In the midst of everything there is to do on a regular basis, it’s easy to forget just how much smaller local businesses need local residents’ support to stay afloat. And right now, with most people being asked to stay inside unless it’s absolutely necessary for them to go out for something (i.e. groceries or medicine), local businesses in your Cincinnati neighborhood are struggling.

Local economies are controlled almost entirely by local businesses, so supporting your local businesses doesn’t just help them out - it also helps you and your family. And since there certainly isn’t any tourism traffic at the moment, they need your help now more than ever. A lot of people are, understandably, in a tight spot with money right now, but if you have the means, do what you can to keep your local businesses alive and well right now.

Here are 7 things you can do to keep supporting local Cincinnati businesses right now:

1. Consider ordering take-out meals from local restaurants

While COVID-19 is keeping most of the population quarantined until further notice, local restaurants are still considered “essential services” because they serve food. Unfortunately, however, most places have closed their doors for people to dine in, so the only options for you to eat your favorite food made by someone else are take-out or delivery. Most places are doing everything they can to wave certain fees that they would usually have to drive up business.

Watch your favorite local places for things like free delivery or limited-time discounts that will benefit both you and their businesses. The important thing is that local restaurants are able to keep making profits while everyone is in quarantine because that means that they will be in less of a hole when the quarantine finally lifts.

Are you a fan of Thai? Chinese? Indian? Italian? Good, old-fashioned pizza? Especially when it comes to local restaurants, it’s important to remember that for those owners, their businesses are literally their livelihood. They need your support to make the money they need to feed themselves and their families during this tough time, too, so if you have a little extra money to spare and you find yourself with a hankering for some food that’s available for takeout, order it!

2. Cancel or reschedule reservations well in advance

Canceling reservations well in advance is a common courtesy that you probably should already be doing, but we completely understand that sometimes things come up at the last minute that force you to cancel on a shorter notice. This is not the case with the COVID-19 quarantine, however. You might be hoping that the quarantine will end in time for you to make your reservation, but at this point, we don’t really know when it will end.

It’s best to be safe and cancel your reservation now, instead of close to the deadline. If you made a reservation for something that you were really excited about and are sad to have to let go of now, call to see if there’s any way for you to reschedule your reservation for a later date. They’ll likely be ecstatic to know that they’ll still be getting business after this is all over, so do the courteous thing and cancel ahead of time.

Local businesses still have to spend money during this pandemic, so you’ll actually be helping them out a great deal by doing this one little thing. Maybe your favorite restaurant has a tentative reopening date, and they’ve cautiously begun accepting reservations from that date. They’ll need to order the proper amount of ingredients for their dishes to feed everyone though, so if you think there’s any chance that you’ll have to cancel your reservation, do it now.

3. Buy gift cards from local businesses for someone to use later

Gift cards are a really simple way to help bring business to your local Cincinnati establishments while they aren’t getting any foot traffic right now. If you have a little money to spare right now, buy up a selection of gift cards and set up a giveaway of those gift cards for people who are in need. You can choose gift cards for local restaurants, local spas, or even just local grocery stores. For places that are considered essential services, the winner of your giveaway will even be able to use their gift card right away!

What local businesses need right now more than anything else is your business. Without your business, they won’t have enough money to keep their establishments running - let alone to take care of themselves. Find ways to help in whatever way you can. Gift cards are the perfect way to help them keep making money to support themselves for the time being. And when everything is said and done and their business starts gaining more traffic again, you’ll be helping someone who needs it as well.

4. Present donations where you can

One of the most effective ways to support your local Cincinnati businesses right now is to simply donate to them. Nothing says support quite like an easy, non-transactional cash donation that will go straight into the pockets of the people you’re giving it to - and for local businesses, that’s probably what they need the most. While it’s always nice to receive something in return for your money, just donating can have its perks, too.

After all, if your local businesses aren’t able to survive this quarantine, they won’t be around for you to exchange your money for goods and services later on. A donation is an investment in the future of local businesses. And that is, ultimately, what’s going to keep your local Cincinnati economy thriving even in the midst of this pandemic, which is going to put you and your family in good economic standing, as well. There’s no time like the present to show off your philanthropic side. If you have something to give right now, give it!

5. Tip more than you usually would

Everybody’s hurting for money a little more than usual right now - but no one more than the people who are still keeping their local Cincinnati businesses open at the moment. Especially for people who work at local restaurants, such as delivery drivers or the people manning the cash register for take-out orders, the opportunities they have to make extra money right now are lower than ever.

A lot of people aren’t even thinking about what they can do to support local businesses right now because they’re so caught up in their own lives, but if you’ve been wondering what you can do to help out the local businesses of your Cincy neighborhood, see if you can tip your food service workers a bit more than you usually would.

Because most restaurants have closed their doors for dining in, most waiters aren’t making nearly the same kind of tips that they would have before the quarantine started. Show a bit of extra kindness with your takeout order this week, and throw in an extra five or ten dollars with your tip. They’ll appreciate you thinking of them when there’s so much else that you could also be worrying about.

6. Talk up local businesses on social media

Not everyone you know frequents the same neighborhoods and haunts as you do, so if you have a favorite local place in your Cincinnati neighborhood, post about it on social media! You might be clueing your neighbors who tend to venture far away from the neighborhood on the weekends into a local treasure.

Post pictures of takeout menus or sales advertisements to your Facebook page to promote your local faves to your friends. Even if you feel like you don’t have enough money to spare to do some of these other options right now, this is a great way to help bring traffic to your local businesses right now. Neighbors and friends will see your posts and, knowing how much you love these places, will decide to give them a chance.

Who knows? Maybe you’ll bring your favorite establishments a new regular that will keep coming even after the quarantine ends. And friends who live out of town will probably be begging to try “the best Thai food in Cincy” when they come to visit you again. If you can’t physically support your favorite local businesses right now, try your hand at supporting them digitally for the time being.

7. Share excess hand sanitizer and soap with them

Okay, so maybe you might have panicked a little when word of the quarantine got out and now you have way more hand sanitizer than you could ever use. It happens to the best of us. So, rather than continuing to hoard all of these cleaning supplies that you couldn’t possibly use up in the next year - let alone the next decade - why not make a generous donation to your favorite local businesses that are still open during the quarantine.

People who run the registers at the grocery store and delivery drivers who have to drop off that supreme pizza on your doorstep are still hard at work and coming in contact with enough people that they are at a higher risk than most of us. Help to keep them safe as they carry out their daily tasks by donating any excess hand sanitizer or soap or disinfectant wipes to your favorite local businesses. You’ll be helping to keep them safe, and you’ll be keeping yourself safe, as well.

While you’re comfortable inside your home during this COVID-19-induced quarantine, the local businesses around you are struggling to stay afloat. Luckily, there are ways for you to continue supporting them right now. If you want to make sure you can still go to your favorite places once the quarantine lifts, you should do everything in your power to make sure that local business owners and their employees are safe and healthy right now, as well.