SCORE, a nonprofit association dedicated to helping small businesses get off the ground, grow and achieve their goals, announced its efforts to support independents this Small Business Saturday, November 24th. Celebrated the weekend following Thanksgiving and a day after Black Friday, Small Business Saturday draws attention to the profound economic impacts small businesses have on their local communities and seeks to raise awareness of, and increase patronage to, small businesses across the nation. SCORE, with its nationwide network of more than 340 chapters and 12,000 volunteer mentors, is working with small business clients to help engage local communities in support of this integral aspect of America’s economy. Shoppers are encouraged to “Shop Small” and look for the “Proud to be a SCORE #SmallBiz” decal. In an effort to publicize Small Business Saturday events in communities across the country, SCORE is distributing a promotional toolkit to all SCORE chapters. All SCORE mentors and their clients will be equipped with marketing tools, social media suggestions and promotional items to help their small business clients prepare for the day and to help create buzz in their communities. “Our network of 12,000 plus volunteer mentors works hard every day to strengthen America’s small businesses,” says SCORE CEO Ken Yancey. “Each year, we gladly work in tandem with the Small Business Saturday effort which seeks the same result.”
Small Business Saturday was created in 2010 by American Express OPEN as an effort to highlight the effect of small businesses and bolster these enterprises to the same level of awareness attained by big box stores during Black Friday and online stores during Cyber Monday. Small businesses offer important economic and social benefits to their communities. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, there were nearly 28 million small businesses in the U.S. last year. Over the past two decades, they created 65 percent of net new jobs. Directly supporting their local communities, for every $100 spent in locally owned, independent stores, $68 returns to the community through taxes, payroll and other expenditures, reports The 3/50 Project, a small business advocacy group. According to the National Federation of Independent Business, 91 percent of small business owners contributed to their community in the last year through volunteering, in-kind contributions and/or direct cash donations.
American Express OPEN provides information for consumers and small business owners alike at www.smallbusinesssaturday.com. Consumers can find out where to shop to take advantage of applicable discounts, and small business owners are offered resources including marketing materials and free online advertising.
For more information about starting or operating a small business, call 1-800-634-0245 for the SCORE chapter nearest you, visit SCORE at www.score.org, and connect with SCORE at www.facebook.com/SCOREFans and www.twitter.com/SCOREMentors.