Small Business Saturday

It is here.

As of Friday, the Christmas season officially starts.

At least it used to.

This Thursday, as in recent years, Thanksgiving Day is really the start. That is when the Black Friday sales kick off in earnest. Some even started weeks ago. If you eat fast and don’t go for an extra piece of pie, you could be one of the first in a store opening Thursday afternoon.

Most stores, however, open early Friday, Black Friday, with buys meant to attract shoppers before they spend all their money elsewhere.

Black Friday is a long held tradition. Newer traditions include Cyber Monday and Small Business Saturday.

Small Business Saturday is squeezed between the two other events. Even so, it may be the most important.

Small Business Saturday is meant to encourage shoppers to support the many privately-owned small businesses in small towns and cities. These are the smaller stores that line the hometowns all throughout America. These are the stores that give small towns their character and their strength. These are the stores that support school activities, community projects and the special needs of citizens. These are the stores that provide local employment, local taxes and local diversity.

Vibrant, successful small towns depend upon these small businesses.

Small businesses likewise depend upon their hometowns for the support they need to survive.

Official proclamations, editorials and advertisements (such as the one Tekoa placed here last week inviting people to shop there) all help to bring awareness of the importance of small local businesses. They remind shoppers not to forget the local businesses that cater to them all year.

Still, the real success of Small Business Saturday is in the hands of local residents who value what their local businesses provide to their lives and their communities.

Beyond the physical products, local businesses are essential to small towns.

Small Business Saturday is a reminder. Supporting local businesses should not be just a one-day event, but it is a good start for the rest of the year.

Shop small this Saturday and keep doing it.