If you have the desire to help small businesses, here are a few ways you can support a small business in today's America...
Shop in person...
Most small businesses can not compete online with big box companies. Some simply can not afford an online shop or store front when first starting out. Start shopping for groceries, goods and gifts at pop-up shops, markets and festivals. Pay with cash! Credit cards and payment apps take up to 5% per sale from small businesses. The federal government is also beginning to work with payment apps to tightly monitor small businesses.
Contact us...
Give us your honest feedback, reviews, suggestions and ideas! Even if they are negative. This is how we grow and get better. Reach out immediately with a concern involving an order or experience. Give us a chance to solve an issue and work out any kinks as a new business. Let us know if you need an item by a certain day, something customized or simply have a question about an item. Give small businesses some grace as they grow. Sometimes it is one person doing it all.
Talk about us...
Tell your friends, family, neighbor, coworker, stranger in line at the farmer's market about a small business you love. Tell them why you support small business over mass-produced box stores. Encourage them to check out our website or social media pages.
Sign up for emails...
Sign up for email newsletters! You typically won't get bombarded with too many emails from small businesses because we have to pay extra for email campaigns. Email is an amazing tool for small businesses. We can reach more people through email than social media. We can also get more information to our customers through email.
Assess your family's values...
What is important to your family? How do you view your hard-earned money? Where do you want your dollars to go? Who and what are you supporting with your money? Does the business or brand support your values all year long? Does the company have strong value and ethics?
Make the shift...
Take some time to assess your home and priorities. Walk around your home as you take inventory of what you have and how it makes you feel. Does your home feel personal? Does it feel unique? Does it represent who your family is? Does your home have a story? Or "do I simply have a bunch of stuff that's not important to me, isn't special or doesn't truly represent me or my family? Do I have too much stuff? Is it all weighing me down?"
Prioritize values, ethics, quality and connection over convenience, quantity and cheaper options. When shopping, ask yourself if the item truly represents your values? What is it made of? Is it made with harmful chemicals that could affect your family's health? Will this item last or will it need to be replaced often? Is this item special? Does it have a story? Did it help or harm someone? Does the company, brand or person that made this item represent my values? Are they ethical, honest and transparent? Do they truly value me as a customer?
Break the chains! We, as Americans, have created a deep-rooted mentality that we need everything, whenever and however we want. Worst of all we are passing it down to future generations already. This is why it is so important to break free of the addiction to over-consumption. When you first detach yourself from the big box stores and begin shopping more purposefully, you may struggle. In a way, we are rewiring our consumer brains. It is truly like breaking free of an addiction and detaching from the sources that made it easy to give you that temporary fulfillment.
Change your habits. There are ways to make it easier to detach from those convenient box stores a little easier. Start by unsubscribing to online subscriptions and email lists. Remove all saved credit card and payment information from websites. Remove auto-ship options. Delete shopping apps all together. It will take the convenience away completely. That's 100% the point! You are then able to take your time to consider what you are purchasing and if you truly need an item or are looking for temporary gratification.
Save money. Seriously! You will actually find yourself saving money when you detach from most big box stores. You will likely pay a little more shopping a small business. However, you will actually save way more money when you shop with purpose and pause. You may also find that you don't really need most things. And if you can't find something, you can use it as a creative opportunity. You'll find yourself tapping into a resourcefulness and skills you had waiting inside you. When we eliminate the sources for bad habits, we make room for good habits like creating, building and re-purposing.
Start your own business! As the demand for American goods and the desire to shop from small businesses grows, there will be incredible opportunities for those passionate about quality goods and are willing to meet a specific need. The simple fact is that America imports far to many mass-produced goods. Big companies rarely value their customers or workers. Outsourcing and the introduction of new technology like robotics in production has taken away millions of jobs. The American production industry is hanging on by a thread. Fortunately, a shift is happening America's are running back to old ways. Longing for community and connection again. Demanding better ways and better things. There is no greater time to reevaluate our priorities and individual passions. Even more, the possibility of turning a rare skill or much needed expertise into a business in each of our local communities. Building a main street again. Allow mass-produced to be our past. This is how we get back to being a truly free country again. And obtain what we long for...the American dream. Where we can have individual success and a sense of community again.
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