Whether it is eating turkey and stuffing on Thanksgiving, standing in enormous lines for the deals of Black Friday, or spending hours in front of the computer screen on Cyber Monday, the next few days will be bustling with consumer spending. This year, Small Business Saturday on November 24, 2018 is wedged between Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Created in 2010, Small Business Saturday recognizes the importance of entrepreneurs and small businesses in the community and encourages consumers to shop local.

Over the past eight years, the network of support for small businesses has grown tremendously. Every year, local Chambers of Commerce, business associations, and other small business champions join in on an effort to promote and encourage people to shop local on Small Business Saturday. The National Women’s Business Council (NWBC), the federal government’s only independent voice for women entrepreneurs, understands the importance of this day and has been committed to advocating for women-owned businesses for the past three decades. According to The State of Women-Owned Businesses Report, this year there are an estimated 12.3 million women owned firms in the U.S. accounting for 40% of all businesses. That means 4 out of every 10 businesses in the United States are now women-owned. Consumers should shop local women-owned firms on Small Business Saturday to ensure continued economic growth for women entrepreneurs.

After almost eight years of celebrating Small Business Saturday, consumers have invested about 85 billion dollars in small businesses, and these firms comprise 4.8 trillion dollars of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product according to the Small Business Economic Impact Study (AMEX). The study also found that when a consumer shops at a local business, an average of 67 cents per dollar stays within the local economy unlike an average of 43 cents for large corporations. Small businesses also employ many residents from the local community, thus increasing their community’s overall economic growth through higher profits and lower unemployment. Consumers’ local impact during the busy holiday shopping season can be a game changer. Further, every dollar spent at small businesses creates an additional 50 cents in local business activity as a result of employee spending and businesses purchasing local goods and services.

Although Small Business Saturday only occurs once a year, it is important to shop local all year round. Women across the country continue to break barriers and blaze trails in all industries, and NWBC encourages you to support the women pioneers in your business community. Shopping in your local community will increase revenue, create jobs, and ensure that the smaller ventures have a chance to compete in the larger market. On Small Business Saturday in 2017, the sales and foot traffic for local small businesses decreased. For this upcoming Small Business Saturday on November 24, 2018 consider all the positive benefits to your community.