Small Business Saturday gaining momentum in Palmer

PALMER — Two days after Thanksgiving, besides snacking on leftovers, locals can spend their time supporting their small businesses by doing some holiday shopping on Small Business Saturday. This is a nationwide movement started by American Express in 2010. The annual sales event is essentially a response to Black Friday where franchises make most of their profit margin of the year, “getting in the black.” Over time, the concept has taken a hold in communities in spades; especially places like Palmer, where about 30 businesses signed up under the umbrella of their “Neighborhood Champion,” Jeanette Gardiner. According to Gardiner, Small Business Saturday is not limited to the direction of a “Neighborhood Champion,” and she encourages everyone in Alaska both shoppers and business owners to participate.

“The small businesses really are the fabric of our community,” Gardiner said.

One Palmer business owner, Denise Statz, runs Non-Essentials. She said that Small Business Saturday has become a prized day of sales. It has risen to the ranks of other high volume sale days like Christmas Eve and Colony Christmas. This Saturday, Non-Essentials will give out gift bags to the first 12 shoppers and have specials and samples of their products, like their famed oils and teas.

“It’s been very fruitful for us. The first couple years were fairly minor and it’s grown and grown and grown every year,” Statz said.

Non-Essentials is a returning name to the Palmer roster of businesses participating in the event. Some new registrations include some old names like Vagabond Blues and the Valley Hotel. The new art store in Kolosky Center, Forever Endeavor signed up this year as well.

“They’re a shop to take note of,” Gardiner said.

This is Gardiner’s fourth year as the “Neighborhood Champion” for Palmer. She volunteers her time to coordinate the Small Business Saturday event in Palmer, doing what she knows best: marketing, aiding businesses owners and connecting people together. She owns Seastar Strategies, a company that specializes in helping small businesses grow and sustain themselves in an shaky economy that swallows up any stragglers. According to Gardiner, Alaska’s financial crisis is one of the toughest challenges Palme businesses face; the next would be maintain a regular pool of customers, the habit of convenience for big, box stores and online shopping, and the fact that many people are always trying to save money. Her efforts are to shift the mindset of local consumers so they “shift their spending.”

“An investment in your small businesses is an investment in the community,” Gardiner said.

She said that if people could start to make even small changes in their regular shopping habits, even $10 a month from a big box store to a small business will greatly support their communities. The Small Business Saturday sales event isn’t just a once a year deal for Gardiner, she like that it encourages awareness for her ultimate mission: for locals to invest in small businesses year-round.

For more information about participating business in Palmer, look up “Small Business Saturday – Palmer!” on Facebook. For anywhere else, keep a look out for blue stickers and blue decorations, that’s a common indicator that a small business is participating. For more information on the event itself, visit: www.americanexpress.com/us/small-business/shop-small