So many companies out there are indeed small but could be bigger to make even more of  a difference. Hopefully, you are in an area where you know a locally owned, small business and maybe even the owner. Furthermore, perhaps you were able to support their small business today. Small Business Saturday is of course sponsored by a big company, American Express – who gladly supports small companies all across the country. They started in 2010 with this concept and created online social media presence, free downloadable signs and promotional materials and lots of television advertisement to support the day’s sales.

Why should they do this? Well, here are a few things you may not have known. Small businesses make up for a significant portion – over 54% of the sales that make up the country’s GDP  through over 23 million businesses – that is 23,000,000 small business owners.  Oh, and they employ more than half of all workers while accounting for more new jobs since 1970.

So, if you can support anything, go small and make it bigger…because these are the people who are being innovative, changing the future and making the difference in their local community.

~ Dawn aka Hat Girl

NOTE: Stats “today” on the SBA.gov show that small can mean up to $38.5 million in annual sales and up to 1500 employees – depending on the industry – to classify as a small business but generally retailers “shopped on Small Business Saturday” can still be small even if they are at their “cap” between $7.5 and $20.5 million with less than 500 employees. So, while you may think of the little shop around the corner with the sole proprietor, that is ok – but they could grow and grow and really grow yet still be considered small. Shopping small can be much bigger than you thought.