Small businesses felt the rush of holiday shopping on Small Business Saturday, Nov. 29. Businesses across Ballard experienced a flux of shoppers eager to purchase their holiday items. To encourage local spending, Calvin Goings, Regional Administrator with the U.S. Small Business Administration, spoke at Mud Bay Pet Foods in Ballard.
“Small businesses really are the key to the U.S. economy. We read a lot about the big corporations – Amazon, Microsoft , which are very important to our economy here as well -- however, it’s the small businesses like the Mud Bay Pet Foods, the Cup Cake Royal’s that are hiring, expanding and creating new net jobs. Highlighting their success is really critical,” said Goings.
Studies show that the money spent at local small businesses goes right back into the local economy. According to a 2008 Michigan based report by Civic Economics, $68 of spending $100 locally stays in the community, compared to $43 staying in the community when buying at non-local based shops. According to the SMA, consumers spent an estimated $5.7 billion with independent merchants during last year’s Small Business Saturday.
“Local businesses really struggled through the recession, but they have really been the bright spot through the recovery.”
Goings said that over half of all working Americans work for a small business and two thirds of all new net jobs in the past 15 years have been from small business. 20 to 40 percent of small businesses annual revenue comes from the holiday season.
“That’s a huge number, so it’s an absolutely critical time of the year, and so we encourage folks to skip the mall and shop small on Small Business Saturday and any chance they can throughout the year.”
Not only are small businesses providing jobs and a vital force in the U.S. economy, Goings said they are much more than that.
“Not only is it important to help their bottom line, which allows them to expand and hire more of our neighbors, but I really believe – having grown up in a small town – that it’s neighborhood business that make Ballard, Ballard. …It’s those unique businesses that are part of that rich fabric and cultural aspect that make neighborhood districts like Ballard, Fremont and Capital Hill unique and places where you want to be.”
Goings visited 11 small businesses in neighborhood business districts around Seattle.
SBA helps small businesses in three areas: Capital, contracts and counseling.
They guarantee loans that banks and credit unions make to small businesses. They also ensure that 23 percent of federal contracts for purchases from things like paper clips to airplanes go to small disadvantaged businesses. SBA also provides business counseling through classes and mentoring programs that are free to the public.
Mud Bay is one of the small businesses that SMA has helped. The Mud Bay location in Ballard is one of 30 stores in the region. The Olympia based company just opened a store in Issaquah, and they have three stores in Oregon. SBA guaranteed two loans for Mud Bay that provided the financial ability to grow.
“It wasn’t anything that we did, it was really that partnership. Mud Bay has a great business model, a great growth strategy -- grit, hard work and determination and some tools from SBA has allowed them to do some phenomenal things like growing to 30 stores from that one in Thurston County. It’s an amazing story. Helping small businesses, whether it’s a one person shop or is now in 30 locations, is what SBA provides.”
Evan Herring, manager at Mud Bay in Ballard, said the company has come a long way and he is happy to be a part of their success.
“I grew up in Olympia, and I remember when it was just one store, so it’s been really fun to watch the company grow and be a part of it now,” said Herring.
Part of the store’s success is providing one on one customer service so customers find exactly what they need and maybe learn something about pet food too.
“We don’t do sales or promotions, but what we will do is try to have prices across the board that are lower, and we also price-match. … The biggest thing is making sure the customer has a good experience and learns more about their animals: that’s our end goal. We are not a sales driven company, though its important, for us it's about creating that relationship for a lifetime customer. … When you go into small businesses in general you have a much more one on one experience, and that’s how small businesses set themselves apart from big box stores.”
Indeed, there is pressure from large “box” stores and online shopping, but Herring said there are some things the stores and online sites cannot provide.
“We don’t offer online shopping, so we look at what sets us apart from Amazon. For us it’s the experience when you come into the store. Not only will we help you find exactly what you need, but it’s about creating a relationship with our customers. People really appreciate it especially in Seattle. When you create that bond, people would rather come into a store rather than shop online.”
“There is a role for big box retailers, but if you want that local connection and to actually talk to a human being for more that 10 seconds when you really need someone to help you, that’s what small business have to offer,” said Goings.
Goings said that although the local day has passed, it’s crucial to keep shopping local during this critical time of year.
“Shopping and investing in the economy lifts all boats -- a rising tide lifts all boats. However, with the resources that consumers have we just hope on Small Business Saturday, and as many times throughout the year as they can, that they think of those local unique businesses that they won’t find elsewhere.”
