Black Friday 2019 hasn’t even happened, yet I would posit that you can probably recite an entire repertoire of Black Friday advertisements. For the past few weeks, we’ve been barraged with enticing door buster and “best deal of the year” types of content everywhere we look. Oh and let’s not forget about Black Friday’s cool younger cousin, Cyber Monday. We’ve heard plenty about him too! As ridiculous as these “holidays” are, I wouldn’t blame you for capitalizing on the deals. I’ve held out on a new phone for months now in anticipation of the Black Friday / Cyber Monday savings I plan to score. Nothing wrong with being frugal! But what about all the underdogs of the holiday season - all the small companies? How can they compete with the big box money makers? 
There’s another shopping holiday that we can’t let fall to the wayside. Small Business Saturday is a crucial element of the kick off to shopping season! The holiday was actually born not too long ago. Back in 2010, in the midst of the Great Recession, American Express created Small Business Saturday to stimulate sales for small, suffering companies. As we talked about last week, it takes a lot to start and maintain a business, and many companies rely on the holiday shopping season to cover their profits for the year. That’s why it’s important to support our small businesses this Saturday (and always of course)! 
But the benefits of shopping small don’t just stop at keeping the mom and pop shops alive. For every dollar spent at a small business in the U.S., approximately 67 cents stays in the local community. So when you shop small, it can make a bigger impact than you think - one you can actually see within your own community!
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