…After a great deal of thought—and a great deal of effort trying to find another organization to carry it forward—I’ve made the very difficult decision to close ShopLocalRI.

We hold a deep passion for small business success, and I’m grateful that we get to work with them every day right here at Visual Thrive, as their Fractional CMO. We are still very much open for business, and we will continue facilitating our Create Your Marketing Blueprint workshops.

ShopLocalRI was never just a website to me. It was a labor of love.

It was born on Day One of Rhode Island’s shutdown at the start of the global pandemic. My wildly audacious goal was to help our small businesses continue to thrive. I already knew that Rhode Island was filled with extraordinary people doing extraordinary things. And in a state where small businesses account for about 98% of our businesses and plays an enormous role in our economy, I strongly believed they deserved to be discovered, celebrated, and—most importantly—prosperous.

We created the only state-specific online Directory in United States that is tightly connected to an e-commerce platform and marketplace representing more than 2,500 small businesses. We sold Rhode Island products into 17 other states. We gathered for monthly workshops and created videos to tell your stories. We were honored with a Netty Media Award for E-commerce, and a Global Excellence Award for Best Local Services E-Commerce Website.

Thank you for trusting me with your business and your story.

Most of all, thank you for choosing to be a part of something created with a simple idea at its heart:
Shop local and support the people who make Rhode Island special.

That idea isn’t going away just because the website is.

I have one ask of all of us: Could we commit to spending at least 20% of our dollars locally—especially as the gift-giving season approaches?