Three Ways To Help Support Small Businesses

I have seen post after post about supporting small businesses and buying local all across social media which is fantastic! But, with lots of shops being closed, not wanting to spend a lot of time out, and craft fairs canceled, how do you do this?

1. HOW TO LOOK FOR THEM: Check to see if the craft show you usually go to has a list of artists who were scheduled to attend. Many of the shows we were supposed to go to provided links or phone numbers for the crafters/businesses that were supposed to be there, along with pictures of what they sell.

Scour the internet. Most small businesses have some form of social media or website. Try searching the businesses name, or type of product they are selling. This can be challenging but the more information you know about them the easier this will be to find them.

2. HOW TO BUY FROM THEM: DON'T immediately buy off of Etsy/Amazon/Facebook/etc.. Once you find a small business you would like to support take it a step further and see if they have their own website. Sites like Etsy/Amazon/Facebook often have fees attached to every product sold or featured. You can often find better prices, sales, and more variety on the companies own website. If you can order off of the companies website instead of a third party site they will receive more of the money from your purchase.

If you can't find a website see if you can contact them directly to order, either calling, emailing or messaging.

3. HOW TO SPREAD THE WORD: If you have a small business you absolutely love make sure you are supporting them in multiple ways: buy their products, share their posts, tell your friends, like them on Facebook, follow them on Instagram, leave a positive review or comment, etc.. Businesses with more reviews/likes/followers often get more attention. Buying ads can get expensive for most small businesses and word of mouth is usually the best way for them to get their products out there.

2020 has been a hard year on everyone, especially small businesses. The small business grants that were offered didn't apply to most "Mom and Pop" businesses leaving them to figure it out on their own.

In the US small businesses are considered to be any company with 500 employees or less. Microbusinesses are considered to be any company with 5 employees or less (this makes up 75% of all small businesses).

These are 3 very simple things that will only add a few extra minutes to your online shopping, and can make a big difference to a small business owner.

Happy Shopping!