Small Business Saturday: Jobs, revenue boost communities

By Hope Belli Tinney, Washington SBDC

shop-small-logoSPOKANE, Wash. – If you are fortunate enough to live in a community with a vibrant downtown, where youth arts and athletic programs thrive, where people have a can-do spirit and get things done – thank a small business owner.

If you wish your community had more of the above, support your neighborhood small businesses, because small businesses – the local coffee shop, the hardware store, the dress shop, the yoga studio, the computer repair store and the bookstore – are the backbone of healthy communities.

That’s the idea behind Small Business Saturday, a nationwide movement to emphasize the importance of shopping locally, not only for our economy, but for our communities.

Advising available to businesses

“When small businesses succeed, jobs are created and sales tax revenue is returned to the community,” said Duane Fladland, state director of the Washington Small Business Development Center (SBDC), a supporter of Small Business Saturday. “That revenue returns to the community to pay for local fire departments, police departments, schools, infrastructure and programs for youth and the elderly.”

The Washington SBDC (http://www.wsbdc.org) contributes to communities in its own way by providing no-cost, one-on-one, confidential advising to small business owners who want to start, grow or transition a business. The Washington SBDC is hosted by Washington State University and receives major support from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).

SBDC clients support communities

Small Business Saturday, which is always the Saturday after Thanksgiving, is supported by a coalition of businesses, economic development agencies and small business advocates, including the SBA and America’s Small Business Development Centers (http://americassbdc.org/). American Express is a major sponsor of a variety of promotions, events and celebrations across the country. See the website at https://www.americanexpress.com/us/small-business/shop-small/.

“At the SBDC we have a front row seat to the contributions small business owners are making to their communities,” Fladland said. “On a daily basis we see small business owners who are giving back in multiple ways, from donating merchandise to silent auctions to mentoring young people to serving on committees or heading nonprofit foundations.”

A short list of the hundreds if not thousands of examples from the Washington SBDC client files includes the winery in Woodinville that is donating $100,000 to provide meals to homeless people in the state; the Ellensburg clothing store owner who says yes every time a student calls with a request – donating her time, expertise and merchandise to support their learning; and an SBDC client in Tukwila who recruits employees who need a second chance and then trains them for increasing responsibility.

Small business, great giver

Fladland gave a special shout out to two SBDC clients in the Methow Valley – the Carlton General Store and Napa Auto Parts in Twisp. During the Carleton Complex fires last summer, they kept their doors open and their generators running for eight days straight to ensure firefighters – and residents – had what they needed to keep going.

“The contributions these small business owners make to their communities truly are priceless,” Fladland said.

According to a 2008 survey conducted for the Chronicle of Philanthropy, three-quarters of small business owners contribute to charities, with that percentage growing to 80 percent for companies earning less than $1 million.

Media note: If you are looking for a small business owner to profile in advance of Small Business Saturday, your Washington SBDC business advisor is a great resource for finding people who are contributing to their communities in truly remarkable ways. Find the advisor in your area at http://www.wsbdc.org.

 

Contact:
Duane Fladland, Washington SBDC, 509-358-7767, duane.fladland@wsbdc.org