2 weeks Ago
Small Business Saturday always falls the Saturday after Thanksgiving. American Express and the U.S.
Small Business Administration invented the holiday in 2010 as an antidote to Black Friday, when many shoppers flock to big-box stores. The SBA estimates people have spent $201 billion at local merchants on Small Business Saturday, including $17 billion last year. Small business owners in Northwest Indiana said they depend on the community's support for their success and in turn support the community.
They encouraged people to shop local, saying small businesses make up the fabric of a community and are more likely to give back than large corporations headquartered far away. "The holiday season between Thanksgiving and New Year's Eve accounts for 35% to 40% of your business," said Joel Bender with Mind Benders Puzzles and Games in downtown Whiting. "People are more likely to spend on big-ticket items like our bigger science kits or pinball-making machines.
" People buy Christmas presents throughout the year. Some for instance who visit during Pierogi Fest say they'll grab a game, toy or puzzle as a Christmas gift because they don't know if they'll be back before the holiday season. Mind Benders partners with other business along 119th Street on holiday-themed events to draw business and give back to the community, such as on Dec.
7, when they will offer hot cocoa as part of city festivities that will include live reindeer, horse drawn carriages and a Kris Kringle Market. The downtown Whiting merchants for instance partner together on events throughout the year centered on sweets, wine and craft beer. Mind Benders hosts its own events, including game nights and arts and crafts nights.
It refers many visitors to neighboring businesses like The Junkyard or Nostalgic Treasures as it offers unique toys that can't be found at big-box stores, drawing visitors from as far as Kenosha, Naperville and South Bend. The hope is that if they come to appreciate more of the shops in downtown Whiting they will make more frequent return trips. "Whiting has a nice walkability score and a lot of small businesses," he said.
"They're all flourishing you don't see newspaper on the windows. It looks really nice. It's like 'It's a Wonderful Life.
'" Whiting is a small community of about 5,000 but it comes out to support Mind Benders, though long-time residents sometimes pop in and are surprised to see that it sells puzzles and games for adults, having assumed it was just a store for kids. Listen now and subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | RSS Feed | SoundStack | All Of Our Podcasts "You have to rely on community support," he said. "And you give back to the community.
If you're a small business, you eat at local restaurants and keep the spending local. If you look at baseball field sponsors, it's all small businesses. You don't see Amazon or Starbucks.
Look at the ballfields. It's not Walmart or Target. It's the small businesses supporting that.
" Karen Maravilla with It's Just Serendipity in downtown Hammond said it was concerning. Nearly a half-dozen other similar shops across Northwest Indiana, such as Vintage Vault in Dyer, closed. "It's stomach-clenching, she said.
"You turn around and another one is gone." Maravilla said the holiday season is critical to any small business's success. It kicks off in earnest after Thanksgiving.
"You need small businesses to make your community or neighborhood vibrant," she said. "We need to think about what we want our communities to look like and go out and spend the money." Small Business Saturday traffic has been up and down over the years, Maravilla said.
It's fallen in recent years. "We're grateful when people come and show their appreciation," she said. "If you're not willing to support small businesses, close your eyes, imagine how your downtown looks now and then imagine what it would look like if all the small businesses weren't there.
We bring goods and services and customer service and conversation and that's really important. You have to do some things without using your phone. We're losing that element in society where people are respectful and kind and say thank you.
A big part of shopping local is the human aspect." It's Just Serendipity gives back to the community, such as by staging events, working to revitalize downtown Hammond and giving library books to the Silver Birch Senior Living Center, the Hammond Public Library and Books, Brushes and Bands for Education. She donates to local causes like the Hospice of the Calumet Area.
"If you try to go to a large corporation to ask for a donation, it's very difficult. But small businesses will take the time to talk to you," she said. "If you need a donation or a volunteer, it's the small businesses that have owners living in your area.
If you shop online, that money will go to California or overseas or wherever and never come back. If you spend money at a local small business, it will be reinvested back in the community.".
