Your Small Business Saturday Minute No. 2

Big box stores have Black Friday.Online retailers have Cyber Monday. Now small businesses are getting in on the action with a day of their own: Small Business Saturday.

A group of local business owners are teaming up to host Oak Lawn’s first-ever Small Business Saturday local shopping event this Saturday (Nov. 24).

From noon to 4 p.m., a free trolley will be ferrying shoppers up and down 95th Street between Cicero and Ridgeland Avenues. Eighteen businesses have signed on to date and will be offering special deals and promotions.

Let’s help our local shops and restaurants get off to a strong start this holiday season by giving them our business.

Here are some more reasons how shopping locally benefits Oak Lawn:

By supporting local charities. When it comes to giving, studies show that small business owners donate an average of 250-percent more to local non-profits than do large businesses.

 By making us unique. Our small businesses give Oak Lawn character, which is part of what makes our community one-of-a-kind.

 By creating jobs. Statistics show that small, local businesses are, collectively, the largest employers nationally and they frequently hire locally.

 By supporting other local businesses. Local business owners tend to use local service providers, vendors and professional services, so more money is kept in the community.

 By boosting our local economy. Statistics show that for every $100 spent at a locally owned business, $68 stays in the local economy compared to only $43 if spent at a national chain. (Spend that $100 online and nothing comes home.)

Source: _Civic Economics

Co-sponsors of Small Business Saturday Oak Lawn include Oak Lawn Patch, the Oak Lawn Chamber of Commerce, Congressman Dan Lipinski (IL-3) and State Rep. Kelly Burke (36th District).

For more information visit the Small Business Oak Lawn Facebook Page.