Editorial: Small business Saturday is a "Win-Win" for local communities
Saturday, November 25, is Small Business Saturday – a day set aside each year to celebrate and support small businesses in our local communities. In 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.
According to Forbes and the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the United States Small Business Administration, “…not only are the majority of jobs in the U.S. created by small businesses, but they are also a major source of innovation, economic growth and national prosperity. But the top small business statistics for 2022 do more than unveil insights on what works and what doesn’t.”
In a proclamation honoring Small Business Week, Governor Roy Cooper stated that in 2022, North Carolina’s 994,500 small businesses accounted for more than 99 percent of the state’s businesses while employing 1.7 million people statewide.
Originally conceived by American Express in 2010 during the great recession to help support the country’s network of vitally important small businesses, and then officially sponsored by the SBA in 2011, Small Business Saturday has become an integral part of the economic success of local small businesses and routinely kick-starts the holiday shopping season.
Wedged between Black Friday and Cyber Monday, with all THOSE deals, why shop and support small businesses on Small Business Saturday?
“Small Business Saturday is vitally important to local communities because when patrons shop locally, both small business owners and the greater community as a whole are bolstered and buoyed,” said Joe Wallace, president of Lexington Area Chamber of Commerce. “Those purchases 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 small businesses, 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 neighborhood.
In January, North Carolina launched a tourism-focused economic recovery initiative to help build economic resiliency for the state’s tourism and outdoor recreation industries, which impacts small businesses.
“We encourage everyone to shop local in Thomasville this Saturday. There is a wide variety of shops where you can find something for everyone on your list,” said Tourism Director Cameron Green Marsden. “Come see the many makers and their unique items at BL Makers Market, grab a bite of lunch at JJ’s Side Street Deli within the Antique Emporium and then head down to Old North State Candy for a sweet treat! Come enjoy our historic downtown where there will be lots of sales and other incentives offered by our locally owned stores.”
Marsden added that 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.
