Marking Small Business Saturday
Don’t forget the shops around your corners in NYC
For every $100 you spend at a local small business, $70 of that money is re-invested in your community, according to Small Business Services Commissioner Jonnel Doris.
Photo via Getty Images
COURIER LIFE, NOV. 26-DEC. 2, 2021 17
BY MAC SORENSEN
As the holiday shopping
season kicks into high gear
following Thanksgiving, New
Yorkers ought to remember
the great deals and service
they can fi nd just a short walk
from their homes this “Small
Business Saturday.”
The national program,
championed by American Express,
puts a focus on momand
pop retailers across
America on a weekend when
millions of shoppers head out
to buy gifts for their loved
ones.
“This Small Business Saturday,
let’s celebrate the contributions
of small businesses
to our communities by supporting
small in all the ways
that we can,” said U.S. Small
Business Administrator Isabella
Casillas Guzman. “On
Saturday and throughout the
holiday season, let’s patronize
our small shops, restaurants,
theaters, entertainment centers,
and more to help support
their recovery. It takes hard
work, grit, and determination
to bounce back from a once-ina
generation pandemic, and
the SBA is proud to do its part
to provide entrepreneurs with
vital resources. Now more
than ever, let’s buy local to
support small business owners
who are creating opportunity
and driving job growth
across the nation.”
Though New York is considered
the fi nancial capital of
the United States and often associated
with big corporations
housed in skyscrapers across
the landscape, the reality is
that small businesses largely
drive the city’s economy.
Of the more than 200,000
businesses in New York City,
according to the de Blasio Administration,
98% of them
have fewer than 100 employees.
Approximately 89% of all businesses
are classifi ed as “very
small,” meaning that they employ
20 or fewer workers.
Many of these businesses
struggled to survive throughout
the COVID-19 pandemic,
and even as the vaccine made
the rounds and society began
to reopen, the challenges remain.
An April report issued
by state Comptroller Tom Di-
Napoli found that 78% of businesses
statewide with less than
500 workers reported continued
various problems related
to the health crisis, such as a
steep decline in business.
New York City continues to
provide tremendous fi nancial
aid and technical support to
struggling small businesses
across the Five Boroughs, according
to Small Business
Services Commissioner Jonnel
Doris. In an NY1 interview,
he noted that the city has
so far provided more than $275
million in assistance toward
small businesses impacted by
the pandemic.
“At this stage, we continue
to provide the necessary resources
for small businesses
that they need to come back,”
Doris said. “As you come out
of the pandemic, a lot of our
businesses are struggling fi -
nancially. Others are struggling
with their rent.”
As the city and nation
continue to recover from the
COVID-19 pandemic, small
businesses are in desperate
need of continued support
from the communities they
serve, and the Small Business
Saturday campaign — fi rst
launched in 2010 — has traditionally
served as a boon for
mom-and-pop stores everywhere.
According to the SBA,
Americans spent an estimated
$19.8 billion last year on Small
Business Saturday, benefi ting
many of the more than
32.5 million small businesses
across the country.
For New York City, Doris
noted, shopping at a small
business provides a profound
economic impact not just for
the business owners, but also
the communities that they
serve.
“Every $100 that is spent,
$70 stays in that community.
That’s important,” he said in
the NY1 interview. “You’re
helping not only that small
business but also the entire
community survive and come
back.”
The SBS will again promote
the city’s “Shop Your
City” initiative, launched in
May as a way to encourage
New Yorkers to do their holiday
and every-day shopping at
local businesses.
You might also want to consider
throwing some of your
holiday dollars toward shops
located within any of the dozens
of Business Improvement
Districts located across the
Five Boroughs. The BIDs offer
various support services
for local businesses as well
as promotional campaigns to
attract shoppers and entice
them to keep their business local.
View a director of BIDs at
nyc.gov/sbs.
Shop Local
/sbs
