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CLIFTON PARK — With a wealth of shopping opportunities starting Thanksgiving Day and continuing on into Black Friday, some business owners are reminding shoppers not to forget Small Business Saturday, Nov. 30.
Lending support to that call for the southern Saratoga County area and beyond is Pete Bardunias the CEO and president of the Chamber of Southern Saratoga County.
Bardunias realizes his organization’s membership extends beyond the boundaries of Saratoga County. With that in mind he is reminding everyone in the Capital Region who ventures out Saturday to consider doing some of their holiday shopping at area small businesses.
“Small Business Saturday” is an awareness tool to remind more people that small businesses are there,” he said. “I think every day should be shop small business day. They employ most of the workforce, it’s the place where the most training gets done, and the owners are people who live in the community.”
Small businesses also keep more of the money circulating in that community. According to financial giant American Express, when someone shops at a small business 52 percent of whatever they spend stays in the community.
The big push for Small Business Saturday, the Saturday between Black Friday and Cyber Monday came originally from American Express. The company put its power behind shopping small in 2010 using social media, advertising, and its public relations arm.
Since that time, the idea of shopping small on the Saturday following Black Friday has slowly taken hold among shoppers and small business owners.
Though the chamber has no formal organizational support program as yet for the day, Bardunias makes clear he favors anything that reminds people that small businesses make up America’s main street and that they are open and ready for business.
“We want to promote small businesses,” Bardunias said. “We recognize that they are the backbone of the American economy and even though we work along side large businesses we see it as important that small businesses get their due as well.”
One small business owner looking forward to Saturday and the week following is Mark Becker of Cartridge World, 19 Clifton Country Road, Clifton Park. His business in the Village Plaza sells remanufactured printer cartridges. He guarantees they will work as good as the name brand ones. Continued…
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Becker perfectly fits the day’s slogan, Shop Small and Welcome to the Neighborhood.
“It’s nice to see one conglomerate recognizing we are important,” he said referring to American Express. “By promoting this, they are acknowledging all the contributions small businesses make to the community and the country.”
He said Small Business Saturday gives stores like his a way to fit into what has become a huge shopping weekend. To that end, Becker is offering two special deals for customers on Saturday and and the week following as long as they mention Small Business Saturday. For those who buy two ink jet cartridges, Becker will give them a third cartridge of equal or lesser value free. For those who spend $100 or more for laser jet cartridges he will reduce the total by 15 percent.
“I’m looking to help people out and also get the word out I’m here,” Becker said. “I‘ve been here nine years. I must be doing something right.”
Another small business owner with an interest in promoting the idea of shopping small is Peter Judd, the owner of Time Square in Clifton Park Center. Judd’s business, which specializes in large and small clocks, watches, and engraveable gift items, has a loyal clientele. The shop has been in the mall for 34 years.
Irritated that big retail stores are opening on Thanksgiving, he started his seasonal sale last Friday so people could shop in his store then spend the holiday with family and not feel they were missing his sale.
“It means a lot to have the focus on (small businesses),” he said. “With all the concentration on big box stores, it’s great to have people thinking of shopping small and supporting local merchants. We appreciate thinking of hometown mom and pop stores and supporting them.”
Judd understands organizations like the chamber have large businesses and small ones as members and they are hesitant to be viewed as favoring one over the other. But having a committee to put together an advertisement announcing Small Business Saturday might not be a bad idea, he said. Shopping local does have its hurdles to overcome. Bardunias admits it took some time for him to get accustomed to the slogan, “shop small.”
“I just didn’t want people to feel they were settling by going to a small business. It’s a lot more exciting than that,” he said. “Small businesses do great things. A lot of innovation in technology takes place in small businesses. And with the retail end, you get personalized service. The businesses get to know their customers because they are there everyday behind the counter.”
- 1
- 2
- See Full Story
CLIFTON PARK — With a wealth of shopping opportunities starting Thanksgiving Day and continuing on into Black Friday, some business owners are reminding shoppers not to forget Small Business Saturday, Nov. 30.
Lending support to that call for the southern Saratoga County area and beyond is Pete Bardunias the CEO and president of the Chamber of Southern Saratoga County.
Bardunias realizes his organization’s membership extends beyond the boundaries of Saratoga County. With that in mind he is reminding everyone in the Capital Region who ventures out Saturday to consider doing some of their holiday shopping at area small businesses.
“Small Business Saturday” is an awareness tool to remind more people that small businesses are there,” he said. “I think every day should be shop small business day. They employ most of the workforce, it’s the place where the most training gets done, and the owners are people who live in the community.”
Small businesses also keep more of the money circulating in that community. According to financial giant American Express, when someone shops at a small business 52 percent of whatever they spend stays in the community.
The big push for Small Business Saturday, the Saturday between Black Friday and Cyber Monday came originally from American Express. The company put its power behind shopping small in 2010 using social media, advertising, and its public relations arm.
Since that time, the idea of shopping small on the Saturday following Black Friday has slowly taken hold among shoppers and small business owners.
Though the chamber has no formal organizational support program as yet for the day, Bardunias makes clear he favors anything that reminds people that small businesses make up America’s main street and that they are open and ready for business.
“We want to promote small businesses,” Bardunias said. “We recognize that they are the backbone of the American economy and even though we work along side large businesses we see it as important that small businesses get their due as well.”
One small business owner looking forward to Saturday and the week following is Mark Becker of Cartridge World, 19 Clifton Country Road, Clifton Park. His business in the Village Plaza sells remanufactured printer cartridges. He guarantees they will work as good as the name brand ones.
Becker perfectly fits the day’s slogan, Shop Small and Welcome to the Neighborhood.
“It’s nice to see one conglomerate recognizing we are important,” he said referring to American Express. “By promoting this, they are acknowledging all the contributions small businesses make to the community and the country.”
He said Small Business Saturday gives stores like his a way to fit into what has become a huge shopping weekend. To that end, Becker is offering two special deals for customers on Saturday and and the week following as long as they mention Small Business Saturday. For those who buy two ink jet cartridges, Becker will give them a third cartridge of equal or lesser value free. For those who spend $100 or more for laser jet cartridges he will reduce the total by 15 percent.
“I’m looking to help people out and also get the word out I’m here,” Becker said. “I‘ve been here nine years. I must be doing something right.”
Another small business owner with an interest in promoting the idea of shopping small is Peter Judd, the owner of Time Square in Clifton Park Center. Judd’s business, which specializes in large and small clocks, watches, and engraveable gift items, has a loyal clientele. The shop has been in the mall for 34 years.
Irritated that big retail stores are opening on Thanksgiving, he started his seasonal sale last Friday so people could shop in his store then spend the holiday with family and not feel they were missing his sale.
“It means a lot to have the focus on (small businesses),” he said. “With all the concentration on big box stores, it’s great to have people thinking of shopping small and supporting local merchants. We appreciate thinking of hometown mom and pop stores and supporting them.”
Judd understands organizations like the chamber have large businesses and small ones as members and they are hesitant to be viewed as favoring one over the other. But having a committee to put together an advertisement announcing Small Business Saturday might not be a bad idea, he said. Shopping local does have its hurdles to overcome. Bardunias admits it took some time for him to get accustomed to the slogan, “shop small.”
“I just didn’t want people to feel they were settling by going to a small business. It’s a lot more exciting than that,” he said. “Small businesses do great things. A lot of innovation in technology takes place in small businesses. And with the retail end, you get personalized service. The businesses get to know their customers because they are there everyday behind the counter.”
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