By LESLIE EIKLEBERRY
Salina Post
If Rick Hanson had his way, every Saturday would be Small Business Saturday!
"Shopping small businesses supports the local economy, providing jobs and keeping more dollars inside the community. When we have profits – those dollars are re-invested back into the community through additional jobs, modernization, expansion and contributions," said Hanson, the president and CEO of S.M. Hanson Music, 335 S. Clark Street. "Small Business Saturday should be every Saturday."
Wayne DeBey, co-owner of The Flower Nook, 208 E. Iron Avenue, took that concept a step further.
"It's important to remember that this event is designed to encourage people to shop small not only during the holidays but at any time of the year," he said.
Small Business Saturday, the Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend, was first launched by American Express in 2010 in an effort to promote small businesses to help them recover from the recession. The idea caught on like wildfire. The following year, the United States Sentate passed a resolution declaring Nov. 26, 2011, as Small Business Saturday to encourage consumers to shop locally and to increase awareness of the value of locally owned small businesses and their impact on the U.S. economy.
Noting that small businesses are "the lifeblood to the American economy," said Valerie Linenberger, owner of True Betty Boutique & Gifts, 108 N. Santa Fe Avenue. "Shopping local small businesses keeps customers’ money in their local economy, and enables shop owners to be able to donate to youth sports, school fundraising efforts, and non-profit events. When you shop small businesses, you are truly feeding families in your community and making your community a better place."
Jason Bathon, owner of JAB IT PC, 2680 Planet Avenue, concurred.
"Small Business Saturday helps raise awareness for businesses like ours which may provide products and/or services which local people might not be aware are available at a local, veteran-owned store. If more people shop local, more tax dollars stay in the city and county," Bathon said. "This induces a compounding effect in which local helps local."
"This year, Shop Small Saturday is tremendously important. Buying local keeps money in the neighborhood. $68 of every $100 spent at a local, independent store is reinvested in the community versus only $43 from a large retail box store," Leslie Bishop, the new executive director of Salina Downtown, Inc., told Salina Post.
Now in its 12th year, Small Business Saturday is of special importance to local small businesses.
"The past 18 months have brought unprecedented challenges for small businesses because of COVID-19. As we recover from the pandemic, e-commerce giants and perceived convenience factors remain threats to small businesses. According to a recent U.S. Chamber of Commerce study, one of three local business owners says that generating revenue is the business’ top challenge as they look at recovery from the pandemic," Salina Area Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Eric Brown wrote in the recent edition of Chamber Connection.
READ: OPINION: Shopping locally is a must
For downtown Salina business owners, the pandemic was the second part of a two-pronged hit. First, the merchants had to make it through the major downtown revitalization project. While the business owners were grateful that the downtown area was being renovated, a number of them told Salina Post during interviews in April of 2019 that they were struggling. Despite the multiple parking lots downtown, many shoppers were avoiding downtown stores because parking was at a minimum along Santa Fe Avenue and adjoining side streets, the merchants said.
"Salina Downtown business owners have been through so much. First our local business owners survived the $160 million downtown revitalization project. As soon as this amazing project was complete, we were hit with the COVID pandemic," Bishop said. "Our Salina business owners in downtown Salina are very resilient and they survived the pandemic, but it took a big hit on their livelihood."
Cassie Streit, owner of Stick It with Streit Sandblasting, 111 S. Santa Fe Avenue, said Small Business Saturday also was an opportunity to show appreciation for customers.
"Most Small Business Saturday clients have saved money, planned their time, and made a very conscious decision to keep it local and shop small," Streit said. "We will be offering our clients a discount for Christmas orders this year. Specific items will have specific discounts. We understand that the past year has been a challenge for many people, ourselves included. We want to make sure that our clients know that we appreciate them during this special day!"
Although Nature's Art, 124 E. Iron Avenue, has not been open long, owner Pat Brewer said he plans to offer sale items and gift packages to customers.
Bathon, too, plans to show appreciation to customers. JAB IT PC offers a number of discounts for customers, including those who are students, senior citizens, first responders, veterans or active military. Additionally, he said he plans to offer a free keyboard and mouse with each gaming PC purchased.
A ripple effect of the pandemic on a number of businesses is the tremendous slowdown in the supply chain.
"We’ll have special sale items for Saturday but like a lot of businesses, we’re having issues acquiring certain products from vendors that are holiday best sellers, but we’re just doing the best we can with what we have in stock," said Blake Blackim, owner of Midwest Music, Inc., 210 S. Santa Fe Avenue.
Hanson also acknowledged dealing with slowdown issues, saying he was already working on buys for the 2022 Christmas season, as there is now a 12-month wait for some items he typically purchases for the store. Nonetheless, he has a multitude of products in stock for this holiday season, thanks to some strategic buying earlier in the pandemic, he explained.
Likewise, DeBey said The Flower Nook is stocked with a myriad of hand-crafted gift items created by 32 local and regional artists/artisans, providing yet another way to keep money in the community.
"Small unique businesses offer a variety of unique gifts, clothing, and home décor that draws visitors and guests from out of town to shop and eat in our lovely downtown neighborhood," Bishop said. "Not only that, our small business owners know your name. When you walk into a small, locally owned business, the employees know what items you like and they greet you by name. In this time of fast pick-up, automated phone orders, it is a luxury to speak to a friend who knows what we like."
"What we found during the COVID-19 pandemic, is how much people really do value being able to try things on in a dressing room, being able to feel textures of apparel, having someone actually help them find a great fitting pair of jeans, have products in stock, and not have to wait for something to ship. We offer all these things at True Betty Boutique and so much more," Linenberger said.
Attention to customers also has worked well for the nearly 50-year-old S.M. Hanson Music.
"Our small business is focused on the customer experience. We try to remember our customer’s names and history. We are truly invested in the customer – setting us apart from the big-box chains and the interweb. We work on every detail to make the customer experience worthy of a return visit," Hanson said.
As a bonus on Small Business Saturday, S.M. Hanson Music employees will be automatically enrolling customers in the S.M. Hanson Rewards Program, Hanson said.
"The rewards program purchases accumulate credits towards future purchases. If the customer mentions Small Business Saturday, we will double the reward dollar credit," he said.