As you’re all aware, we love small businesses, for a myriad of
reasons. But we’re not the only ones.
The Day of the Small Business
November 24 is Small Business Saturday, a day devoted to shopping at
small businesses. The concept was developed by American Express in 2010 as an effort to recognize the importance of small businesses to
the local economy. Falling between the two biggest shopping days of
the year (Black Friday and Cyber Monday), Small Business Saturday
encourages shoppers to remember to shop local and support the
businesses that keep the wheels of their community churning.
Small Businesses Deserve Their Own Day
When you first hear about Small Business Saturday, you might have some
doubt. After all, isn’t it just made up by a credit card company? That
may be true, but we celebrate and support Small Business Saturday
because small businesses deserve it. The U.S. Small Business
Association says that small businesses have generated 64 percent of
new jobs, and paid 44 percent of the total U.S. private payroll since
1995. Not to mention that dollars spent at local businesses stay in
the community through the taxes paid by the business.
Small businesses are pretty important, and we like them, so why
shouldn’t they get their own day? Moms are important, and we like them,
and they get Mother’s Day. Dads – same thing, and they get Father’s
Day. Heck, even trees get Arbor Day! I think it’s perfectly fair to
pay homage to the small businesses that make our towns unique and
interesting places to live.
Go Forth and Celebrate
Now that you’re in the know about Small Business Saturday, we
encourage you to fully participate by taking a stroll down Main Street
and seeing what you can see. Buy a coffee from the local café, then
browse through the book store. Buy a gift for Toys for Tots or the
Angel Tree at the children’s store. If you can’t make it on November
24, we suggest any one of the other 364 days of the year. (Actually,
even if you do make it on November 24, those other 364 days of the
year still want you to make an appearance.)
See you on Main Street!
(P.S. Small businesses – if you’re interested in officially
participating in Small Business Saturday, American Express has some
free promotional tools at their website.)
