This coming Saturday is Small Business Saturday. If you haven’t heard of Small Business Saturday it began in 2011, when the Senate passed a resolution to officially support the Saturday after US Thanksgiving as a shopping holiday.
What is Small Business Saturday?
Small Business Saturday reminds consumers about the key role they play in supporting their local business community. Every time you go to your local gym or grab lunch at the local diner you’re supporting the business community. In fact, over 67 percent of every dollar spent at a small local business stays local.
Why Does CIT Support Small Business Saturday?
Small Business Saturday is a consumer shopping holiday. It might seem odd that a B2B business like Complete Interactive Technologies (CIT) actively supports it, so let us connect a few dots for you. First off, many of those small shops and cafés are our customers. They buy the business phone systems, networks and security systems we sell. We think supporting our customers just makes sound business sense.
But it doesn’t stop at supporting businesses who are, or may one day be, our customers. CIT also employs over 50 people in the local community. Those 50 people will be out shopping on Saturday and will fuel this cycle further. This is how Small Business Saturday spending has reached a reported estimate of $103 billion.
Do those less fortunate benefit?
As member of the local business community, we believe we have a responsibility to help those less fortunate and contribute to the common good. CIT donates time and services to volunteer groups and non-profit organizations like The Lake House, Youth Boxing Association, Care House of Macomb County, and Habitat for Humanity.
One cause near and dear to us is Wigs 4 Kids. Wigs 4 Kids is dedicated to building the self-esteem of young patients dealing with hair loss resulting from various illnesses such as cancer, alopecia, trichotillomania, as well as burn victims.
Most small businesses face a pretty hard road. In fact, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics: about 20% fail in their first year, 50% fail by their fifth year, and 70% fail by their tenth year. As if small businesses don’t have it hard enough, a recent trend is making it even harder. Cyber hackers have decided to target small businesses simply because it’s easier, and over 60% of companies experiencing a data breach go out of business within one year.
What can you do?
Hopefully you now see that your support of local small businesses helps them thrive, creates employment and benefits those less fortunate. Small Business Saturday is an opportunity to show your support for all of this. If you have a favorite local business you can’t imagine living without, make a point to go there on Saturday. You’ll find our people are out there with you enjoying this great American shopping holiday.
