Shop Local for the Holidays: 'Small Business Saturday' Nov. 26

While running some errands and shopping, I couldn’t help but notice the holiday decorations in the parking lots of retail centers, and the holiday music being played in the stores. It dawned on me that next week is Thanksgiving.

Yes, it’s time to think about holiday shopping!  Someone once told me that Santa Claus was a woman … and that may be true, but I do see a lot of men out looking for holiday gifts also. 

Did you know that Small Business Saturday is Saturday, November 26, the day after Black Friday? This day is an opportunity to celebrate and patronize the unique small businesses in our area.  Many small businesses are creating special offers and hope that this will be their biggest sales day of the year.

As you try to stretch your holiday budget and make everyone on your list happy, why should you also think about shopping local and supporting small businesses as part of your holiday preparations?  Why should it matter where you shop, when all businesses hire employees, pay wages and taxes.

An economic impact study done in Maine concluded that three times as much money stays in the local economy when you buy goods and services from locally owned businesses instead of large chain stores.  The survey tracked eight locally owned businesses with combined sales of $5.7 million. These businesses spent 44.6 percent of their revenue within the surrounding two counties.  Another 8.7 percent was spent somewhere in the state of Maine. The four largest components of this local spending were wages and benefits, goods and services purchased from other local businesses, profits to the owners, and taxes paid to local and state governments.

Shopping local allows more of your money to stay right here in our community to support our schools, our police and fire departments, and our community needs.   Local businesses are connected to the community and care about it. They support the local sports leagues, they hire your neighbor, they donate to local charities, and they may even give your child a summer job.

Visit the Chamber’s online Shop Local Business Directory to find the local businesses you need at www.MtVernon-LeeChamber.org. After you’ve shopped all the “big boxes” on Black Friday, “Shop Small” on Saturday and you won’t be disappointed.