The COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc on businesses across the country – mainly small businesses not considered “essential” – as stay-at-home orders and lockdowns limited customer interaction and transactions.

Many small Main Street businesses that were already operating on razor-thin margins found themselves on the verge of shutting their doors – despite small business stimulus support from the government.

Amid all the Main Street economic turmoil, an interesting thing happened that once again proved the resiliency of the American spirit and the ability to rally around one another when one of us needs help.

All across the country, I saw local communities taking it upon themselves to support their local businesses. Main Street businesses represent more than the engine that drives local economies, they’re also an essential part of the social fabric of the communities they serve. Long-time businesses are treasure troves of memories that residents are fighting to preserve through donations and by frequenting these businesses.

Now more than ever, there are vital economic as well as social motives for investing in Main Street.

As many day-to-day functions go mobile and remote – from working to going to school to entertainment and recreation – investing in Main Street makes sense for those of us who don’t want to see our towns and cities turned into ghost towns – left behind by a transforming economy.

Some people say to just accept things the way they are. This is where society is moving. Everything’s going digital. I don’t know about you but I don’t want to live inside the Matrix.

• I want to be able to stroll down Main Street eating ice cream from the local parlor.
• I want to attend a local sporting event or see a concert in person.
• I want to support my local businesses and venues to preserve that lifestyle.

Here’s why investing in Main Street makes sense for me:

• It contributes to the prosperity and economic growth of the community.
• You can have a direct say in the makeup of the community.
• You can keep jobs local. When local enterprises thrive, more jobs are created, keeping money local to boost the local economy and local workers and local schools and infrastructure that benefit from increased tax revenues.

Investing locally is not just a one-way street. Many of us investors love to get behind good causes, but we would love it to make economic sense as well so we can keep the engine going. My point is:  investing in Main Street doesn’t necessarily mean sacrificing profits or returns.

In addition to the positive economic impact you can make on your community, here are some of the advantages of investing in Main Street:

• By investing in local assets is you are in an ideal position to analyze deals. Nothing beats familiarity of local and regional economies and communities for assessing the feasibility of investment opportunities.
• Investing locally or regionally also allows you to touch and feel an investment. Potential direct investment assets can be inspected in person and with passive investments, you can have the opportunity to meet directly with fund sponsors and potential GPs (General Partners). This makes it easier to align your investment objectives with those seeking your capital.
• Being local and having an intuitive understanding of the market allows you to assess risk better than if you were investing in an out-of-state unfamiliar market.
• Investing locally gives you an advantage over non-local competitors who don’t have the same intimate local knowledge and relationships that you possess.
• Investing locally insulates your investing capital from the volatility of the broader markets.
• By investing locally, you may be able to take advantage of local economic incentives like local tax breaks or revitalization incentives not found elsewhere.

Investing in Main Street makes economic sense for local communities as well as investors. That’s why I’m always looking to invest assets in markets and communities where the Main Street economy will get a boost from jobs and capital that will stay local.