GUELPH – Patti Mara has been a business coach for over 20 years and now it’s her own passion project being put to the test.
Mara got the idea for her business, We Choose Local, after seeing yet another Amazon box delivered on her front doorstep. The sight made her think, “I want an Amazon platform for locally owned businesses.”
“And that’s what we created,” she told the Advertiser.
PATTI MARA
We Choose Local is an online website that integrates a local search engine into its e-commerce platform, making it easy for consumers to find what they want locally.
“Our whole purpose is, find what you want locally, shop anytime and next-day delivery,” she said.
The next-day delivery aspect ties consumers into a space they may already feel comfortable in, from years of shopping online.
“Part of that two years of lock down (pandemic) training is that people aren’t even willing to walk into a store and discover … what they carry, the price and what their return policy is,” Mara explained.
“That’s our biggest challenge … that’s what we need to interrupt.”
Before launching her business last November, Mara conducted consumer interviews with Guelph residents.
“Everyone said local is important and yet when we asked where they were shopping, no one was shopping at local stores,” she said.
Her data showed the majority was shopping either locally at national stores or online.
Mara also hopes to “bridge the gap for local retailers being able to reach their full marketplace.”
“When you spend money at a local business 68 per cent stays in the community; (it’s) 14% with national stores,” she said.
A common misconception amongst shoppers is the idea that it’s more expensive to shop local, but according to Mara this is not the case.
“Seventy per cent of the time it’s the same or less expensive to shop local, and I have found that to be consistent,” she explained.
“If we don’t have thriving local businesses, we don’t have strong communities.”
Future goal
Currently, We Choose Local services Guelph and all retailers on the website come from the city.
“We would like to be able to extend this out; we have to have enough sales in the platform working to keep it tight,” Mara said.
Expanding into Wellington County is a change she hopes to make this year, but not without running into some obstacles.
As the company promises next-day delivery, shipping is not an option. Mara prioritizes reducing the company’s environmental impact by cutting down on transportation and supporting sustainable local producers.
“Our goal is to be throughout North America within 10 years,” she said.
Another issue is the team must be able to pick up and deliver items to customers. If the customer or retailer is too far, then transportation begins to waver.
“We are working to get the platform self-sufficient and the moment it is we will hire a coordinator for Guelph,” Mara said.
“Then I’ll put my attention into expanding into other communities.”
Supporting local charities
When the platform first launched, Mara conducted a community poll to pick a charity to support.
City residents chose the Children’s Foundation of Guelph and Wellington to receive 1% of all We Choose Local purchases for 90 days. In April, the foundation received a cheque for $1,000.
The next cheque will be going to the Guelph Wish Fund for Children, a non-profit organization providing a ‘wish’ to children and families facing a medical challenge in hopes of providing a bit of joy.
“If we do our jobs well, we want Guelph to feel like it’s their platform,” she explained. “Our goal is for people to check out We Choose Local first, before you choose to buy at a national store or online.”
For more information or to shop local, visit the platform’s website at wechooselocal.com.
