Welcome to my blog. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do writing it. I want to share some of the adventures I experience in my life as a small-town newspaper editor, freelance writer and all-around snoop in the Adirondack North Country. This will be a mix of conversation, observation and exclamation, so check in each week — and please spread the word – Connie Jenkins
The best investment anyone can make is one in their own community, so here’s a reminder that Nov. 27 (that’s Saturday) is Small Business Saturday. If you’re shopping, be sure to check what the small local shops offer. Chances are, you’ll get a happy surprise.
So will the local merchants. Remember, these are the folks we ask all year for donations for our clubs and schools. They’re counting on us to buy from them.
It’s not only the right thing to do, either. We benefit because when the store lights are on, peole are employed and there’s local bustle. The merchant takes out local dollars and pays his or her taxes, bills and the employees’ salaries. In turn, they pay their mortgage or rent and bills and the money stays in the community.
Over the past 20 years, 65 percent of net new jobs have been created by the nation’s small businesses — at last count, 28 million strong, according to the Small Business Administration. The 3/50 Project, a small-business advocacy group, says for every $100 spent in locally owned, independent stores, $68 goes back to the community in the form of taxes, payroll and other expenditures. Small Business Saturday is an effort to keep that money in the community.
So look at all the good you can accomplish. And you get whatever you buy, too. Here in Malone that could be art and jewelry, clothes, furniture, crafts, wool products, hardware, or toys. Need a gift for someone who’s hard to shop for? How about a gift certificate to a local restaurant, or hair dresser, or the YMCA? Get them a taste of the North Country with some local maple syrup, McCadam’s cheese, or Sustain salsa and chips. Many area farmers who have stands in the summer also sell their locally raised meats and other foods all year.
Your town likely has the same sorts of things. Save your time and gas by shopping there first. Give your neighbor who runs a store your business on Saturday, then try to make it habit.
Learn more about Small Business Saturday at a variety of so-named websites, or at the SBA website. My advice, however — go talk to a local merchant.
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Adirondack North Country Blogger 