About Local First Fresno

Local First Fresno is a project by Victor Ramayrat, owner of a local advertising and marketing firm. Victor is also the founder and creator of other local websites such as FresnoArts.net, FresnoJobs.org, and GreenFresno.org. Local First Fresno was started to provide an affordable, self-service online advertising and promotion platform for local businesses, so that they could compete with the "big guys" (those big retail boxes).

This project aims to create a grassroots campaign on promoting local business online by recruiting local business owners as well as their supporters into a social network. We believe that when given a platform to communicate, businesses and customers will engage into a discussion that increase the total value of our local economy.

What is a local business?

We define a locally owned business as one where the community member has full autonomy and local decision-making authority with respect to his or her business practices.

To qualify for membership, a participating local business should be able to answer "yes" to ALL of the following questions:

1. Do the business owners, totaling greater than 50 percent of the business ownership, live inside Fresno County?
2. Is the business registered in California, doing business in Fresno County (dba), with no corporate or national headquarters outside of the region?
3. Can the business make independent decisions regarding the name and look of the business, as well as all business purchasing, practices, and distribution?
4. Does the business pay all its own rent, marketing expenses, and other expenses (without assistance from a corporate headquarters)?

The Start of Something Bigger

Eventually, we would like to create a BALLE local network here in Fresno. If you are interested in participating in its creation by becoming a founder or a board member, please e-mail me.