If you’ve been following the news lately, you’ve probably heard that it’s going to take longer for your holiday gifts to get to you.
With supply chain disruptions and staffing shortages, be prepared to purchase any coveted gift along with your favorite pumpkin spiced latte – in other words, soon.
Another solution is to shop local. Every year, Small Business Saturday is the day after Black Friday. Instead of waiting for one day to support local businesses, why not shop local for the entire holiday season?
Small businesses have been negatively impacted by COVID-19 and are still struggling to stay afloat, dealing with workforce issues and lagging sales volumes. There are several industries that need support.
Local purchases can help your community in other ways. Do you have a favorite local non-profit? Choose a local eatery and donate a meal to that non-profit for their holiday office party.
Gift cards and certificates are another great way to support small businesses, especially service businesses. Add them to gift baskets or holiday cards. Another fun idea is to do a social media giveaway by asking people to tag a local business and have them vote for their favorites.
If you have your own small business, think of ways to collaborate with other businesses by creating product or service packages. How can your products or services complement what other local businesses offer?
Consider doing a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis of your business. What are some areas of improvement to address this holiday season? Now is also the time to plan for next year.
Benjamin Franklin said, “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.” Let’s plan to think, support, and shop local this holiday season!
More ideas: Check out this article for 5 ways to support small businesses this holiday season.