Shop Small and Support Local Businesses on Small Business Saturday
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The holiday season is upon us!
This year, I want to encourage you to channel your festive energy into something that can truly make a difference in your community: shopping locally on small business Saturday! Show some love to local businesses around you. And if you’re a small business owner, get people excited about your store with some of the simple strategies shared here by local female business owners in the Salt Lake area.
Small Business Saturday isn't just a day to shop; it's an opportunity to celebrate the heartbeat of your community. Let's get into it!
For all the shoppers out there
Here are some simple ways to celebrate small business Saturday:
Go local "shop hopping" with friends. Create a list of your favorite local businesses in an area where you can do a walking tour of all the stores. At each shop, be sure to tell the owner and staff that they made the top of your list!
Snap and share selfies and tag the small business, or consider leaving a 5-star review for the places you love. Spreading the love online and on social media makes a huge difference, and it only takes a few minutes to do!
Buy a gift card for a friend, family member, colleague or loved one. Tell them about why you love the small business it’s from, and encourage them to leave a positive review once they’ve had a great experience there, too!
For the entrepreneurs and local small businesses
Are you a small business looking to maximize sales during the holidays? Here are some helpful tips from other entrepreneurs on how to grow your business at this time of year:
Manage your time well. Focus on the most impactful actions rather than trying to do everything.
“The holiday season is so busy and time management can be hard to navigate. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have moments that are emotional and hard. What helps me is to write down a to-do list and focus on the top 2 things that will be the most profitable. I also participate in local community events to find customers who are a good fit for me.”
Marie has been running an independent clothing line for 10 years. She sells high-quality, hand produced clothing on her etsy site and her own site. Last year, Marie also fought one of the hardest battles in her journey and won. This November 18th will be her one-year mark for ringing the bell on her last radiation treatment for breast cancer. She went through a full bilateral mastectomy and says during her entire breast cancer journey she danced to the song “Unstoppable” by Sia. As the motto on her website reads, “Live in the moments that matter.”
I don’t know about you, but I’m incredibly inspired by Marie’s story and very grateful for her contribution to this blog post! Thank you, Marie!
2. Create a Small Business Saturday sale. Give your customers a unique offer to draw their attention and thank them for being a part of your customer base. Also, remind your audience to shop locally all year long.
“I’ve had a small business Saturday sale in my shop for many years now. I also post about supporting ALL small businesses, not just mine. I support local as much as possible.”
Trinette says that running a special sale for Small Business Saturday has been helpful for her business, CalliAmberCreations. “I've been in business for 6 years,” she says. “It started as a very small shop, only offering port access shirts to childhood cancer patients. It has now grown to over 70 items to help youth and adult cancer patients alike. I started this business when my son was battling childhood cancer at the age of 2. He battled for 3 years and finished treatment in 2020. He is now almost 9 and doing great!”
Wow, such a powerful story of paying it forward and how a small business can lift up other small businesses around it. Thank you, Trinette, for sharing your story!
3. Collaborate with other businesses while at the same time showing your excitement and passion for your own product to your audience.
“Leverage other people’s audiences through collaborations, user generated content (UGC) and giveaways. Customers are LOOKING to buy right now, so make it easy for them. The more in love with your product and offers you are, the more your customers will sense that and mirror it.”
MyClubRed.com aims to help all menstruators learn that their periods don't have to be a major pain; instead, menstrual cycles can become a welcome time for rest, repair, and self-care. They provide inclusive, Earth-friendly, and hormone-friendly period care. Elizabeth first learned about menstrual cycle awareness through reading the book Wild Power by Alexandra Pope and Sjanie Hugo Wurlitzer of Red School.
After reading the book, she first thought, "It's time to remove my IUD and welcome back this normal, natural, important aspect of this phase of my life." Next she thought, "Everyone needs to hear about this!"
In 2022 she completed Red School's Menstruality Leadership Program and in 2023 completed Lisa de Jong's Menstrual Cycle Coaching & Facilitation Professional Training. As a former university educator, Elizabeth is passionate about bringing menstrual cycle awareness to both her local community through live workshops and the broader international community through individual client work, virtual workshops, and My Club Red.
Wow, SUCH an inspiring business with an incredible mission! Thank you, Elizabeth, for contributing to this article and for doing what you do.
4. Start talking about your offers as early as possible!
“Give sneak peeks, talk about bonuses, talk about exclusive discounts for those on your waiting list, and show before and afters.”
April Hiatt, owner of Impactful Online Solutions, offers her clients "done for you" website packages and "done with you" courses, templates and help. She says that keeping an active email list is a huge part of her small business Saturday approach. You can check out her website here: April Hiatt
“I typically schedule all my content early and do my sale the week before, that way during the holiday rush and all the BF nonsense, I can focus my time and energy on my own self care and/or my family. ❤ ”
Nicole Hurst Lockwood says her biggest tip for business owners at this time of year is to schedule your content and promote your sale NOW, so you can relax during the rush and not feel pressured to compete with big box stores.
She offers an online course called Confident Curves: Boudoir Selfies for All Bodies and does custom photography work for women. I love her mission and the inspiring statement she makes on her website: Age, shape, size, color, height doesn't define who you are. You are the only you... which makes you wildly unique, amazing and beautiful in your own right.
I could not agree more!
5. Get to know your customer— their pain points, what they like in a sale— and speak directly to that.
“Be sure to niche down on your target customer. If something isn’t working with your sales, think about whether you’re reaching your ideal customer’s pain points in order to convert more quickly.”
Felicia Black of www.feliciapaints.com has been in business for 4 years offering subscription boxes, painting kits, and paint night events. Her biggest advice? Know your customer. "For my holiday sales," she says, "my customers always like a certain dollar amount or percentage off, so that's what I try to stick to."
I love that advice! At a time of year when you have a lot going on, there’s no need to reinvent the wheel if something is working. Thank you, Felicia, for being a part of this post!
This year, I encourage you to explore the transformative power of supporting small businesses during the holiday season. It's not just about finding unique gifts and one-of-a-kind treasures; it's about fostering a sense of unity, resilience, and prosperity within our local communities.
A big thanks to all the powerhouse women who contributed to this post and thank you for doing what you do in the community!
Love,
Rachel
