Did you know that more than 500 Santa Cruz Chamber member businesses have fewer than 20 employees? It's true, and these businesses employ more than 3,000 local Santa Cruzan residents. And, if you count Chamber member organizations with fewer than 50 employees, the numbers go up to almost 600 and more than 4,300 Santa Cruz County locals employed by those companies. That's why the Santa Cruz Chamber is supporting Small Business Saturday on November 26th and encouraging Santa Cruza County to "shop small."Small Business Saturday is a day to support the small businesses that fuel the Santa Cruz County economy and invigorate our community.Facebook, Google, Twitter and other innovators are joining with American Express to offer a business owner toolkit designed to help small business owners get the cash registers ringing this holiday season.In 2010, Small Business Saturday was founded by American Express to help address small businesses' greatest need: driving sales. It was also an occasion to recognize the importance of small business and their vital contributions to the economy, job creation, and local communities. The national initiative encourages consumers to shop at small businesses during the holiday season. All small businesses, not just those that use or accept American Express, are able to participate. Most of the toolkit offerings were created to be relevant to business owners even beyond Small Business Saturday.
Small Business Saturday falls on Thanksgiving weekend between Black Friday and Cyber Monday. This year, Small Business Saturday will be on November 26.
If your business uses Constant Contact (have you gotten your Chamber member discount yet?), check out the email templates they've created for your business to use at http://www.constantcontact.com/small-business-saturday/index.jsp.And, most importantly, visit Small Business Saturday on Facebook to find Santa Cruz County small businesses you can support on Saturday, November 26th.