Small business Saturday is a day when customers all over the world intentionally focus their purchasing dollars on buying from small businesses. I have to tell you, I LOVE it when people are intentional about how they choose to spend their money. The whole mission of beCAUSE minded is to create best in class gifts that have a lasting impact on people and the planet we inhabit. In other words, we want people to join us in being intentional on where they buy their gifts! While we focus on changing the world with our gifts that give back, there are about a thousand other ways your dollars can make a huge impact. And shopping small is a great place to start!
I’d love to share with you what happens when you purchase from a small business, using beCAUSE minded as the example. Let me start by saying – I am not an economist. Just to make sure you got that, I’m going to repeat that I am not an economist. So, I’m not going to give you all the granular data. Instead, I’m going to focus on what I see first-hand here at beCAUSE minded.
Here are 5 benefits to shopping small:
1. More money gets to individuals
We don’t have 200 levels of management. We don’t have huge facilities. And we’ve never purchased a first-class ticket to…anywhere. When you purchase one of our luxury branded gift boxes, we pay our corporate gift suppliers that make the products in the gift boxes, pay our nominal storage unit fee, and we pay the salaries of our team.
And if we have anything over our salaries…guess what happens! You’ll have to wait to point number 3 to find out.
2. Those individuals are likely to spend money locally
When one of our employees receives her check, it’s likely she will go to a local grocery store, restaurant, or shop. The money you’ve spent with beCAUSE minded is now in the hands of another small business owner who may then continue the local spending. It’s an incredible trend that helps local communities thrive.
3. Support local events/charities
If you’ve ever looked around at a high school football game (yes, we are Texas-based) or a local non-profit event, more often than not, you will find the sponsors of these events are local small businesses. Why? Because they are connected with your community. The business owners’ kids go to school with your kids.
At beCAUSE minded, we have a live here, give here mentality as well. All of the profits from our personal and corporate gift boxes are given to local charities in Austin: Foster Village, Red Oak Hope, and Emancipet. We are so privileged to partner with these organizations who help foster children, sex trafficking survivors, and animals here in Central Texas.
4. Family-style employment
We don’t have a board of directors. We don’t have to deliver metrics to our shareholders. We have a small team of lovely, close-knit women. When we make decisions for our internal team, or for our customers, we look at what’s right, not only what’s right for the bottom line.
While we do have to run a viable business in order to have a sustainable impact on the world, we can put people first. This means doing what’s right for our customers and our employees, without having to be preoccupied by meeting a certain profit margin for shareholders.
5. Celebrate every order
We celebrate every order. That’s because for our small team, it’s not about just meeting a goal. It’s truly about bringing a dream to life. When someone places an order at beCAUSE minded, we celebrate that this person has joined our mission. It fills our sails to keep going, to keep changing the world.
Wherever you shop for your personal and client gifts this holiday, we encourage you to be thoughtful on where you purchase your gifts. Whether you shop small, local, POC-owned, women-owned, from stores that align with your beliefs, know that each dollar you spend makes an impact.
Let’s do some shout outs! Comment below with your favorite small business!
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