Today’s Black Friday – the big shopping day – followed up by Small Business Saturday tomorrow.
Jayne Armstrong, director of the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Iowa District Office, says 97-percent of Iowa’s businesses are small businesses and it’s vital for our economic livelihood to support them all year, not just on November 26th.
The worst of the pandemic may be behind us, but it left significant scars for some merchants – which continue to need the routine patronage of Iowa consumers. Armstrong says COVID taught many of us a lesson about how much we rely on the neighborhood mom-and-pop businesses.
She notes that there’s an obvious advantage for consumers to “Be Loyal, Buy Local,” instead of shopping online – since when you find and buy an item at a brick-and-mortar store, there’s no worry about it being delayed or lost during the shipping process.
And the Manchester Chamber will be celebrating Small Business Saturday tomorrow. Chamber Director Dave Wakefield says between 10 am and noon, he’ll be roaming Chamber businesses in his Santa hat with a chance for shoppers to win Manchester Chamber Dollars and other goodies.
story contribution courtesy of Radio Iowa
