This year’s Small Business Saturday takes place on November 30, 2019. On this day, small businesses throughout the U.S. will come together and celebrate their hard work that benefits the country’s economy. If this is your small business’s first year, here is some inspiration for how you can celebrate.
Register
American Express founded Small Business Saturday in 2010 to give small businesses the attention they otherwise wouldn’t see. To get this attention, we recommended that you apply for the event through American Express. All registered participants will receive free tools that help boost business.
Team Up
Small businesses are “small,” so we recommend partnering with other small business in your area to throw the ultimate event. As this event brings local businesses together, it creates a one-stop shop for customers and introduces them to new products and shopping experiences.
Offer Deals
Big businesses tend to own Black Friday and Cyber Monday, and Small Business Saturday is a good time to get ahead (or catch up). Your business can offer exclusive items at great prices without being overshadowed as the holiday shopping season hits its stride.
Fun Activities
In addition to exclusive deals, your event should also have some fun activities. This can be anything from food stands to games. Try to draw as many people as possible—you want to host an event that will entertain shoppers for a few hours and have them talking on social media.
Decorate
Throwing a big event means that you’ll need to put up decorations. Use signage with a lot of color outside your store to attract attention your way. You should also decorate inside the store. Colored dot sticks are an effective way to promote special deals.
Promote
Since you want to bring in customers to celebrate Small Business Day with you, this means you’ll have to promote—and there’s no better place to promote something than on social media. Try to get the word out before Small Business Saturday, so you build more awareness. We recommend highlighting the best deals and events.
Update from April 2021
When preparing for any event there are logistical things to think about. Staying organized leading up to an event like this is important and can make your life a little less stressful. Whether it is organizing boxes of signage or decorations; labelling tape and color coded dots can help you keep the office or store organized and stress free.
