The SBA Encourages Consumers to Make Small Business Saturday® a Year-Round Holiday
By Dr. Kelly Hunt
SBA Western Pa. District Director
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Ornaments already are dangling from the table-top and pre-lit trees at Perry Floral and Gift. Up too are twinkling holiday lights. Tucked under the greenery and throughout the shop are unique gifts for everyone from teachers to teens – necklaces, earrings and key chains to decorate bookbags.
Alexis Petrosky is one of more than 33 million small business owners across the country ready to ring in Small Business Saturday®, welcoming visitors with customer appreciation sales, fresh greenery, flowers, designer wreaths, cookies and refreshments.
This year, Small Business Saturday® will be held on November 26th, marking the 13th annual commemoration. Created by American Express and co-sponsored by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) the joint efforts strive to help independent businesses capture a larger piece of the critical holiday season consumer spending, while also helping address small business owners’ most pressing need: getting more customers through their doors. Towns and business districts pulling out all the stops making the day extra-special for consumers.
In Connellsville, festivities include draping the city’s 20-foot-tall holiday tree with hand-crafted popsicle-stick snowflake ornaments created by area children and volunteer teachers. It’s one of the many activities slated for the chamber’s eighth celebration.
“Seven years ago, no one knew about Small Business Saturday®,” said Greater Connellsville Chamber of Commerce Manager Brooke Deason. “Now, they’re asking what we’re going to be doing this year?”
Deason explained the focus is drawing people downtown to patronize both local businesses and crafters. The newly revamped East Side Fire Station now serves as a community center — its second floor hosting an artisan market. “We have a lot of local vendors and really wanted to give them a place to sell their creations,” Deason stated. “It [the market] is part of the messaging…to buy from people that live around you.”
The day culminates with Connellsville’s first-ever parade and light-up night — with all businesses turning on their holiday lights, illuminating their windows and holiday decor.
Deason expects crowds will be thick this Saturday. “The city is bustling with an ever-changing landscape of small businesses,” she added. “Once a storefront is available, a new business opens its doors.”
While there may not be extravagant decorations and parades in January, July and October, small businesses throughout the country still will offer that one-of-a-kind experience, providing patrons with distinctive items, impeccable customer service and a truly unique shopping and dining experience.
While we eagerly support and celebrate Small Business Saturday® in our communities and ring up record sales to the tune of $23.2 billion; it’s time to prioritize a year-round effort to patronize neighborhood stores and bistros, returning the intangible value they bring to our communities.
They’re the first to step up for charitable donations, team and organizational sponsorships and offering that all-important first jobs for our young adults. Overall, small businesses commit more resources to our communities than their big-box counterparts.
Visit your neighborhood small business owners this Saturday. More importantly, make a conscious effort to never take a holiday from shopping and dining small.
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