Jeff had built a successful career in financial technology, working for companies including Intuit and Stripe, and had grown accustomed to corporate life and the demands that came with it. Then the pandemic happened, and suddenly he was spending a lot more time at home.

The slower pace gave Jeff time to think about what he wanted the next few decades to look like. A paycheck and good benefits weren’t enough anymore. He wanted to build something of his own, have a say in where it went and, after years spent working for large corporations, feel more connected to the community around him.

Owning a small business changed the way Jeff sees the community outside his own front door.

He shares the shopping center with businesses including Poochini’s Pet Grooming, Bellacures Nail & Spa, and Cheng’s Beijing. The more time he’s spent getting to know the people behind the neighboring storefronts, the more he’s realized they’re all navigating many of the same challenges.

Seasonal visitors have a deep impact on business and, in turn, on employees. Rising costs affect what people can spend and how often they can spend it. Marketing is expensive, especially when an independent business is competing for attention with national brands and national budgets.

Yet whether someone is making a meal, grooming a dog or doing someone’s nails, each owner is trying to do something well enough, and care for people well enough, that their customers choose to come back.

For Jeff, that has made “shopping local” much more personal.

There are real people behind those storefronts. There are employees counting on hours, owners balancing overhead and families who have put their life savings into an idea they believe can work.

And there are customers whose seemingly ordinary decisions help determine what happens next.

Jeff, like all small business owners in Oro Valley, recognizes not every purchase can be made in Oro Valley. Sometimes buying a car, finding a wedding dress or tracking down exactly what you need means heading into Tucson. His request isn’t that residents never leave town, but that they remember this simple truth: finish the trip where you live.

Grab a smoothie from a local business before heading out. Pick up lunch when you come back. When there is a choice that can be made here, remember the businesses that are already here, employing local teenagers, supporting families and trying to keep their doors open.

For a restaurant like Wow Wow, those seemingly small decisions accumulate. Jeff can tell you about customers who come in every morning and the family that makes Wow Wow part of its Sunday routine. Those aren't abstract “consumer dollars” on a spreadsheet. They are relationships, and for a small business, enough relationships like them can mean the difference between surviving and disappearing.

That’s why Jeff believes efforts that give people another reason to explore Oro Valley matter. Marketing is expensive for a small business, particularly when that business is competing against national brands with national budgets. Creating reasons for people to discover a restaurant they've never tried, wander into a shopping center they normally pass or spend an afternoon exploring their own town can introduce a local business to the next customer who becomes a regular.

And at Wow Wow, that customer is supporting so much more than just a lemonade shop.