Today, 64% of new jobs come from small business in the US. In Canada, 87.7% of new jobs come from small businesses. These trends are rising. More people are stepping into the entrepreneurial spotlight, a very large responsibility, to take ownership of creating their own futures and helping first. Today, “Small-business Saturday”, is their day.
Here’s why you should care.
Your kid will probably work for a local entrepreneur, or become an entrepreneur themselves.
Local entrepreneurs give to local charities.
Local entrepreneurs support other local entrepreneurs, creating a cascading effect.
Small businesses pay more in local taxes than you do.
Small business owners pay their staff more than they pay themselves.
Small business pulls money into your city.
Small business creates sixteen times more patents than large business does. That means more innovation, more future security, and more jobs.
But the real reason: the local business owner has probably been up since 5am, getting ready to serve you. They’ll probably still be going after you’ve had your dinner. They probably make less than you–for now–and they’re probably wondering if they’ll still be open in twelve months. The city your kids will inherit, and the opportunities presented to them, depend on the success of your local small businesses.
Here’s how to support them:
Choose to support local businesses. When you can, shop local & sign-up local. By signing up for local services, like gyms and dentists and lawyers, makes a huge difference. Franchisees are local too–you don’t have to stop visiting them–but corporate-owned stores like Starbucks pull money out of town.
Respect their staff & Tip their staff REALLY well. One of the hardest parts of owning a business is creating meaningful careers for your staff. When people like their jobs and earn enough money, they stay. They keep their kids in local schools and local sports; drive better cars; keep their yards clean. Be nice to the front-line worker.
Respect their time. Time is a huge commodity of a small business owner.
Don’t ask for discounts, especially on services. Most small-business owners will surrender a discount if you ask for one. Don’t. They’ll discount themselves to death, because they think they’re helping a friend. If you ask for a discount, you’re not being a friend; you’re taking advantage. They can discount products, but they can’t get more time. I challenge you to go in the other direction and decline a discount when it’s offered.
Forgive their mistakes. Big companies screw up all the time, but they make their mistakes in other cities, and then teach their staff how to avoid making the same mistake in the future. Local entrepreneurs have to make all of their mistakes on local people. A personalized experience means you’re dealing with a person. And people screw up. But people can also make it up to you.
Tell your friends. Small businesses depend on referrals for growth.
Bring them a coffee. They need it.
No one’s asking for charity here. Some businesses deserve to be successful, and some don’t. And many of us get into this entrepreneurial lifestyle because we see a need and we want to help people, and because we want to love what we do. We make big sacrifices for the opportunity to be more & do more. But there’s a lot on the line, and in order to be able to continue the helping circle, we need to support each other, we need to help first, and it starts with a simple “Thank you.”
So from the entire Tradewinds Family, Thank you, to our customers, clients, staff, neighbors, friends, and entire community! We care about you, too.
Special thanks for laying the groundwork with this fantastic post & for all the other awesome stuff you do for us entrepreneurs!