Saturday, November 30th has been designated as Small Business Saturday, a time for shoppers to pass by the big box and chain businesses and choose smaller, independently owned stores, restaurants, and service providers to do business with. We think that this is a great idea for several reasons:

• Small businesses provide jobs.

  Over 55% of the people in the USA work for a small business – and 64% of new jobs that are created every year are created by small business owners.

• Small businesses are the source of unique products & services.

  Subway may make great sandwiches – but you don’t want every meal you have to be a Subway sandwich! Diversity is important, and it’s only possible when there are many, many different businesses serving the public.

• Small businesses offer better customer service.

  If you’ve ever tried to resolve an issue with a large, multi-national corporation, chances are you’ve experienced a frustrating process involving hours on the phone, countless emails, and a bureaucracy that’s not interested in making you any happier. When you deal with a small business, you can talk directly to the owner – and the chances are very good that you’ll find they’re very invested in making sure you’re happy.

• Small businesses give back to the community they’re part of.

  This has been a tough year economically for many people. Look around your community, and notice who’s leading the way in raising funds for local food shelves and housing support – it’s small businesses! Compare this to Wal-Mart, which pays such notoriously low wages that they are running food drives internally to feed their own employees. Small businesses are determined to be part of the solution, not part of the problem.

Your support of Small Business Saturday makes a real difference.

Not all small businesses have brick & mortar locations. Increasingly, small businesses exist largely or entirely online. Keep those businesses in mind when you’re celebrating Small Business Saturday – they’ll really appreciate it!

Finally, as a small business that happens to be a service provider, we’d like to say thank you for your support, both on Small Business Saturday and throughout the year. We believe that the most important business asset you can have in a wired world is a human touch – and that means staying small!

Great things come in small packages. Support Small Business Saturday!