Recognizing National Small Business Week

How many small businesses do you interact with on a day-to-day basis?

Perhaps it is the coffee shop you frequent in the morning or your favorite eCommerce company.  Maybe you even work for a small business (like the author of this blog post).

You may not notice it, but when you really think about it, small businesses play a role in many different parts of our lives.

And this is being acknowledged in the United States this week with the inception of National Small business week. On April 29^th, 2022, President Joe Biden proclaimed May 1 through May 7, 2022, as National Small Business Week. He said:

"For generations, small businesses across America have shaped and embodied our Nation’s entrepreneurial spirit and driven our economy forward.  Today, more than 32 million small businesses employ almost half of America’s workforce and represent the heart and soul of countless communities.  During National Small Business Week, we celebrate America’s small businesses and their enormous contributions to American life and prosperity…

Now, therefore, I, Joseph R. Biden Jr., President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim May 1 through May 7, 2022, as National Small Business Week.  I call upon all Americans to recognize the contributions of small businesses to the American economy, continue supporting them, and honor the occasion with programs and activities that highlight these important businesses.”

As a small business that serves other small businesses, we wanted to recognize this week by giving our top 5 reasons to support small businesses.

1. Top-Notch Customer Service

There’s no professional relationship that small business employees value more than the relationship they build with their customers. Small businesses rely on word of mouth as part of their marketing. There’s a stronger tendency to take the time to develop quality customer relationships. Not to mention a willingness to help you won’t see in larger-scale businesses. If you have questions about a particular product you want to buy, small businesses will be happy to answer them and will be able to provide you with their expertise to help you make an informed decision.

In a smaller business, the employees are more likely to be closer to everything taking place and have more communication between departments. This allows everyone in the company to have extensive knowledge of all products and services. When supporting small businesses, you can be confident that your customer experience will be eager, thoughtful, and positive.

2. Supporting Local Economic Development

Small businesses take up a significant portion of our economy and supporting them will help stimulate the economy in their region. As a Canadian company that sells internationally, the export market is an economic driver for how we do business and contribute to our local economy. We have even been recognized for our outstanding contributions to the economy through the export of products and services by receiving a provincial Export Achievement Award.

Just because a business is small, doesn’t mean it doesn’t have the ability to make a significant impact on its community or region. And with the significant and growing number of small businesses popping up, they all add up to a highly significant contribution toward economic prosperity.

3. Support Job Creation

Small businesses provide quality jobs to the people in their communities. As such a significant portion of the economy, countless people rely on small businesses for good jobs. In fact, more Americans than ever are submitting business applications, with a 30 percent increase over the entirety of the pandemic, and 5.4 million new applications in just 2021. At Corporate Training Materials, we are proud to provide our team with 11 high-quality jobs right in their backyard.

4. Get Trusted and High-Quality Products

When shopping small, you can be sure that a significant amount of thought was personally put into each product sold. A small business is the reflection of the people who created it, so you know you are getting a product and customer experience that has had careful thought put into it. With less mass production taking place compared to larger businesses, you can trust that you will get an authentic and high-quality product.

Small businesses are able to leverage how nimble they are by finding ways to quickly and creatively adapt to the needs of their customers. For example, by re-purposing our in-person training materials to accommodate virtual instructor-led training, we pivoted to being a top provider of online corporate training materials, a product that was more vital than ever during the pandemic. We also further developed their self-paced eLearning and Learning Management System to make online corporate training easy and accessible.

This is just one example of how countless small businesses demonstrated adaptability to keep their business moving forward, their team employed, and their customers happy.

5. Feel Good About Where Your Money Goes

Another reason to shop small? It feels good. It’s really that simple. You know you are contributing to all the benefits stated above. You can feel confident that you are supporting a driven and caring company. You’re also directly contributing to the livelihood of its employees. Not to mention you are getting a well-thought-out product with excellent customer service. It’s all proof that shopping from small businesses is truly a win-win. So next time you support a small business, take pride in everything you have contributed to.

Conclusion

The pandemic certainly wasn’t easy on small businesses, and they need our support more than ever. Through proclamations such as National Small Business Week, further programming and acknowledgment of the contributions of small businesses will help them continue to succeed. We hope this blog post encourages you to let your money speak for itself by shopping from small businesses when possible. And don’t forget to support your favorite small businesses by engaging with their social media through likes, shares, follows, and tags.

What small businesses are you proud to support? Let us know in the comments below!

Posted by Katelyn Roy on May 5, 2022