What Small Business Saturday Means To Me

As a small business, I look forward to the holiday season every year. It's my busiest time of year by far, but I love the extra support that small and local businesses get. While I think it's important to shop small year-round, Small Business Saturday has been a welcomed addition to the post-Thanksgiving shopping madness. Not only does it encourage people to shop small, but it also highlights makers, artisans and businesses that otherwise don't often get the spotlight they deserve.

So in the spirit of Small Business Saturday, I thought I would a bit more information about my business and what it means to shop small in hopes that it encourages others to do the same! 

I officially launched my business in 2014, but worked a full-time job to make ends meet until this past Spring. I was lucky in that I worked for an organization (another local business!) that wholeheartedly supported my side endeavor, but I would never have been able to focus on this business full-time had it not been for the support of my many customers and local retail partners who followed my journey, and worked with me to grow my company.

Since the beginning, but especially since focusing on my business full-time, I've made a very strong effort to invest in other local businesses to make mine more successful. This past year, I brought on two employees part-time to help, which means i'm able to put some of my money back into the local economy. I also work closely with Dan at JewelryClassDC, a local jewelry school. Dan has been an invaluable mentor of mine, and  his team helps with some of my production work when volume gets to be too high. Aside from production, I work with small, family-run businesses to source most of my materials, I use a small business to handle my accounting, and i've hired several local designers to help with my branding and marketing materials. 

While these efforts may seem tiny, each step that I can take to support other small businesses makes the larger community thrive. I'm proud that I invest in my local economy, and hope that you do the same!

Here are a few ways to shop small this weekend:

• Head to one of my retail partners - in addition to carrying my jewelry, they source some amazing products from other small designers 
• Visit one of the many Small Business Saturday events happening in your area (i'll be at DC Brau's holiday market from 1-6!)
• Take advantage of my 20% off promotion (my last sale of the year!) by using the code THANKFUL at checkout