Promoting Local Arizona Businesses First with Kimber Lanning

In this episode, Tim Fergestad welcomes Kimber Lanning, the powerhouse behind Local First Arizona, the largest coalition of locally-owned businesses in the nation. Kimber shares how her passion for community and economic fairness led her to create an organization that levels the playing field for local entrepreneurs.

They explore how supporting locally-owned businesses creates real economic resilience in Arizona, and why ownership — not just geography — matters when building strong communities. Kimber dives into how Local First Arizona has shaped Phoenix’s adaptive reuse policy, launched incubator kitchens to support food entrepreneurs, and stood up against unfair subsidies given to big-box chains.

Whether it’s helping families in affordable housing start side hustles or changing policy to help small businesses open doors faster, Kimber’s impact is wide-reaching. She also shares her reflections on real estate, taxes, and what she wishes she’d known sooner about building long-term wealth.

----------------------------------------------- Interested in being part of this? Please visit our guest invitation page where you can learn more and fill out a brief questionnaire to get started: https://phoenixprosperitypodcast.com/guest It’s going to be enlightening and, most importantly, a lot of fun. I’d love for you to be a part of it!