The Magic Tenner…

This weekend is the start of the Magic Tenner fortnight – another Totally Locally campaign to celebrate the positive impact of shopping local. For two weeks (4th-19th October), independent Knaresborough businesses will be putting on a £10 offer in their shop, café, hairdresser etc, and displaying these offers on posters on their windows and walls.

The Magic Tenner fortnight is a tale of two parts. The first part is the deal itself – businesses choose a deal (or multiple) to promote over the fortnight that totals £10.

Why ten pounds you ask? Well, according to research by the New Economics Foundation, spending just £10 with a local, independent business can generate up to £50 of extra spend in the local economy. This is because many independent businesses also support other local independent shops - whether that is to have them as a supplier, using their services (hairdressers, accountants, lawyers, healthcare professionals etc) or just going to the local coffee shop for lunch.

The second part is each business then shows how many businesses they support, by way of a poster with a big number on it.

For example, the ten pounds you spend in Number Thirteen, then gets spent in Hutton’s Butchers to buy eggs and sausage rolls, or at Sid Horner’s to pay for our loyalty cards, or else with Andy Watt’s Dairy, to pay for our milk. We support over 43 other local businesses, both on the professional side of things, and on the personal side too. Money spent in Number Thirteen helps me provide for Norah, and so goes towards painting sessions at Painting Pots, buying school shoes at Stomp, and maybe a cheeky treat from Hirst’s Bakery. The money you spend at Number Thirteen also goes towards staff wages, and staff then in turn spend that well earned cash in local businesses – paying for a Two Brothers takeaway, a drink at Six Poor Folk, a pamper session at Lash Gallery.

Last month, the Totally Locally Knaresborough team, along with the team from Totally Locally HQ, brought this idea to life with a short film called The Knaresborough Magic Tenner. We managed to squeeze 14 businesses into one day of filming, and the end result is a great illustration of how far that single tenner can travel when spent locally.

As a business I have always been passionate about using local suppliers and keeping money in the local area, and I think many independent businesses feel the same way. By supporting my neighbours, they in turn support me, whether that is by coming to the shop to grab a coffee on their way into work, or by sending people to the shop as a recommendation. There is nothing better than a personal recommendation from a local shop, and it's always a tummy warming moment for me when a customer comes in and says that another business has sent them our way.

This Magic Tenner fortnight we will have two deals available, and I’ll admit, it wasn’t easy trying to decide what to do. As a coffee shop, our price points are all well below £10, so I had to think of a combination of product that would work well together. In the end, I went for a ‘meal deal for one’ and a ‘treat for two.’ That way I covered a couple of bases. Each of the products eligible in the deals will be highlighted on the displays (I can’t include everything so have chosen specific products that will work best).

I’m looking forward to seeing all the other offers about town, and hopefully, customers can get a few deals! The Totally Locally Knaresborough team are sharing all the offers they can on their social media platforms, and I think businesses will also be sharing other shops offers to help spread the word!