Small business is an integral part of most communities. SMBs have many faces. It can be the local hardware store owner, the auto repair shop you can trust, the doctor who will still see you on Saturday, and the garage door repair person who will come after hours. It’s the neighborhood restaurant owners who depends on the community for their livelihood. It’s the franchise owner who invested their life savings to open the local branch of a popular eatery. All of these faces are SMBs.
Small Business Saturday
American Express started Small Business Saturday in 2010 to encourage people to support SMBs across the country. The event has grown every year since, and it’s more important today than ever before. Supporting small business means getting out into your community and showing local business owners you support them.
Small Business is the Fabric of Our Society
Small business is the fabric of our society. Our country’s economy has roots in SMBs. Think about the early settlers who traded goods and services. Think about the entrepreneurs with the great and sometimes crazy ideas. They start small and grow from there. Michael Dell and Steve Jobs started in their garages. Ben and Jerry started in an abandoned gas station in Vermont. Your daughter’s high school job gives her the training and experience that gives her the foundation and work ethic that makes her the CEO of the hospital chain tomorrow. Today, we are the incubator in our communities for the big businesses of tomorrow.
The point is not about picking SMBs over big business. Rather, it’s is about saying we need both. In our free economy, we need some healthy competition. We need mass market, and we need customization. We need the economies of scale that big business offers, but we also need the special attention an SMB can give you when they know you. This is about the marketplace and supporting commerce.
So, next week, after you indulge in your holiday meal, start thinking about the small business in your area who you can support on Small Business Saturday. And, then, if they have products and services you need, keep shopping small business the rest of the year as well.