SHOPPING SMALL
Saratoga Springs celebrates Small Business Saturday
While the idea is to think small, local businesses create a big boon to the economy, keeping those dollars in the community.
Shoppers and shop owners alike participated in Small Business Saturday. The concept started and promoted by American Express, is in its tenth year.
While the idea is to think small, local businesses create a big boon to the economy, keeping those dollars in the community. In fact, every dollar spent at a locally-owned small business has three times the impact on the community as compared to national chains.
That impact is also felt in the Spa City, where people braved the cold and tight parking to support their local businesses.
One of those local stores celebrating the occasion was Common Thread Saratoga.
“We’re here having an event and having everything very local today. We’ve purchased items for the event from our nextdoor neighbors who have some flavored popcorn and beef jerky and chocolates next door, so we’re keeping everything very local today,” Doreen Kamen, owner of Common Thread Saratoga said.
Kamen spoke to how important the day is to her business and local shops across the Spa City.
“Small Business Saturday is actually bigger for us than Black Friday because
people are thinking small business, when they shop small business as far as I’m concerned it keeps all small businesses vital. The money from small businesses goes back into the community very often,” Kamen said of local businesses which have three times the economic impact on the community when compared to national chains.
Small businesses also account for nearly half of the country’s private-sector employees.
“We employ local people; we give to local charities, local events happen all the time that we’re a part of. To me, Small Business Saturday is a reminder to people that we need to think local when we do our shopping. How much nicer it is to come in here and touch and feel things and chit chat and have some snacks and meet one another and appreciate other people’s creativity? So to me, it’s a really important day,” Kamen noted of creating that sense of togetherness in the community as well.
The day is also great for creating awareness of locally-owned businesses and getting to know neighbors.
“Having people walk up and down Broadway and then noticing that hey, there’s a local yarn store, yarn stores across the country are closing in record numbers but we’re still here and very, very busy. We have a great creative community, a loyal knitting community,” Kamen said.
“I think that if people are going to any store and they walk by another store and say, I didn’t know you were here, and they get a chance to walk in and get acquainted with the store, with the store’s owners, and co-workers, I think that that’s a huge benefit on top of the fact that the day is just awareness of local stores,” Kamen noted of having that local, personal touch you can’t find online.
Lori McCasland, co-manager, Mountainman Outdoor Supply Company, also noted how great it is to have the local support.
“You can’t get enough of it, and it’s so great to have happened. It’s nice to know that people are looking for small businesses,” McCasland said of Small Business Saturday.
McCasland echoed Kamen’s sentiments of having that local feel, you can’t find on the web.
“They realize that without us they’re not going to be able to try stuff on. It’s all about the touch and the feel and great customer service. I think here in Saratoga there’s more unity in the small businesses, we try to work with each other, whether it’s a restaurant working with a regular business or vice versa, more things are happening like that,” McCasland added.