Why Delaware Must Support Small Business

By Jayne Armstrong

By now everyone knows that November 26 is Small Business Saturday. Created by the 3/50 Project and American Express and now supported by hundreds of organizations, including the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), it is quickly becoming the new Black Friday.

It is a great reminder of just how important small business is to everyday life as the biggest job creators and the backbone of our economy: small businesses are 99.7 percent of all employer firms employing about half of all private sector employees. Every business in America, including our largest corporations, started small.

Small business is more than just statistics. It is the American way of life that started with our founding fathers. Today small business owners are our family members, our friends and neighbors. They are home-based businesses in our neighborhoods, retailers on Main Street and in shopping plazas and manufacturers in industrial parks.

But let’s get real. Don’t small businesses deserve more than just one day? Since our economy survives and thrives on the backs of small business owners, shouldn’t we change our shopping habits to make small business part of our daily life? What better way to jump start our economic recovery than occupying Main Street?

Enough of just talking the talk; it is time that we wake up and really walk the walk. Small businesses deserve nothing less. Creating a small business culture depends on all of us, including small businesses buying products from other small business owners.

It takes a community to change a mindset, but we each have a role to play. According to the 3/50 Project, if half of the employed population picks just three independently owned businesses and spent $50 a month with them, it would generate more than $42.6 billion in revenue. For every $100 spent in local stores, $68 returns to the community through taxes, payroll and other expenditures. If you spend that in a national chain, only $43 stays here. Spend it online and nothing comes home.

Admittedly, I must acknowledge my bias – I am a small business advocate and proud of it. I breathe, eat and drink small business 365 days a year. As a federal employee, I am truly honored to work for Delaware’s more than 72,000 small business owners. I pride myself on working small business hours and following their lead in giving back to the community. More than 95 percent of my purchases are with small business. There are so many reasons that it has become a way of life for me. I have immense respect for small business owners’ drive, determination, work ethic, passion, independence and commitment to their customers and employees.

Their customer service drives my loyalty, like the husband and wife owners of the local book store who introduce me to new authors because they know my reading habits and the hairstylist who adds another appointment to her schedule to accommodate mine. Then there are the restaurant owners who recommend new menu items based on my past orders, the frame shop owner who sends the personalized coupons thanking me for my business, the family-owned grocery store where one of the owners decorates an oversized cookie for me five minutes before closing, or the local package store that sets aside a limited edition of my favorite type of stout beer. It is all about customer service and loyalty.

Most of the small businesses I frequent know me by name, not because of my position, but because I am a customer. That alone means more to me than they will ever know. And for that I am forever a small business advocate.

Of course small businesses come in all sizes and sectors. In addition to your retail purchases you could also turn to small businesses for your end of the year acquisitions, including equipment, supplies and other services. Why not support a local entrepreneur while taking advantage of the tax credits under the Small Business Jobs Act?

Now more than ever Delaware’s small business community needs our support. So come on Delaware, join the SBA and stand up for small business on Small Business Saturday – and every day of the year.

Jayne Armstrong is the district director of the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Delaware District.

• ← The Delaware Business Weekly Round Up – November 18th, 2011
• Delaware Students Gather to Dialogue about Savings, Spending, Credit and Debt, Predatory Lending, Identity Theft, and Housing Options →