Op-Ed: Shop big on small business Saturday
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{Contributed Photo: The Smoke and Oak team presented with an award for small business contributions by Lexington Area Chamber of Commerce President Joe Wallace.}
Op-Ed: Joe Wallace
Lexington Area Chamber of Commerce
Saturday, November 26, is Small Business Saturday – a day set aside each year to celebrate and support small businesses all across the United States for all they do in our local communities. In Lexington and Davidson County, that means all the local businesses we know and love and would be hard-pressed to imagine our main streets and greater communities without.
Originally conceived by American Express in 2010 during the great recession to help support the country’s network of small businesses that are so vitally important, and then officially sponsored by the Small Business Administration in 2011, Small Business Saturday has become an integral part of the economic success of our local small businesses and routinely kick-starts the holiday shopping season. To the point that in 2021, only 11 years after it was started, US consumers who shopped at independently owned retailers and restaurants on Small Business Saturday spent an estimated $23.3 billion that day.
Why shop and support small businesses on Small Business Saturday? When patrons shop locally, both small business owners and the greater community as a whole are bolstered and buoyed. Those purchases? They help to create local employment opportunities, assure tax dollars remain in Lexington and Davidson County and make it possible for small businesses to give back to their local communities.
Statistics show that for every 10 jobs that exist at a small business, another seven are supported in the same community. Additionally, statistics reveal that small businesses generate two out of every three new jobs, and for every dollar spent locally at a small business, roughly 67 cents stay within the community. It’s a huge economic impact that cannot be overstated.
Shopping locally on Small Business Saturday fosters a sense of community. You know your local small business owner, and they know you! Undoubtedly a win-win transaction for everyone.
So, on this coming Saturday, November 26, be a part of Small Business Saturday by shopping locally and patronizing all your favorite small businesses.
You will be glad you did!
