Soap box time!

According to research completed by the University of Illinois and Harvard in May of 2020 (more than a year ago), more than 100,000 small businesses closed forever as the pandemic started taking its toll. That number has only grown, and if we truly believe that small businesses are the backbone of American (said every politician since the Industrial Revolution), then it’s time to put your money where your mouth is.

Shopping small businesses gives you lots of advantages, and these are just the basics:

1. You’re buying from a real human. Bonus: when you call, you speak to a real person.
2. You’re building a relationship. It gives you the ability to scoff when a new product is offered that you find distasteful and extol the wonders of something truly grand. (Try the peanut clusters at Just Be Kind Café. Trust me; you’ll like them…barring a peanut allergy.)
3. You impact a family. The owner cares about you and appreciate your business. For example, our local florists rock at this. Every time I order flowers for a funeral, birthday, or other special occasion, Barry Yancy (Cherished Memories), Julie Ott (Drummonds Florist), or Richelle Zimmerman (Festus Flower Shoppe) always ask about my daughters, offer condolences as appropriate, or ask about some other aspect of my life. We’re lucky to have them and have established relationships with them.
4. You impact our community. Shopping small businesses means you support the team of people that are employed there; building a local economy. To prove my point, think of all the adults who spent their teenage years serving the restaurant gods at Pogolino’s. It really makes you think, doesn’t it?
5. You experience very personal gift giving. You’ll be getting something made with love, but even better, something made with great attention to detail. There is a personal level of care that goes into creating items, from the candle maker to the jewelry creator and beyond. Gift giving from a small business creates a personal touch and creates meaning for the gift recipient as well.

Small businesses are part of fueling the economy, and it is vital to support and shop at these businesses now more than ever. Which brings us to…

Small Business Saturday

Small Business Saturday is on November 27 this year. It is always the Saturday after Thanksgiving, just like the Christmas Home Tour! We hope your plan is to visit local homes and shop businesses along the way. This is particularly easy this year because almost all the homes are in town, and the one outside of town is just 5 miles away. We’re looking forward to it, and we hope you are too.

While tickets are still available, you can pick them up at DeSoto Public Library, Drummond Florist, Cherished Memories, First State Community Bank, Pogolino’s, Cottage Grove Quilt Company, and Books Galore in Festus!