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News articles throughout the U.S. each Thanksgiving week promote “Small Business Saturday.” It’s the day following “Black Friday,” when consumers are encouraged to support local, independent retailers with their Christmas shopping dollars.
Farm Bureau Financial Services (FBFS) reports that American Express launched the promotion in 2010 “to help small businesses gain exposure and inspire consumers to shop within their own communities during the holiday season.” Local, state and federal officials, looking to help small businesses work their way out of the Great Recession, quickly endorsed the idea, and an annual day supporting mom-and-pop shops around the country was born. According to AmEx, this has led to more than $200 billion in Small Business Saturday sales since 2012.
That’s cool. The more days and events geared toward strengthening small businesses, the better. This is especially true for rural businesses that serve limited customer bases and compete daily with multinational corporations for local dollars. I often hear reports from owners that Small Business Saturday and major community events are the difference-makers for their businesses.
But rather than a few days where we alter our shopping habits, why not permanently change them to help local economies thrive?
That’s undoubtedly easier said than done, and it’s not all on consumers. We gratefully live in a free-market economy that rewards good ideas. Businesses large and small must provide products and services people want and can afford. Successful entrepreneurs continually assess how they can best serve their customers, not how they can make customers feel sorry for them so they’ll buy an inferior product.
That said, consumers could significantly impact their local economy by supporting local businesses over large corporations. According to FBFS, for every dollar spent at a local small business, 68 cents stays within the local economy. That’s the money that supports school programs, parks, emergency services – you name it. I’ve found that some of the most generous people on the planet are small business owners. They are frequently approached to support the good causes of the community and are generally the quickest to write the checks.
Besides, a community with many thriving small businesses is a more enjoyable place to live. It fights off isolation and loneliness as we interact in shops, restaurants and community markets. It creates jobs and economic independence. It produces people with purpose – a community-minded bunch who work together to push their small towns forward.
There are more opportunities to spend those dollars locally than one might think, but it does require a paradigm shift. We’ve been well-trained to find what we need online or at the big box, but as one chamber of commerce leader recently told me, nearby small businesses often offer the same products (or better ones) at reasonable prices. These businesses certainly need to find more ways to let consumers know they’re there, but all other things being equal, it wouldn’t hurt to ask this simple question when reaching for the wallet:
Should this dollar go to the corporate billionaire, or to that nice lady from the PTA?
Or that gentleman from church.
Or that local grower at the farmer’s market.
I’ve got nothing against billionaires, but if I have a choice between funding their next trip to space or the next elementary school field trip – it’s a pretty easy decision.
Rural Business in the News
Here are some rural business stories that caught my attention.
Rural is Rad
Summit Daily in Frisco, Colorado, reports on the second annual Rural is Rad Week from Nov. 30 to Dec. 7 to celebrate and support rural outdoor brands in Colorado. This initiative aims to drive revenue for these businesses, encourage consumers to shop local and foster a year-round community between brands and customers.
Energy Projects
The USDA continues to pour money into renewable energy. A slew of reports came in this week from around the country on federal grants going to farms and other businesses in the United States. Most of the projects are funded by the Inflation Reduction Act, according to the Chattanooga Times Free Press in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Examples of funded projects include better insulation for poultry houses, installing energy-efficient equipment and lighting at manufacturing plants, and solar array installations on farms, among others.
The Free Press reports that the law “authorizes hundreds of billions of dollars in investments toward clean energy and sustainability, among other things. President-elect Donald Trump has put Biden’s climate and energy policies in the budget-cutting crosshairs, calling for any unspent IRA funds to be rescinded. As Trump’s inauguration draws near, the Biden administration has moved to swiftly allocate remaining funds.”
https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2024/nov/27/poultry-farms-small-businesses-awarded-36m-in
Rural Retail
A rural business success story in Prophetstown, Illinois, shows how a retailer went from a small online clothing store to a recognizable national brand with a local storefront. WQAD8 reports that Envy Boutique’s convenient app and online ordering system have made it easy for customers to shop from anywhere, contributing to a significant portion of the store’s revenue. The success has not only benefited owner Chelsie VanDyke but also the entire community of Prophetstown. The store’s growth has created jobs and stimulated local businesses.
Ben Rowley is a small-town news publisher and writes about Rural Business issues. Find more content at RuralBusiness.com. Have a Rural Business story to share? Reach out at contact@ruralbusiness.com.
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