It’s Small Business Saturday: please support small businesses wherever you find them. There are hundreds of small businesses in Urmston, Flixton and Davyhulme. Speaking as the owner of a small business, I know that, from candle makers to plumbers, none of these small businesses would exist without customers, including my own tuition centre.
Using a small business is not an act of charity. It is quite wrong to assume that big chains are cheaper than small, independent traders. Behind the marketing jargon, the deals offered by big corporate chains often represent a more expensive proposition than the more straightforward pricing of a smaller concern. Why do we assume that big chains are cheaper? Because they spend massive amounts of marketing money telling us their prices are fantastically low; small independent businesses can’t and don’t.
As well as fairer prices, there is often more expertise in a small business; small businesses thrive on the passion of their owners and making money is not their main focus. Personally, I don’t see education as a product I sell; I see it as a way to change young people’s lives forever. Look at Mrs M, of Mrs M Vintage on Flixton Road: she’s not a corporate suit, working on her next ad campaign. She just loves vintage and sells it because she wants to spread vintage joy. How about Card World on Crofts Bank Road? They have the biggest range of cards in Urmston and beyond – adoption cards, confirmation cards, sorry-I-forgot-to-get-you-a-Christmas-card – you name it, they sell it and that is because they really want to provide a card for all occasions.
If you want to support small businesses today and can’t make it out to the shops, why not tweet about them, like their Facebook business page or even write an online review for them (please only do this if you have used their service)? Online recommendation is a powerful way to help small businesses, and what’s more, it really encourages independent traders when they see something lovely written about them – after all independent trading can feel a little lonely at times.
So today, Small Business Saturday 2014, please shop small and shop local: use our independent traders in Urmston and help our little town thrive.
An A-Z of independent businesses in Urmston: http://urmstonindependents.org.uk/urmston-independents-an-a-z-guide/.
Urmston Independents 