If you’re getting ready to shop the Black Friday deals, make sure to leave some of your holiday budget for the next day. Saturday, November 30th is the 10th annual Small Business Saturday. American Express created the event in 2010 to help small businesses during the recession. They had such a successful first year that the Senate unanimously voted to support the movement in 2011. Today, over 7,500 Neighborhood Champion organizations in all 50 states help bring Small Business Saturday to their communities.
I had the opportunity to correspond with Kim Moscaritolo, a local District Leader and co-founder of Yorkville Buy Local, the Upper East Side’s own Neighborhood Champion. Kim told me about why she founded YBL, and what we can do to get involved. “We got the idea after hosting a forum on empty storefronts and realizing that there were very few resources out there for people who care about the issue,” she wrote. “We created YBL to be a resource, to both promote and protect local small businesses.”
Kim also shared that Yorkville Buy Local is hosting a Small Business Saturday walking tour at 11:00am on Saturday. This is a perfect opportunity to support small businesses and learn more about how to help your community. Several local businesses are participating, and many others have provided discounts and promotions for their stores. You can RSVP for the free event on YBL’s Facebook page.
Shopping small has an incredible impact on local communities. An estimated 67 cents of every dollar spent at a local business will stay in the community, building the local economy and improving the neighborhood. The past nine Small Business Saturdays have brought in a whopping total of $103 billion to small businesses! I encourage everyone to shop small this Saturday and during the rest of the year, too.