Creating a Local Store That Gives Back

🤝 Why We’re Doing This

Big-box chains and online giants have taken a toll on our towns. They’ve made shopping convenient — but also costly. Every time we buy from them, we ship our money far away and weaken the economic roots beneath our feet.

We’re flipping that model.

This store isn’t about profit for the few — it’s about access, sustainability, and economic power for the many. Together, we’ll keep wealth circulating here, support local sellers, and give our towns a new kind of gathering place.

✨ What Makes This Different

• ✅ Locally owned & operated
• ✅ Membership-based with real benefits
• ✅ Supports rural entrepreneurship
• ✅ Driven by a circular economy — resale, reuse, and repair
• ✅ Built with technology that connects us, not controls us
• ✅ Invest into new small businesses in rural communities

A Resale Powered Incubator

Locla aims to establish itself in underserved rural communities where it can have the most impact. Members work together to come up micro small business ideas that are both affordable and needed in the community. These businesses give the community a chance to learn about small business development, management, and gain real-world skills to succeed in today’s hectic job market.

To fund these projects, proceeds from each sale are set aside to be allocated to the chosen project. This enables true rural development, controlled and operated by community members. You can see what rural business ideas have been proposed and provide feedback on them.

Proving The Concept – Our Demo Days

To find this out we will run a dry run known as our Demo Days. This gives us and the community a chance to discover our project and determine if it is a wanted/needed thing in the community.

This is the most critical stage of the project and will allow us to test the concept, our workers, our website, and our system for gaps, bottlnecks, and gauge interest in the community.

WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT!

Without your support we cannot continue the project, and will fail in recieving grants and funding for the project to truly make it a successful operation that delivers maximum value for Decatur County.

This dry-run will be our “Demo Days”, and be as much about measuring interest as it is a case study in how responsive rural economies can be.

Because this is intended to be a community project, we will track and share with the community the results of the dry run.

If you are interested in following the project and seeing the results, be sure to join the newsletter.

Become a Demo Days Worker

For this dry run to be successful we need workers who are interested in the project and eager to participate. These workers will be “beta testers” of our system and processes, and will provide direct feedback on their experience. They will be paramount to the success of the project and in return, will receive store credit for donating their time to the project.

Workers will participate in narrow tasks, and work together as a team to accomplish a larger goal. A variety of work is available, some of which can be done at the comfort of your home using our website.

Over the course of the dry-run we will look at workers metrics to determine what kind of pay rate is possible for our workers should the dry-run be successful. This is key information for securing funding. Furthermore, all Demo Day workers will be first in line for these positions should the project succeed.

Become a Demo Days Seller

Aside from workers, we need locals who are interested in selling their items to the local community via our platform. They will use our tools to list and sell their goods, and provide feedback on their experience.

This is another critical part of the project, and in return sellers will recieve ZERO-FEE CONSIGNMENT, in which it is free for them to sell their belongings on our site.

This is an excellent opportunity to sell locally your best items for free with little effort and hassle. We have an application form for Demo Day Sellers here, and priority will be given to sellers with the best items for selling locally.

This opportunity is available for both local businesses and community members with desirable belongings to sell. They can choose to be anonymous or be publicized as a sponsor for the event.

📬 Stay in the Loop

We’re in the early stages — but momentum is building.
If you believe in this vision, join our newsletter to:

• Get progress updates
• Meet local sellers and supporters
• Be first to know when memberships open
• Learn how you can get involved or invest

Let’s bring Main Street back — together.

Join The Project