Small Business Saturday is one day out of this weekend to put small businesses at the forefront of our minds, to patron mom and pop stores, shop your locally owned brick and mortars, and buy from independent brands and handmade businesses.
It emerged amidst the busiest shopping weekend of the year as a counterpart to Black Friday and Cyber Monday which is saturated with big box stores promoting deep discounts.
While big box stores have huge markups on their products where they can afford to offer giant discounts this time of year, small businesses often don't have the margins to have the types of sales you see during this weekend.
I think I speak for every small business out there who feels pressured to entice shoppers with having Black Friday sales in order to cut through the noise of all the holiday promotions out there. It's tempting but not sustainable.
For me personally, every day is Small Business Saturday and I'd like to think that we are all prioritising small, independent brands over big box stores whenever we make a purchase.
There are so many beautiful small businesses to support that are pioneers of creativity, that put a lot of heart and soul into what they do, and that add to the culture and richness of the human experience.
I hope we are thinking of them more than just one day out of the year and that we are supporting them with our dollars when we can and without needing to be incentivised with a discount. These are my thoughts as I reflect on Small Business Saturday and why I am not having any sales during the Black Friday/Small Business Saturday Weekend.
I know that shopping small often comes with a heftier price tag. But it's for a reason. There is a cost that the consumer isn't paying for when factories exploit workers, when goods get shipped from far away places, when companies over produce and end up with waste, the list goes on.
So often when you buy cheap, it actually ends up being more expensive because you end up buying 10 cheap items that get thrown away rather than one high quality item that lasts a long time.
My personal motto is to buy less things but to buy better things. I would rather have one pair of sturdy, well-made shoes that will last a lifetime than have 20 pairs of shoes that will end up in a landfill after a couple years. I would rather have one nice sweater that is ethically made out of organic cotton than a dozen cheaply made sweaters that will stretch out or pill after one wash. I would rather have one expensive piece of jewelry that is handmade with intention than 50 pieces of fast fashion jewelry that will go out of style or break after one season of wear.
When we own things that are made with integrity, be that the quality is better, it's ethically made, it's made in small batches and without waste, it's made by a human being, it has a story or intention behind it, etc. we are so much more likely to get more use out of it. This is not just because it's higher quality and will last longer, but it also feels good to use on a much deeper level.
Things that are mass produced don't have the warmth or the depth to them to be able to deeply engage with it. There is an opportunity to form a deeper relationship with the things we buy when we know who designed it or who made it. When we have exchanged our money for goods knowing that the owner of the business is going to buy their groceries with our dollars and not a private jet we are casting our vote for the little guy. There is a higher feeling of satisfaction when the objects in your life mean something. And when we use objects of beauty and integrity on a regular basis we are uplifting our psyches, we are adding value to our lived experience, and we are supporting our small business friends.
So during this Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday weekend shopping craze, I will not be having any sales but instead will be supporting my local coffeeshop, purchasing from a small, independent brand that I love, and advocating for shopping small always.
And if you choose to support me and what I do with your hard earned money that would mean the world to this microscopic bootstrapped business of mine.