Small Business Saturday Nov 24

Small Business Saturday Nov 24

What about online small business?

The National Small Business Day on November 24th as stated by one of its primary founders AMX is "... is about supporting local, independently owned and operated brick and mortar businesses", not online businesses. On-like businesses is promoted via Cyber Monday, according to AMX.

But then with a mixed message AMX goes onto state "The day is for all to celebrate you and the contribution your business makes to the community and the economy. Thus, whether you are a brick-and-mortar retail store, restaurant or online-only business, just by being a small business owner, you’re already a part of it."

So A National Small Business Day is not only for local small businesses but for online-only small businesses too. 54% percent of small businesses surveyed said they did not have a website. So online small business are a mix of those brick-and-mortar, those that are not, those that are local and those that are not. The bottom line, support our nation's small businesses. I would add, give extra effort to support Veteran Owned Small Businesses (VOSB), and support them online by sharing their sites with your friends and associates. (Sharing you can do even if spending doesn't work for your circumstance. So no excuses. :>)

For those of you who own small businesses, and heard "It's a myth that every company needs a website" (Even you local small businesses), think about this...


There are 4 primary reasons a small business needs to be online too (in order of importance)...

• Marketing
• Non-Local Sales (larger market)
• Global Sales (growing # prefer online shopping)
• Creditability

If a small business does not want to increase their profits, they would be correct in thinking they do not need a company website. The rest do need a company website to remain competitive.


With 82% of Small Businesses reporting they rely on word-of-mouth to get new customers (AMX/SEMPO survey), a social media strategy for small businesses is a no-brainer. And guess what? A small business needs a company website to go long with that social media strategy for reasons mentioned above. According to manta, of those small businesses who do have an online presence established, they expect 41% of their holiday sales to come from online company website.

Given the economy, one would think it would be smart for Small Business Saturday, Nov 24th to promote online small businesses as well as it does local brick-n-mortar small business. So I hope you all will do your part, and at least spread the word.



Don (Follow me on Industrial Skills Training Blog and on Twitter @IndTraining .) Be sure to add me to your Google+ circles to stay on top!