Small Business Saturday is a day created by American Express to commemorate and promote Small Businesses and remind consumers that small businesses are the true back bone of America.
Did you know that according to the 2014 census, there are 29 million registered businesses in America, of which 25 million have “less than” 10 employees, of the 25 million, 22 million claim to have 0 -1 employee (meaning “self-employed”).
Small businesses account for 99.7% of all employers (source: SBA.gov), which means that if small businesses “went away”, it would devastate the economy. Supporting local, small and privately owned businesses is critical to our economy, our communities and our nation and not to mention the families they support.
Sure, you can get virtually anything on Amazon (or online), delivered the next day (and soon within hours). However, you can’t get a haircut, a slice of pizza served hot and fresh, gas in your car, a way to fix that knitting mistake or your lawn cut on Amazon. There are many goods and services that you can only get from a local business and it doesn’t take much to support your local business! You can support your local business by just taking a little bit of time out of your day and that effort will always rewarded with a smile from the business owner.
So this Saturday, go out and see how many businesses you can support, but make it your personal challenge to shop local every week, throughout the year. When you engage with the local business owners, you will find them welcoming, informative and grateful.
Shop Small and do BIG things for your local businesses, community and your country.
About the Author:
Joe Grushkin is a serial entrepreneur for over 35 years. Currently, as the CEO, President and Founder of MaxExposure Social Media, the premier Social Media & Reputation Management Firm on North America, he is growing the business with effective leadership skills and developing a management team to lead in the future. MaxExposure assists small and media sized local businesses in over 80 industries. More information is available at www.MaxExposureSocialMedia.com