Henry Flood, owner of Epikos Comics and Games weighs in on the importance of shopping local this holiday season.
CHATTANOOGA, TN – We all know about Black Friday and Cyber Monday and we manage to mark those on our calendars every year, but Small Business Saturday falls right in between them.
Started by American Express in 2010 after the great recession, it has been officially sponsored by The Small Business Administration since 2011. The idea is to focus on locally owned businesses as they are an important part of local economies. According to SBA.gov, since its inception, Small Business Saturday reported that $201 billion dollars have been generated with last year having a one day total of $17 billion nationwide.
According to small business owner Henry Flood “Well I mean everything says it – Small Business Saturday, so small businesses mostly your local businesses, ones have been started here in Chattanooga, or in the surrounding areas. Typically, what you should consider like a small mom-and-pop style store. Things like that. And what’s important is that small businesses make up a vast, majority of the sales in the United States. We’re the backbone of the economy and so, without us we’re in worse shape.”
Henry Flood has been the owner of Epikos Comics and Games for 14 years and cites the holidays as his busiest time of year. “This is the day that we get to see more people than normal. This is the day that we get to sell more merchandise, but we also get to see people walk out having found that one item you’re looking for and that’s what we’re there for.”
According to SBA, Small businesses are the life blood of the US economy. They create two-thirds of all new jobs, drive innovation and competition and recent reports show that they account for 44% of US economic activity.
To find a business participating in your area go to https://www.americanexpress.com/us/small-business/shop-small/, and make sure to follow the SBA on social media and share your local shopping experiences with the hashtag #shoplocal.
This post was originally published on here
