How to Support Small Businesses This Holiday Season
How to Support Small Businesses This Holiday Season
Have you heard of Black Out the System or The People's Union, USA ? I truly believe our greatest power for bringing about change is how we spend our money. That being said, two things can be true at the same time.
You can participate in blacking out the system by not shopping big corporations, canceling subscriptions, not using credit/debit on key dates. At the same time, you can be attending local markets and festivals, using cash as much as possible, shopping Main Street or online. Supporting the indie economy.
If you are financially secure or have financial abundance, this is the time to step into your money power. Use it for good. For change. For community. Buy soaps, small batch skincare, speciality foods, spice blends from local makers- buy a lot. Like 10 or 12. Then take those purchases to your local women's shelter or food bank. Imagine the joy of using a handcrafted and luxurious lotion instead of crap from Dollar Tree. Imagine the anticipation of adding a speciality food to your ramen bowl or pasta.
IMAGINE!
Key Dates
Nov 26- Dec 2 is the date scheduled for Black Out the System. Thanksgiving Week. This is the traditional "kick off" to the holiday season. It is a list of NO's. No spending, streaming, restaurants, travel or work. Stay Home. In this period of time we also have Shop Small Saturday and "cyber Monday". How do you navigate all this and still support the small and indie economy? With delicacy and grace.
We all need to feel some discomfort. Easy to do are no big corporation spending, not just on certain dates but as much as humanly possible. Not using your credit/debit card means some discomfort. You are going to need to plan ahead to get cash. No streaming- for me a major discomfort. What are we going to do? We are going to get out in our community. support our small makers, get a library card, volunteer, play games, talk, go for walks, take naps. We are going to enjoy ourselves without feeding the "beast". The biggest challenge for me will be to stay off social media- except for work.
We are working Black Out weekend. We'll be down to Boston for the SoWa Winter Fest. "Black Friday" is opening day. Don't boycott the little guys, instead show up in massive numbers with the intent of spreading joy.