WS Chronicle

Special to The Chronicle

With the holiday shopping season upon us, the North Carolina Community College Small Business Center Network (SBCN), which includes Forsyth Technical Community College’s Small Business Center, is encouraging communities to support local small businesses on Saturday, Nov. 25, and to use #ShopSmallForAll on social media.

Nestled between Black Friday and Cyber Monday, Small Business Saturday has quickly become a nationally recognized day to support local independent merchants with the power of local dollars.

Small Business Saturday was founded by American Express in 2010 as a day to celebrate local businesses through the holiday shopping season. The day has since grown into a powerful movement in support of local small businesses that make communities unique.

Consumer spending with independent retailers and restaurants during the 2015 Small Business Saturday neared $16.2 billion, a 14 percent increase from 2014, according to the results of a survey conducted by the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB); with a total of 95 million consumers shopping “small” on the day, up 8 percent from 2014.

The U.S. Census Bureau reports that over 50 percent of the working population works in a small business.  A small business is defined by the Small Business Administration as one with 500 or less employees, such as The Chronicle. Small businesses have generated over 63 percent of new jobs between 1993 and mid-2013.

Small Business Saturday is an opportunity to support the local small businesses that provide economic vitality and quality of life to communities.

About the Small Business Center Network

The mission of the N.C. Community Colleges Small Business Center Network (SBCN) is to increase the success rate and number of viable small businesses in North Carolina by providing high quality, readily accessible assistance to prospective and existing small business owners, which will lead to job creation and retention.

The SBCN assists in starting an average of more than 700 businesses each year. 

Small Business Centers have an economic impact in 90 percent of all N.C. counties each year, including helping to create and retain over 3,600 jobs annually.

Small Business Saturday events

*On Saturday, Nov. 25, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., at the NAACP Enrichment Center, 4130 Oak Ridge Drive, a Small Black Business Day event will be held, featuring vendors. The public is invited to come by and meet the business owners, learn more about their products and shop.

RSVP to 336-767-3470 or just swing by.

*Join over 30 local vendors on Saturday, Nov. 25, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. at the Home and Garden Building at the Winston-Salem Fairgrounds for Small Business Saturday. The Debbie Burchett Endowment Fund will sponsor this event and work with small business owners in our community to raise awareness and much needed funds for Cancer Services. There will be raffle prizes throughout the day and many fun opportunities to finish your Christmas list while supporting a great cause. Admission is free.

The Debbie Burchett Endowment Fund has supported and raised money for Cancer Services for over 15 years. Contact Megan Burchett at stride4courage@gmail.com.

The Debbie Burchett Endowment Fund is a Cancer Services Inc. permanent endowment fund that was created in the spring 2000 to assist people undergoing cancer treatment. The fund was named in honor of Debbie Burchett for her inspiration and service to people in the Winston-Salem area with cancer.