Local businesses prep for Small Business Saturday

It’s the day after Black Friday, one of the busiest shopping days of the year, and an effort to support small, mom-and-pop shops.

Find more local businesses participating in Small Business Saturday on the American Express Small Business Saturday website.

“Small Business Saturday is our holiday”, Graham said. In 2011, the U.S. Senate unanimously made the day official. “I urge the residents of our community, and communities across the country, to support small businesses and merchants on Small Business Saturday and throughout the year”.

“It provides a break from crowds and chaos of big-box stores or malls, and the impersonal nature of ordering online”, said Ben Homeyer, South Carolina state director of the independent business group.

In Cedar Rapids, Pruden says her organization includes about 150 independent businesses.

The day to Shop Small is a fitting tribute to the people who fight to keep their doors open in tough economic times where so much attention is focused on big chain stores. After all, shopping locally is one of the earliest and most effective forms of crowdfunding.

The American Express-sponsored shopping holiday is simple. “They know what we’re looking for”. She says there won’t be any deep discounts here and most of their customers are alright with that. They do this by sourcing materials locally and using local vendors for goods and services.

Davis said, “We just want people to remember that every dollar spent in our community will circulate seven times and those dollars contribute to the local economy by providing more jobs and services”.

As a former small business owner, I recognize the difficulty these businesses face in planning for future growth and investment when health care and food costs are rising and energy costs remain uncertain. That size difference can mean local shops rely even more on support from their communities.

“We like to push word of mouth that you can make your own gifts for the holidays”, she said. That is an increase of 14-percent from the previous year.

Business owner Barry Gibson, of the Forget Me Not Factory on Main Street, is happy Ellicott City is celebrating the downtown shops and says he’s ready for the revenue that comes with it.