It's Small Business Saturday

Downers Grove joins cities across the country in observing the first-ever Small Business Saturday today. The nationwide effort, spearheaded by American Express's OPEN unit, encourages shoppers to support independently owned local stores and restaurants.

Mayor Ron Sandack put in a plug for the event at Friday's tree lighting ceremony, reading his proclamation in support of the cause. Small businesses are "the heartbeat of our community and the local economy," Sandack said. He urged "all citizens to support businesses in Downers Grove this holiday season."

Why shop or dine at local establishments? The Small Business Saturday website offers four reasons:

• For every $100 spent at small businesses, $68 returns to the community. (Civic Economics)

• Small businesses employ half of all private sector employees. (Small Business Administration)

• Small businesses represent 99.7 percent of all employer firms. (Small Business Administration) 
• For every year over the last decade, 60-80 percent of new jobs were generated by small businesses. (Small Business Administration)

And, because this is a "5 Things" feature, I'll add one more:

• Small business managers have a stake in the community and, as such, are motivated to please their customers—by bringing in merchandise or adding dishes with a local appeal, or just getting to know you well enough to recommend a new book or a particular object.