With the holidays right around the corner, you've probably started making your shopping list and scouring through sales ads for all of the best Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals. Although you could quickly load up your Amazon cart with all the gifts on your list, I would encourage you to look into local businesses as an alternative.
Many small business owners rely on customers coming in daily to stay afloat. They don't have stockholders or investors to help support them when hard times come along. They depend on you and me, their friends and neighbors, to see the hard work that goes into their business and choose to shop locally.
Many small businesses in our community start with a dream or the desire to fill the community's needs. These small entrepreneurs see a problem they can solve or a lack of their products and services in the community and open their businesses to share it with us all. This holiday season, consider supporting a local business and show them that you believe in their dream and see the value they bring to our community.
I encourage you to shop locally year-round, but there's no better time than Shop Small Saturday. Each year, the day after Black Friday is Shop Small Saturday, a day devoted to supporting local businesses.
So, this Saturday, skip Starbucks and Dunkin and head to your favorite local coffee shop instead. Ditch the mall, and spend the day shopping at your favorite local boutiques and sporting goods stores. Grab lunch at your favorite local diner instead of a frequented fast-food chain. Show the local business owners in our community that you support them.
As your community credit union, Carolina Trust is committed to showing its support for local businesses on Small Business Saturday and every day. The community is at the heart of everything we do, and we believe our community wouldn't be as great as it is without its fantastic local businesses. It's easy to get swept up in the convenience of large retail stores in today's world. However, we should all remember that local businesses are what this country was founded on and still play a critical part in our communities. So this holiday season, be sure to shop local.