The City of Salem, Virginia is proud to proclaim November 25, 2023 as Small Business Saturday. This day celebrates the contributions of local small businesses to the local economy and community. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, small businesses represent 99.7% of firms with paid employees, responsible for 62.7% of net new jobs created since 1995, and employ 46.4% of employees in the private sector in the United States.
In addition to creating jobs and boosting the economy, spending at small businesses keeps money within the community. Sixty-eight cents of every dollar spent at a small business in the United States stays local, while every dollar spent creates an additional 48 cents in local business activity due to employees and local businesses purchasing local goods and services.
The City of Salem supports local businesses that create jobs, boost the economy, and preserve communities. Advocacy groups, as well as public and private organizations across the country have endorsed Small Business Saturday as a way to promote shopping at independently-owned retailers and restaurants on the Saturday after Thanksgiving.
Residents are encouraged to support small businesses throughout the year by shopping locally whenever possible, not just on Small Business Saturday but also on other days such as Small Business Sunday or throughout holiday seasons like Christmas or Black Friday specials promotions that may be offered by these small businesses to incentivize consumer spending locally instead of online or big box stores from large corporations who dominate most markets with their economies of scale but don’t contribute much back into local communities where they operate their branches here in our city nor elsewhere across America’s cities like ours which makes them less responsive