I’ve never understood standing in line at pre-dawn hours at some big box store on the Friday after Thanksgiving just so I could be the first to get a TV or toy for super cheap. Yes, even before the Internet.
For me, I’m wiling to pay a little extra to maintain my sanity and not wait in line for 12,000 hours.
But you know what’s even better than avoiding shopping on Black Friday? Shopping on Small Business Saturday. I know I sound like a sound bite from HQ, but I’m dead serious and here’s why:
Your money goes right back into the Boulder community. Many small business owners say that helping their fellow entrepreneurs/small business owners is important to them, so the money you spend at one locally owned store more than likely goes into supporting another small local business. In the immortal words of The Lion King, “It’s the circle of life.”
You’re helping a fellow Boulderite’s business succeed. Boulder is a town built for entrepreneurs, whether it’s in the tech space or a brick-and-mortar shop, and this community supports one another. By shopping Small Business Saturday, you’re letting local owners know that you appreciate them and their business and you want them to succeed.
You’re going to get better quality and more unique gifts. So you got someone the same thing that 70,000 other people got for the holidays. Big whoop. The wonderful thing about small businesses is that they have access to vendors and artists that just aren’t on big box stores’ radars (even though they should be). Personally, I would much rather have a unique piece of jewelry or handmade ceramics than anything off the shelves at [insert corporate behemoth shopping center here] any day.
You’re supporting independent creative who rely on small businesses to stock their products. By spending local, you’re allowing small businesses to stock local products. As many artists and creators will tell you, being able to sell their items in a variety of stores is helpful for their business. When you buy their goods as presents, you’re helping them earn a living doing what they love and I can’t think of a better way to spend money than by helping people do what they love.
Alright, now that you’re all jazzed about shopping small for Small Business Saturday, let me reveal the best part: a bunch of small businesses offer great deals and incentives to shop at their stores this coming Saturday! Do good, shop local, and save big. It’s perfection.
To Find out which Downtown business are participating in Small Business Saturday, you can find out more on the Downtown Boulder site. For a more broad map, check out this map.
