4 Ways to Support Small Businesses During The Holidays
Doesn't it feel like the holiday season sneaks up on us every year? Gift-giving time is around the corner, and it is a perfect time to support small businesses. This year's holidays will look a lot more traditional compared to last year! Small businesses know the importance of holidays, and they need our help to stay in the game.
Although small businesses are plentiful, fewer than 80% of them make it beyond their beginning years. Besides, small businesses offer unique and specialty items that won’t be under everyone’s Christmas tree. We all have our favorite small businesses that we frequent, but share the love because all small businesses need our support.
As female entrepreneurs, we know the holidays provide an opportunity to turn the year around for any business - so support our small businesses this season!
Best part? There are MANY different ways you can show support to some of your favorite brands. Here are a few ways we are showing support to small businesses this holiday season.
Shop Early
It is well known that small businesses have longer turnaround times, compared to big businesses. Big businesses have extensive resources that many of us small guys do not have access to. With covid barely out of our hair, you should expect order delays this holiday season.
Small businesses are typically operated by a few people, so allow time for your order to be processed and received. Be kind and understanding because the holiday season is a demanding time, especially for retail small businesses.
Shop early and secure your gifts before the last-minute rush, if you shop early enough you may not experience a shipping delay and you'll be able to give your gifts timely.
Shopping early will also give the business owner a financial cushion. It is common for small business owners to extend resources to prepare for the holidays, so shopping early will help them to recoup ahead of the demanding rush.
Buy Gift Cards
Every purchase helps a small business, even gift cards. Gift cards also take the guessing out of picking the perfect gift. As long as you have an idea of what the person likes, you can buy a gift card for services or products. Think of spas, hair salons, or yoga class gift certificates - many would love those as a gift!
By giving gift cards, or gift certificates as gifts you will bring new customers to local small businesses that they may have never stepped foot in before. You can also avoid potential delivery delays by giving gift cards to local small businesses as gifts - if that is a concern for you.
Small businesses have a slow period post-holidays, and oftentimes sales will stagnate. So even if you purchase gift cards as a last-minute quick fix, small businesses owners would appreciate it!
Buy Food Directly with the Restaurant
During the holidays, we either cook or order food for our feasts. Consider ordering directly from the restaurant this holiday season, and picking it up yourself. Covid forced a lot of small businesses to offer delivery through various third-party companies, but this has not been in their favor.
Delivery services are taking the majority of small restaurants' and food shops' profits. We are now accustomed to ordering in, to save time and for convenience. By ordering food directly from the restaurant, you’re guaranteeing that they are the ones who profit from the sale.
You are guaranteed to eat over the holidays, and this presents an easy way to support a small and local business. So take a trip to a local restaurant and leave a tip this holiday season!
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Mention Small Businesses on Social Media
Word-of-mouth is vital to small businesses, and a highly engaged social media post can pay off dividends for a small business. You can share a positive experience on social media with your friends and followers.
Sharing information about small businesses with your neighbors and friends will inspire them to follow your lead and support a small business this holiday season. Each time you post about a small business or share its posts, you are helping its social media presence - which can lead to more followers, likes, shares, and sales for that small business.
If there is a small business that you love, why not share about it online? And you never know who might be looking for service exactly like the one you’re sharing about. Be sure to tag the business in your post and use hashtags like #ShopSmallBusiness
These are a few simple ways to support small businesses during this holiday season! As female entrepreneurs, support from our communities is vital to our success, so return the favor during the holidays. Take a scroll down Yelp, Google, or Instagram tags and find a small business that interests you - and give them a try! If you happen to love the small business that you find, or you receive great reviews from the gift recipient; share the news with a review to their site or an online platform.
