November 29, 2014 marks the fifth year of the Small Business Saturday celebration. Sandwiched between the Black Friday feeding frenzy and the anonymous, monotonous mouse clicks of Cyber Monday, Small Business Saturday is a financial force that continues to gain momentum.
A grassroots movement, Small Business Saturday has become a cornerstone of local marketing as entire neighborhoods rally to show support for the small businesses in their area. From its inauspicious debut in 2010 to its recognition by the U.S. Senate in 2011, it is estimated that more than $5.5 billion in revenue for small businesses will be generated this year.
Small Businesses Often Taken for Granted
Sadly, the buzz generated by the massive campaigns urging shoppers to flood stores the day after Thanksgiving and then to loosen their belts and clandestinely click when they return to work on Monday, conspicuously leaves the keystone of American economic health, the small business, shivering outside in the cold. Fortunately, things are changing for the better, as they should. Did you know
- There are almost thirty million small businesses in the country;
- Since the mid-1990s, more than two-thirds of the new jobs created in the U.S. have been by small businesses; and
- More than fifty percent of the working population – over 125 million people – find employment through small businesses.
The purpose of Small Business Saturday is to make sure that small business enterprises continue to grow and prosper.
Small Business Saturday and Your Business
Small Business Saturday, because of the national focus and heightened awareness it creates, is an opportunity for you to trump the impersonal and indifferent service of the retailing Goliaths. Study after study, survey after survey, shows that, bottom line, customers crave personal service above and beyond anything else – and personal service is a hallmark of the small business.
With all of the excitement surrounding the day, small business owners can tap into the free advertising that has been generated, use it to showcase wares and services, and strengthen their business by building a loyal and supportive customer base.
The Relationship Between Small Business and the Community
Unlike corporate giants, small businesses are intimately connected to their communities, and the relationship between the two is marvelously symbiotic as small businesses and their customers depend on each other for the financial and social health of where they live. Because small businesses provide services and goods, jobs and salaries, as well as support for local events and initiatives, the community is strengthened, and the mission of Small Business Saturday is to support and fortify the bond between them.
On Small Business Saturday, attention turns to some of the most important members of the local community, and the purchasing public is reminded that shopping small produces big dividends for everyone.
