Tampa Bay Shoppers Receive Incentives To Support Small Businesses On Saturday

TAMPA BAY, FL — They may be "small," but there's nothing small about their impact on Florida's economy.

According to a new report by Business.org, small businesses employ 3,560,870 people in Florida. That’s 41.1 percent of the population.

Just as Florida's small businesses were beginning to recover from last year's coronavirus pandemic, they're being dealt a double whammy this holiday season in the form of inflation, which has forced many small businesses to raise their prices to make a profit, and supply chain issues that prevent them from obtaining merchandise to sell.

Here's why it's important that Floridians support Small Business Saturday on Nov. 27 and shop small this holiday season, said Vanessa Oatman, owner of EVOZ Events. Celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, Oatman's marketing company focuses on promoting Tampa's small-business community in general, and in particular underrepresented businesses — Black-owned, woman-owned, LGBTQ-owned and veteran-owned.

"It's my passion," Oatman said. "It's not easy being a small-business owner. Small businesses really came out of the smoke after COVID. They really fought to survive."

And just as the smoke began to clear, Oatman said, they're now struggling with supply chain issues.

According to Business.org, 459,749 small businesses are in Florida, each employing an average of 7.7 people.

If only 5 percent of small businesses are forced to close in Florida, 178,044 people would lose their jobs. If 10 percent of small businesses shuttered their doors, 356,087 people would lose their jobs. And if 15 percent of Florida's small businesses had to call it quits, 534,131 people would be out of work.

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With shipping ports backed up, the resulting inflation and supply chain shortages are among the top concerns of small business owners, said Business.org. The U.S. is facing the highest month-over-month inflation rates since 2008, and being able to stock customers’ favorite products — at the right price — for the holiday season is proving to be increasingly difficult.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, inflation accelerated starting in March through September more than at any point in 2020. In fact, inflation in 2021 more than doubled 2020’s highest increases for at least five months straight.

Business.org dug into how inflation and supply chain shortages are affecting small businesses and found that 89 percent of small-business owners have increased their prices to counter inflation.

And 64 percent report not being able to acquire the products they need to meet customer demand due to supply chain shortages.

Since the pandemic began, 92 percent of small-business owners reported that the cost of supplies or services needed to run their business has increased. This year, 71 percent of small-business owners reported at least a 20 percent increase in costs for supplies and services.

Chambers of commerce and downtown merchants associations throughout Florida have launched campaigns to urge holiday shoppers to consider shopping at small businesses this year rather than purchase gifts online from national retailers or heading to the closest big-box store.

It may be more convenient and, in some cases, cheaper. But, in the long run, supporting small businesses means keeping friends and neighbors employed.

Black Saturday Holiday Market

To make it easier for residents to "shop small," Oatman teamed with Seminole Heights small-business owner Antoinette Stokes, owner of Build-A-Shirt Custom T-shirt Emporium, to host a Black Saturday Holiday Market from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Seminole Heights Garden Center, 5800 N. Central Ave., Tampa.

"We want to support small businesses across the spectrum, especially Black-, woman-, LGBTQ- and veteran-owned businesses," said Oatman, who hosts similar events focused on underrepresented small businesses throughout the year.

“The holiday season brings the perfect time for our community to support the resilience of small businesses after the pandemic," said Stokes, noting that many of her customers are underrepresented businesses. "So many businesses are still bouncing back from a rough year in 2020. We owe it to them to support their perseverance during these times.”

The free Black Saturday Holiday Market will bring more than 30 small businesses together to sell and promote their products and services including apparel, home goods, gifts, wellness products, beauty and skin care products and professional services.

The event will also feature locally owned food trucks, music, art and giveaways.

Around Tampa Bay, merchants associations and chambers of commerce are exploring creative ways to lift up the small business community this holiday season.

Holiday Shop Hop

Small businesses in Seminole Heights are hosting a Holiday Shop Hop from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., featuring special discounts, giveaways and a free community holiday after-party with music by Jamie McElman and Steve Prince, beer and wine specials, raffles and prizes from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Southern Brewing and Winery, 4500 N. Nebraska Ave., Tampa.

As an enticement to shop local, shoppers must visit at least six of the participating businesses on Saturday during the shop hop to be eligible to win prizes and gift certificates from Cleanse Apothecary, D & D Antiques, Forever Beautiful Salon & Wine Spa, Health Mutt, Gott Glass Gallery-Phoenix Studio, Labyrinth Studios, Lufka Refillables Zero Waste Store, Southern Brewing & Winery, Smoke Signals, The Far Forest, The Goods- Coffee and Gift Shop, Vintage on Central and Vintage Post Marketplace.

"Seminole Heights’ growing community of unique shops and award-winning restaurants is making this year’s event bigger and better than ever,” said Elizabeth Graham, owner of Forever Beautiful Salon & Wine Spa. “We are thrilled to continue supporting local, independent businesses and having a community holiday after-party. What a great way to kick off the holiday season.”

New Port Richey Merchants Holiday Celebration

New Port Richey merchants have turned Small Business Saturday into a festive holiday celebration this year along Grand Boulevard.

There will be more than 6,000 square feet of local artisan vendors selling handmade gifts, foods and other seasonal items.

As further incentive to shop small, the downtown merchants will host a "sip and stroll," with wine for the adults, real snow for the kids to play in and Mrs. Claus handing out fresh-baked homemade cookies, live music, free food and drinks and boutique gift wrapping with any purchase.

In conjunction with the event, Stonehaven at Main Street Apartments, a new apartment complex featuring live-work shops along 5500 Main St., is teaming with Dented Keg Ale Works to host a vendors fair Saturday from 2 to 6 p.m.

Gulfport Puts Money Into Hands Of Shoppers

The city of Gulfport has taken efforts to promote small businesses this holiday season a step further by putting cash in the hands of residents and encouraging them to spend it at Gulfport's small businesses.

As part of an initiative that the city has dubbed "Gulfport Rebound," the city is using $410,000 of the funding it received from the American Rescue Plan Act earlier this year.

Each of Gulfport's 7,000 households will receive $50 in vouchers to use at approved businesses.

"We wanted to help people out the most direct way we could," said Gulfport Mayor Sam Henderson. "It's a benefit to both businesses and residents."

The quaint, artsy beach town has about 210 small businesses that qualify for the program. Henderson said the vouchers can be spent at restaurants, gift shops, hair salons, even auto repair shops.

Shop Gandy Campaign Continues

In the midst of the massive construction project to extend the Selmon Expressway in 2019, small businesses along Gandy Boulevard in Tampa were feeling the pain, which only intensified with the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.

To bolster those businesses, the South Tampa Chamber of Commerce and the Tampa-Hillsborough County Expressway Authority collaborated on a "Shop Gandy" initiative to promote businesses in the area.

The expressway project officially opened in April, but the "Shop Gandy" initiative has taken on a life of its own.

Through its Facebook page, promotional signage and events such as last weekend's holiday market, and business expos, continue to support Gandy Boulevard's businesses.

Keep The Cheer Here

The South Tampa Chamber of Commerce has launched its own "shop local" campaign called "Keep the Cheer Here."

“Many of our small businesses are just now kind of getting their footing back under them after a very challenging last year with lots of changes to mandates and regulations and inventory issues and so it’s really important that we find ways to support our small businesses this year more than ever,” said Kelly Flannery, president and CEO of South Tampa Chamber of Commerce.

Additionally, Ybor Merchants have put together an easy-to-use Ybor City Merchant Directory to give shoppers ideas and locations where they can purchase holiday gifts in the historic Cuban/Italian district.