Let's Support Small Business!
In 2019 Small Business Saturday had its best result ever reporting $19.6 billion in revenue – that one day! Then along comes 2020. And, according to Fortune, over 100,000 small businesses closed down permanently. Now, more than ever, small and local businesses need our support. But what can we do? We can think of small business the whole season, rather than just a day. And thanks to the internet, we can talk up our favorite spots to our friends around the world. Supporting someone’s favorite small business no longer requires a physical visit. So these small businesses can pull in customers from anywhere.
Supporting Small Business Helps More than Just Them
Why is it important to support small business? According to American Express, 67 cents of every dollar spent at a small business goes back into the community. So by supporting a small business, we are supporting our own local towns and neighborhoods.
How You Can Support Small and Local Businesses This Year
The quick answer is to just go to your local downtown and start shopping. But not everyone feels comfortable with that this year. And that’s ok. Just like everything else we do in 2020, we need to think differently about holiday shopping.
Plus, with a little imagination and effort…
Related Articles You Might Also Enjoy
Celebrate in Style! Retirement Party Etiquette 101 for Hosts and Guests
We Can Do So Much More!
Spread the Word! -- A Great New Way to Support Your Favorite Small Businesses
Why not take your enthusiasm for your favorite small or local business and broadcast that to your friends. Then while you’re at it, how about if they broadcast their favorites back to you and the whole group. Just imagine how that ‘Spread the Word’ exercise can help generate tons more support for these small and local businesses.
Try This Idea to Generate Excitement Around Shopping Small and Local –> Use your contact list to get a conversation going and share ideas.
Just imagine all the benefits:
- Small and local businesses gain exposure to new potential customers
- You and your friends discover all kinds of new places to shop
- People are reaching out and talking to each other! Such a simple thing that we can no longer take for granted.
And talk about feeling productive! Such an amazing feeling comes from helping someone else.
So, what do you think? Let’s do this!
It's Super Easy. Here's All You Need to Do:
- Gather your list of contacts and select the people you think would enjoy this exercise. This can be an email list, group texts, or connections on social media.
- Send a message that invites everyone to name their favorite small businesses. Ask them to include a little something about that business and, of course, a link.
- Set it up so that each response gets viewed by the whole group. Or collect the responses and group them into a composite list to share back.
This is what I plan to send to friends -- Feel free to copy
I am going to send an email to my contact list. I will encourage everyone to copy each other on their reply. But I will also put together an organized comprehensive list for my own use and to share.
“Hi everyone,
I want to do something special this year to support small and local businesses during the holiday season. And I hope you will join me with this fun exercise!
If we all share our favorite small and local shopping choices, we can spread the word. Together we can support these businesses while also helping each other find cool new shopping choices!
This is how it works.
- Come up with your list of favorite small businesses that have a website or some way of connecting online. Any number is fine. Even if you have just one shop you want to share, that’s great!
- Add a very short description of what you like about them. Also include the URL. <–VERY IMPORTANT
- And send it back to this whole group. Be sure to use the subject line: “Small Business Recommendations”
I will keep a running list to share in a few days. But if you reply to everyone, people don’t have to wait for me to get started shopping!”
One Collective List to Share on This Site
If you want to broadcast further, you can send your composite list back to me (janice@ijustretirednowwhat.com). I will then add your suggestions to my composite list and post back here.
My Contribution to Support Small Business
To get you started, here are three small businesses I plan to share with my contacts. Feel free to steal these!
Kimberly House carries beautiful handmade items for you, your baby, and your home. I found Kimberly House in my own neighborhood here in Westchester county New York. They are family owned and operated with roots in South Africa. Their products are hand-crafted and made with natural materials. Everything I’ve purchased from them has been the highest quality, gorgeously clean and simple, and timeless.
The Kimberly House website states that they, “…are firmly committed to forming relationships with our craftspeople, the environment, and our customers that begin and end with mutual respect and compassion…” You can just feel that sense of respect for people and environment from the moment you enter their shop.
This a great place to look for that unique but very functional item you won’t find anywhere else. They carry most products online. And they have free shipping anywhere in the US for orders over $50. If you do happen to be local, you can call in your order and they will email you when it is ready for in-store pick-up.
Their website is just recently updated with all kinds of beautiful items. So go check it out!
I found Edye’s Naturals at a craft fair one summer five or six years ago. And I have been using her products ever since. I am often told I don’t look my age, and I feel Edye’s products have a lot to do with that.
Edye’s Naturals carries products for the face and body made of all organic ingredients. She developed these products herself based on tons of research and trials. On top of that, according to her website, she plants one tree for every order (through ‘Offset Earth’). That makes me feel even better about making this choice for my skincare.
You can put together a cute little gift bag for someone you know who spends too much time in the sun. Or maybe you have someone on your guest list who seeks out organic products and might like to try something new.
When you visit her website, consider signing up for her newsletter as it arrives with tons of valuable research-based information. I have learned so much from her over the years.
Payton was another craft show discovery. Every year I went to this same craft show and every year you could tell the Payton booth by the crowd size around it. Her jewelry is amazing! Everything is just so lovely, flattering, and reasonably priced. I love the layering look with her necklaces and bracelets. And I do not go out in the summer without at least one ankle bracelet. I get so many compliments!
The variety of products makes this a perfect gift option. My friends love her products. My daughter and niece do too. They work for any age group. Her jewelry makes me feel younger. And yet I don’t feel out of place. That can be a tough balance to strike, and the design behind Payton Jewelry does it perfectly.
Some of the latest items on her website include:
- Completely customizable Uniquely You bracelets – a lovely personal gift.
- The Unbreakable Bond necklace – a sentimental gift for a partner, mother or daughter, or best friend, representing a bond that can’t be broken
- Special holiday items: Daydream Collection — dreamy and dainty chains that go perfectly with holiday dresses and Pearl Chain Collection because pearls are always perfect for the holidays!
Take a browse through her website (especially the new arrivals). I’m sure you’ll find all sorts of options to choose from for almost anyone on your list.
So Let’s Do This!
2020 has brought pain and suffering in so many different ways. And we all wish we could do more to help. This small business project may be one tiny gesture that addresses just one aspect of the suffering. But every gesture helps.
Go ahead and open that computer. Get out your list of contacts and reach out today!
“One person can make a difference. Everyone should try.” John F. Kennedy
I can’t wait to see what recommendations you all come up with!
Come Check Out Other Articles on This Site That Relate to This One!
Block out some time in your normal routine week to complete this ‘Spread the Word’ exercise.
This article includes some handy tips for organizing your contact list which will make an exercise like this one even that much easier.