As the holiday season fast approaches, it can be easy to feel overwhelmed by the consumerism that seems to ever-increasingly define this time of year. From the distraction of Amazon catalogues arriving in our mailboxes to the constant barrage of big box store commercials featuring a bouquet of sales, it can be easy to lose sight of something truly important: the fact that small businesses need your support now more than ever. Fortunately, every last Saturday in November is a day set aside to celebrate that very fact!
According to sba.gov, “Small Business Saturday was founded by American Express in 2010 and officially cosponsored by SBA since 2011”. This means that this November 29, we celebrate 15 years since Small Business Saturday debuted as a way to make sure you have an amazing holiday gift for everyone on your list–while also supporting the amazing small business owners who constitute the most important economic building blocks of our society. For an added dose of fun, many small business owners plan special events and sales for Small Business Saturday, many of which are a great way for the whole family to kick off the holidays together in style.
Below, see some of our favorite reasons to shop small this holiday season:
- You know where your money is going
- When you purchase your holiday gifts from a small business, you know your hard-earned dollars are going to piano lessons for the owner’s children, bills that need to be paid, care for relatives, etc. You can rest assured that the money you spend is helping families, rather than lining the pockets of a faceless corporation
- Flexible pricing
- There is a huge misconception that big box stores and sites are always cheaper–that’s not true! Small businesses often run amazing sales, and are much more capable of negotiating than big box stores are!
- Sustainability and Transparency
- Small Businesses often sell products that are more sustainably sourced, and are usually very open to questions about the sourcing of their products.
- Quality over Quantity
- Sure, you may sometimes spend more at a small business. But, that’s because the products are higher-quality. It’s so much better to spend a little more for something that will last you twice as long!
- The Experience
- Small businesses take pride in how their stores look, and boast amazing customer service to optimize an amazing customer experience–which is much more meaningful than shopping on your phone!
- Uniqueness
- Looking for something unique for someone who marches to the beat of their own drum (or for yourself)? Small businesses specialize in creating and sourcing unique, one-of-a-kind items! Here at Gilded Design Studio, we specialize in creating bespoke pieces for our customers.
- Supports the Local Economy
- And of course, if you are looking for a way to support the local economy, shopping small during the holiday season is a great way to do so, while ensuring that every loved one on your list will receive a gift that they will truly treasure.
Here at Gilded Design Studio, we are incredibly excited to celebrate Small Business Saturday with all of our wonderful customers. We will be offering a customizable hot chocolate bar (with alcoholic and nonalcoholic options available), as well as a special “Wheel of Fortune” discount wheel stocked full of incredible discounts from 10 AM to 3 PM on Saturday, November 29 (and don’t forget to make your own Wish List with us while you are here–you deserve something sparkly under the tree, too!). Every time you shop with us, you can know that you are supporting a woman-owned and operated small business and our families…and from the bottom of our hearts, we thank you for that.
See you on Small Business Saturday! We’ll be the ones with the sparkle 🙂