Local Support touches small business owners on Small Business Saturday
IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI)- On Saturday, November 19, 2023, Mayor Rebecca Casper, proclaimed Saturday, November 25, as Small Business Saturday. The Saturday after Thanksgiving is also nationally recognized as small business Saturday.
It is a day dedicated to helping small and local business owners and kick off the holiday shopping season.
"Shop small for downtown Idaho Falls and across Idaho Falls is a huge day to support our local businesses and merchants that are doing business here. And they're your neighbors. And it's just really important to get out and support those smaller businesses as you've probably had a lot of turkey and had some big box shopping," Catherine Smith the economic development administrator for the city of Idaho Falls.
As the emphasis on the start of the holiday shopping season starts to shift to small businesses for the holiday season, local business owners and employees shared how the support from the community meant a lot for them.
"We actually are a love care company and we do make everything right here. So we actually started this boutique kind of to showcase our lip care products. And it is specifically made here in Idaho Falls only. And this is our only location. So is important to us because we are a small business and we are growing a lot, but we also do want more people to come in and we have tourists come in all the time and it just spreads awareness of our products as well as just like our small shop that showcases as well," Carrisa Valora the store manager of Poppy and Pout said.
"When people shop on Small Business Saturday, it signals something both financially and socially. So when you shop on Small Business Saturday, you're choosing to support local businesses. And that means contributing money to local business owners and people who work in those businesses. And you're also keeping tax dollars local and you're also maybe forming a relationship with those businesses and you're getting recommendations or help from people that you might not get elsewhere," Whitney Holmes one of the owners of Winnie and Mo's Bookstore.
"Small Business Saturday brings in a lot of people and it feels really good when we're busy," Ella Radford an employee at Winnie and Mo's said.
Shopping small is also crucial for the local economy.
"Thinking about where you're spending your money, keeping it local, and really wanting to support those businesses Is really important for shops for Saturday," Smith said.
Smith also said that shopping small is a start in a big circle of support within the community.
