the exact type of solution that our community needs RIGHT NOW. As a consumer, you can subscribe to a monthly ‘basket’ program, or pre-book the best table at your favourite restaurant for the first day it can re-open. You can buy a gift card for future redemption, or simply use LocaLLinx.org to organize your shopping excursions with businesses’ curbside pickup programs.
LocaLLinx.org empowers local citizens and local businesses to link up to support each other AND our economy. Connect the links today.LocaLLinx.org is absolutely FREE for everyone; businesses pay no money or fees to participate, and LocaLLinx.org does not charge a fee to customers.
For more information and or to learn how you can help share the links, please contact
Theo Ossinga, PR Specialist, LocaLLinx.org, [email protected], 226-600-3606.