Small Businesses: Why and How to Support Them

Are you ready to embrace the small businesses in your community? Within the past few years, the practice of shopping local from small companies has started catching on. Most people are opting for indie stores to get their products and services from instead of mega-companies. But if you are still searching for a reason or a method to finally make the switch, this article is for you!

 

Why Support Small Businesses:

• More Sustainable:  Most small business owners care about the impact they are having on the environment. They are also very transparent about their production process. With these businesses, you can even enquire about their behind-the-scenes activities. Most will proudly share it with you and be glad that you asked. There will never be vague statements written by an expert PR company when it comes to such businesses! With them, what you see is what you get.

• Encourage Local Job Creation:  Most small businesses hire people from their locality. This way, they create more job opportunities within their community. Unlike most prominent companies, small companies focus on both their products and the care that goes into making them. So, with almost all these businesses, you can rest easy knowing that your product is not made by underpaid kids in foreign sweatshops! 

• Better Customer Service:  Small businesses heavily rely on their customers to keep their business afloat. They don’t have huge investors backing them up. Nor do they have big law firms ready to face whatever situation arises. So, in most cases, you will always receive better customer service from small businesses. In most cases, the owner is usually heavily involved with the company. So, you will be able to interact with them and see their passion for their product shine through. It’s always nice to know the person behind the curtains and know that they value you as a customer!

• Unique and Artisan Products:  Small business owners tend to focus on their passion while establishing their businesses. They often sell products that are unique to them and their experiences. So, these stores usually provide personalized goods that you will rarely find in other places. If you are a fan of owning things that most other people don’t, small businesses are the way to go.

• The Town’s Specialty:  Sometimes, small businesses take a life of their own and represent the town as a whole. Think of all the towns that are known for their mom-and-pop stores selling taffy. Or villages that have the best glass blowing artists. These stores give their locality a special vibe that big chain stores can never replicate. And if you want to ensure that these stores continue surviving, don’t forget to shop from them!

 

How to Support Small Businesses:

• Use Their Products:  This is the obvious one; give them business! Make sure to purchase their products and proudly flaunt them. And of course, if someone asks, don’t forget to tell them where you got it from! There is nothing better for a small business than customers who embody the role of ambassadors. And there is no better advertising than word-of-mouth marketing.

• Send Their Products as Gifts:  Another way to help increase the small business’ exposure and brand awareness is to gift their products to others. Sometimes, you might come across a brand you want to support but whose products are not relevant to you. Or maybe you think that someone in your life will see the value in it as much as you do. Why not gift their goods to someone you know will love them? If you have a friend who likes organic cosmetics, she will probably be into that soap brand you saw on Etsy!

• Promote them on Social Media:  The quickest way to gain traction in today’s world is through social media. Help make your family and friends aware of these small businesses by promoting them through your posts, stories, and shares. Even if no one from your circle ends up buying these products, they will be aware that such a brand exists. And if they need those products sometime in the future, or if a friend of theirs is looking for recommendations, they will know which company to go to.

• Write Reviews:  Unlike big companies, small brands don’t have thousands of reviews spread all over the internet. If a new customer is unsure whether to buy the company’s products or not, your review might convince them that it’s worth purchasing. Reading others’ reviews gives people an idea of what to expect from the product and increases their trust in it. By writing a review, you will be encouraging the owners and helping their other consumers for years to come!  

• Follow and Interact with Them on Social Platforms:  Every time you follow the brand and like, comment, or save the brand’s posts, it helps the brand tremendously. Due to social media algorithms, the posts that get the most interaction are shown to even more people. This helps the brand increase its visibility in the social media sphere. Each online exchange with the brand’s posts will only take you a second. But, for them, it will make a huge difference!

 

As a small business ourselves, we here at Alta 8 know the value of supporting other small businesses. Alta 8 Armwear participated in a pop-up last week celebrating just that. Organized by a fairly new company themselves called Local Edition, three women hand-picked their choices for their seasonal markets. Located in downtown Chicago, small-medium businesses were featured all throughout the month of May in a beautiful venue on Michigan Avenue.

Local Edition encompasses the definitions of community, support, fun, independence, and encouragement. (If you follow our social media you saw all the behind the scenes shenanigans!) Alta 8 is proud to be a loyal partner of Local Edition and consider the founders Lisa, Martha, and Liza true friends. Here's to many ventures (and adventures) in the future! Contact them on Instagram @local.edition.market if you're interested to join their upcoming event in July! 

We take pride in our armwear and are grateful for the wonderful people who have come to enjoy and love them as much as we do. We know the hard work that goes into running small businesses and how most struggle even to stay afloat. So, we try to shop from other small brands as much as possible. Join us as we support small businesses and promote the dreams of thousands of brave owners who took a chance!