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Thinking locally, buying locally

A lot of people make New Year’s Resolutions.  There’s a good chance you made one. Or many. There is a good chance you’ve already broken them.

But we at Locally Epic want you to consider one more resolution that if you keep, can change the face of the local economy.

We want you to buy local. Go to the homegrown store for hardware. Buy a painting from a local artist. Buy a shirt at the local store and not online. We are not asking you to spend more money. Just take what you are spending now online and go to a locally owned shop. If Upstate consumers pivot $20 a week away for a year from online or a big box store to a locally owned store that would in increase the local Upstate economy by $300 million.

How is that possible?

For every dollar you spend in a Greenville-based business, 75 cents stays right here in Greenville. Even if you’re shopping at a Woodruff Road big box (and we all do, right?), 35 cents of every buck you spend stays local. In either case, that’s cash that flows through local employees, managers and owners and into other local businesses such as grocery stores and gas stations.

Compare that scenario to this: For every dollar you spend with non-local online businesses, only one cent remains in the local economy. One penny, vs. the 99 that won’t stay here. So in the bigger picture, what’s your buck worth online vs. locally – what’s it worth to you?

But let’s take that resolution to spend local a little further. What if you chose one day a month to do nothing, but purchase locally. Imagine that. Imagine the change you could make. And that is our Locally Epic challenge to you.

Every fourth Saturday of the month, just go and buy local.  Now, you may be saying “that’s nice, but I getter deals online or at the big box store.”  That is where the Locally Epic app comes into play.  Every day, more than 35,000 users in Greenville are finding deals and promotions from local businesses. These are real savings done in real-time via Locally Epic.

We are calling it Locally Epic Saturday,  and you will be hearing a lot about it. The ideas it to take the concept of Small Business Saturday, which everyone does in December, and spread it throughout the year. We are creating value.

And value takes us back to those concepts of quality of life, being fortunate enough to live in the Greenville area, and that buck that I hope is still burning a hole in your pocket. It’s your buck, and it’s your choice, but before you spend it, I do hope you’ll consider that every dollar you spend represents your opportunity to have a positive economic impact on our region and the Greenville lifestyle we’ve come to enjoy and, yes — value.

 

 

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Happy New Year’s

Locally Epic Greenville

We want to thank everyone in Greenville who downloaded the app in the past year (more than 30,000 of you!), all of who have offered a promo on the app (more than 100 of you) and all of other supporters in 2017.

It’s been one Locally Epic year.

As we look forward to an amazing 2018, we have some really cool things brewing coming from Locally Epic including a pet contest, a fun event to go along with the Duck Derby in May, the return of the Epic Quest this fall, a shop local initiative, numerous more chances to win $1 million at a Furman basketball game or Greenville Swamp Rabbits game and many more surprises.

We look forward to sharing them all with you.

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GSA Business Spotlight

GSA Business’ Book of Experts did a full-page article on Locally Epic this week. Story isn’t online, but here is the story below:

Locally Epic Greenville

A key thing to pull from the story:

There’s no denying the convenience of the internet – it is, after all, in your phone, and your phone’s in your pocket or purse (or more likely, your hand) right now. But about that buck: For every dollar you spend in a Greenville business, a whopping 75 cents stays right here in Greenville. Even if you’re shopping at a Woodruff Road big box (and we all do, right?), 35 cents of every buck you spend stays local. In either case, that’s cash that flows through local employees, managers and owners and into other local businesses like grocery stores and gas stations. It buys cars from local dealerships. It buys homes constructed by local builders. It is our economic life blood. If Upstate consumers pivot $20 a week away for a year from  online or a big box store to a locally owned store that would in increase the local Upstate economy by $300 million.

 

 

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GSA Business talks to us

Locally Epic Greenville

Did you do any shopping this weekend? Was it local? Check out this story from GSA Business Report where our very own Chase Michaels was talked to about the importance of shopping locally. Remember this as you continue to shop.

Also, story is not online, which is why we are going way old school with this photo clip!

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Have an Epic Thanksgiving weekend

Locally Epic loves helping you find everything “epic” about the Greenville area. And with that in mind, here are five ways you can be “locally epic” this Thanksgiving weekend.

  1. Take part in a road race. There are a lot to choose from including the Trees Greenville  8K and 5K.
  2. Shop locally at one of the thousands of homegrown businesses in the Greenville area this Saturday as part of the Small Business Saturday Check out our Facebook page and check out the app for local businesses doing promotions.
  3. There are more than 16,000 non-profit groups in Greenville. Next Tuesday is a big day for them as they strive to get people to give a donation. Check out the Locally Epic app for some local agencies doing good work to make Greenville better.
  4. The Palmetto Bowl is this Saturday. If you don’t have tickets for the Tigers-Gamecocks matchup, you can check out the Locally Epic app to find the best places to watch the game with friends.
  5. Take a hike. One of the most epic things about Greenville is that you be surrounded by trees and nature just by driving 15 miles out of downtown. That is pretty cool. VisitGreenville has a great list of places to take a hike this weekend.
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Giving back: It’s the Greenville Way

There are an estimated 1,600 non-profit groups in Greenville County.

And there are roughly 500,000 people. With that kind of math, each nonprofit should be up to its ears in volunteers and funding if every person in Greenville gave. Unfortunately, not every one of them gives. Most don’t.

But a lot do. Greenville is a giving community. It’s like that old Tina Turner song (Ok, Ike and Tina…ok, ok, originally Credence Clearwater Revival, but Tina’s version is best known) about if you don’t have any money, you don’t have to worry, people on the river are happy to give. I will let you sing the rest of Proud Mary in your head before I start typing again.

And we’re back. Greenville is a community built on volunteerism. It is part of the community’s DNA. And we want it to be part of the Locally Epic DNA.  That is why we offering the Locally EPIC to any non-profit organization in Greenville for free. Free? FREE!

Yes, free. No access fees. No hidden charges. No cost. Just free. We want you to use it to find volunteers. We want you to use it to find donors. We want you to find it to help your mission. We are doing this because we believe in Greenville.

This Thursday at 8 a.m., we will be showing nonprofits from across the region how to learn more about using the app. Please join us. Sign up here.

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Locally Epic app expands to include nonprofit organizations

Locally Epic, app greenville

GREENVILLE, S.C. – Locally Epic is offering free access to the app’s location-based marketing technology for local non-profit organizations.

The Locally Epic app allows businesses to communicate directly with customers, using geo-fencing and push technology to send mobile offers to nearby users in the area. Nonprofits will be able to utilize the app to reach out to donors, recruit volunteers, publicize events and share their story with the community.

Locally Epic will host a free informational session on Thursday, November 16 at 8 a.m. at Endeavor to explain how nonprofit organizations can utilize the app. Interested organizations can pre-register here. 

“Nonprofit organizations are a vital component to our community,” said Locally Epic Founder and CEO Chase Michaels. “Our hope is that by providing access to Locally Epic’s services, we can help the Upstate’s nonprofits further their reach in the community.”

About Locally Epic:

Locally Epic is the next generation of real-time location-based marketing technology for businesses and consumers. Locally Epic leverages time, space and message deployment with real-time aspects of engagement, implementation, customer loyalty and consumer acquisition metrics. Learn more at www.locallyepic.com.

 

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Zoom, Zoom

Locally Epic, Euro Auto Show 2017

GREENVILLE, S.C. – Locally Epic will serve as the official app of the East Coast’s premier European car show, the Euro Auto Show, returning to Greenville this October.

The festival, now in its 22nd year, will take place on October 20 and 21 at the Preserve at Verdae, located off Verdae Boulevard in Greenville. The two-day event includes a craft beer tour of Greenville, automotive technology sessions, a full day car show attracting over 400 European cars, and an automotive film festival. This year’s attendees will be able to find more information on the Locally Epic app.

Locally Epic is an app that allows local consumers via a mobile platform to enhance their ability to find local offers and promotions from a wide range of businesses in real time, while allowing businesses to effectively reach new audiences. The app can be downloaded here or found on Itunes or GooglePlay.

Interested attendees can also purchase tickets for Saturday’s events here. General admission tickets can be prepurchased for $10 or purchased the day of for $15.

“European automobiles and the industries that support them are a crucial part of this area’s economy,” said Chase Michaels, the company’s founder. “It doesn’t get more Locally Epic than the impact of European cars on the Upstate.”

About Locally Epic:

Locally Epic is the next generation of real-time location-based marketing technology for businesses and consumers. Locally Epic leverages time, space and message deployment with real-time aspects of engagement, implementation, customer loyalty and consumer acquisition metrics. Learn more at www.locallyepic.com.