Shop Small Business!
COVID-19 has made 2020 a tough year for us all. Many businesses have been forced to shut down for an extended period of time, and others are seeing a reduction in customers and sales. This has forced many small businesses to close their doors for good, despite government assistance. Imagine if you lost all the small businesses in your neighborhood. Coffee shops, hair and nail salons, corner stores, spas, boutique clothing stores, family doctor offices, family dentists, local physical therapy offices, restaurants, craft stores, bars, gas stations, pet stores, and more … all gone. The neighborhood would look vastly different, not just from a physical sense, but from an economic perspective as well. The Small Business Administration (SBA) reports 28 million businesses in the U.S. are small businesses, which make up 99.7% of all firms in our country, and accounting for 44% of the U.S. economy. In addition, these businesses create 66% of all new jobs in the United States.
When you support a local business, you are also supporting your neighborhood. A small business pays sales tax to the city and county in which the business is located. In turn, this tax money is used to support public schools, parks, roads, firefighters, police and many more. According to Civic Economics, “on average, 48% of each purchase at local independent businesses is recirculated locally, compared to less than 14% of purchases at chain stores.” Small businesses have an advantage over big businesses, because they have the ability to provide more personable, and hands-on service.
Our country, states and towns would be adversely affected on many levels without small businesses. We all need to do our part to save our small businesses. You may ask, “What can I do?” You can start by shopping small businesses on Small Business Saturday this year and continue to shop at locally-owned businesses on a regular basis. Make a choice to go to privately owned doctors offices, dentists, and physical therapy clinics for your healthcare needs to receive the personalized care you need.
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