You here the battle cry every year this time of year…Shop Small…Shop Local. In fact you have been hearing this plea for the last ten years. Started by American Express in 2010, Small Business Saturday was started as a way to gain exposure for small local businesses during what is typically the busiest shopping weekend of the year. American Express also hoped the campaign would get consumers to think about the way they 
were spending their holiday dollars and to persuade them to spend more of those dollars with their local businesses thus boosting local economies.The movement struck a chord and took hold with the US Senate passing a resolution in 2011 in support of the day. Officials in all 50 states threw their support behind Small Business Saturday and people started to pay attention. In 2012, the first year that American Express started tracking Small Business Saturday spending, $5.3 billion was spent in small local businesses. By last year, 2018, 114 million shoppers spent $17.8 billion dollars in small local businesses. Those of us that own small businesses appreciate the effort and support.
There are so many ways that you can support local businesses and your local economy. Eat at a mom and pop diner instead of a fast food chain. Stop by your local coffee house for your morning cappuccino instead of the drive thru at McDonalds or Starbucks. Find your local farmer that sells meat, eggs, and produce directly to consumers and purchase the fixings for your holiday feast from them. Find your local Christmas Tree Farm and buy your tree and decorations from them. The small shops and boutiques on your main street would love to supply you with all of the gifts, cards, and wrapping you need. Heck…many of them will probably wrap the gifts for you. Everywhere you look there are wineries, breweries, and distilleries popping up. You can surely find all of the adult beverages you need for your next holiday party through them. I think you get the picture. Is it easier to sit in your office or living room and buy everything from Ebay or Amazon? Sure. Is it more convenient to stop by your local big box retailer and buy everything there. Yes. But to these giant retailers you are just a number, a dollar sign, or a statistic. Small retailers go out of their way to get and keep your business. They will keep track of your wife’s size and what her favorite items are. They can and will knowledgeably teach you about the best wine, beer, and spirits for your party. They will be more likely to wrap gifts for you. It is 4:30 on Christmas Eve and you forgot to buy a present for your niece, babysitter, neighbor…they will keep the shop open late so you can run in and grab a last minute present. They may even drop it off by you on their way home…or, as I have done more than once, drive in a snowstorm and open the shop on a day they are normally closed just so you can buy the perfect gift. They deliver the personal experience and customer service that you just can’t get from a mass retail outlet.
Times have changed drastically for retailers since I started working in my Dad’s shop when I was 12. We didn’t have a cash register. I wrote sales slips by hand and actually had to count the change back to the 
customer. Credit cards were extremely rare. Lots of people wrote checks. Over the years credit cards became more abundant and the card companies wanted us to get voice authorization over the phone. Our store was in a funky old Inn in a tourist town in WIsconsin. There were six shops in the Inn and we only had one phone for all six shops and the one phone was outside the one bathroom we all shared. It led to many very comical situations and lines at the phone when more than one of us needed a credit authorization. Thankfully the owner of the Inn finally put phone lines into each of our shops, then a few years later credit card companies came up with machines we could use for authorization and cash registers became very affordable. The cash register now told me how much change to give back. By the time I was in college and working for some of the chain stores like the Gap, we had barcodes and scanning guns. When I started my own shop I went backwards a little. I had to go back to a regular cash register. I didn’t have bar codes until I had my shop for at least ten years. Then of course websites and social media became a thing. So here’s the thing about many small businesses…we tend to be the only employe or maybe we have a couple of part-time people helping us. Keeping up a website and keeping up with all of the social media is a full time job in itself. Many small brick and mortar shops started falling behind as people started shopping online. Many of us just couldn’t keep up, couldn’t compete with the big guys on price and many of us closed. The shops that survived adapted. They made doing business with them a memorable experience, they upped their customer service, they kept up with the latest technology. So every year at this time I jump on my soapbox and ask you to shop small and shop local. I realize that times have changed and that we live in a hectic fast paced world and that everyone wants everything to be convenient. Guess what? Most small businesses have websites so you don’t have to buy everything from Amazon. You can be a hero and support local businesses by shopping on their websites from the comfort of your home, car, office…wherever you like to shop!
So now I am going to shamelessly promote my three small businesses! I have made jewelry since the 90’s. I used to sell it at Art Fairs, then I had a small shop in Wisconsin. A couple of years ago I decided to ditch the snow and move south. So now I am back to selling jewelry at small art fairs. I also sell my jewelry through my social media channels and through my website! I also make a lot of custom pieces for people so if you have something in mind you can call me, email me, or private message me. I have been getting a lot of requests for custom pet name bracelets lately. Another bonus of shopping small is that we will work with you to make sure you get something great!
After running an accessories boutique in Wisconsin for 17 years I always said that my next retail venture would be something with pets. So after moving south I started Sir Woofalot. I carry some stuff for dogs and cats but mostly pet-themed products for people. T’s, sweats, hats, purses, jewelry etc. I do pop-up-shops in Virginia and North Carolina, and just launched www.sirwoofalot.com! Sir Woofalot has been a lot of fun for me and I hope it will be for years to come…don’t worry cat 
lovers…there is a Baron von Purr Purr too and we are seeking out and adding more cat merchandise daily.
My third business is a supplement company called The Natural Shopper (www.thenaturalshopper.com). We sell bee product supplements like bee pollen capsules, propolis capsules, and Royal Jelly capsules. We also sell bee pollen granules and our own proprietary blends like Total Bee Plus which includes pollen, propolis, Royal Jelly, and honey. A weight management blend and a joint care blend round out the products we currently carry. We also sell wholesale and private label if you or someone you know would like to carry our products. We are always looking for product suggestions and have been looking into skincare products, pet products, and possibly a small line of bee-themed gifts or jewelry that would benefit bee conservation.
I will be running promotions throughout the holiday season. I will be promoting them through the websites and through social media. Here is a link to a promotional video we 
made for Sir Woofalot. Check it out to see how you get a free custom bracelet made by me! Thank you for considering me for some of your holiday gifts or maybe even something for yourself!