Guest post by Dan Danner.
This year, on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, a lot of people decided to skip the malls and shop on Main Street.
That’s good, because small, independently-owned businesses are what keeps our economy going, and getting the holiday season off to a strong start for millions of small businesses can have a big impact—not only on their bottom line, but on the local communities they support.
According to a survey released Monday by American Express and my association, the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), consumers spent an estimated $5.5 billion at locally-owned stores and restaurants on Small Business Saturday. That’s even better than we had expected.
Supporting small business isn’t a one-time thing, however. I believe it’s important that we continue to shop local throughout the year, not just during the holiday season. We can’t have a strong economy unless our small businesses are doing well, and, right now, a lot of them aren’t.
According to NFIB’s latest Small-Business Optimism Index, small-business owners are still uncertain about what’s going to happen with the economy over the next few months.
The survey, conducted before the election, found that weak sales was still the No. 1 challenge facing small-business owners. While we’re supposedly well into the recovery, the only money being made right now is on Wall Street, not Main Street. On top of that, the White House and Congress can’t agree on a plan for avoiding the “fiscal cliff."
Small businesses are small in name only. As a sector, they are America’s greatest job creators, historically responsible for most of the nation’s net new jobs. They also account for half of private sector GDP, in spite of the fact that they disproportionately bear the burden of higher costs—from regulations and taxes—than their larger counterparts. More than any other sector, the small-business community needs encouragement and support that we can provide by shopping small. Because owners aren’t going to add employees – or expand or invest in new equipment – if the economy is weak and consumers are afraid to spend.
The value in something like Small Business Saturday, I think, is that it reminds people that we need to support the establishments that mean so much to America’s economic wellbeing – not just at the holidays but every day.
When you shop at small, locally-owned businesses, you’re supporting your friends and family. You’re supporting the people who support our schools and charities. When you support small business, you’re supporting your community.
You’re also dealing directly with people who value your support, your patronage and your time.
Small-business owners and their employees know their merchandise and understand their customers. When you shop at a small business, there’s a good chance you’ll be dealing directly with the owner or someone else who not only knows something about the products or services offered but will be there after the holidays to continue serving you.
Small-business owners and their employees will do everything they can to keep you satisfied because their livelihoods depend on you coming back. But their doors will begin to close if consumers across the nation choose to not shop small, and more importantly, if lawmakers in Washington choose to not act on the more pressing economic issues of the day.
Shopping local on Small Business Saturday was a good start. Now, we need to support small, independent businesses through consumer spending and through pro-business policy initiatives the rest of the year, too.
Dan Danner is president and chief executive officer of the National Federation of Independent Business, a nonprofit, nonpartisan trade association based in Washington, D.C.
