In the beginning of March 2020, most of us were not aware of what was heading our way. Business was thriving, season was well underway for our districts. By Friday, March 13th, 2020, the waves of economic upset were crashing down along with the revenue numbers for our locally owned businesses. By March 22nd, 2020, there were furloughs and business closures.
This is happening to all businesses, large and small. Our beach communities are made up of thousands of small, independently owned boutiques, restaurants, artists, attractions, and more. The SBA states that small businesses accounted for 65% of net new jobs in the United States (1), and that 81% of small businesses have no employees.
I share all of this information to get to this. With the sadness and despair around the COVID-19 pandemic, we are left not only trying to keep everyone in our lives healthy, but we are also struggling with the want to help each small business we possibly can. What can we do?
When we DO turn that corner in our country, and we CAN try to get back to business as usual, choose a local business. Shop for your gifts LOCALLY, not online. Dine in our locally owned restaurants.
This has always been important, but it will be absolutely critical once we turn the page on this. Let’s discuss. Please email your experiences with locally owned businesses to info@paradisenewsfl.com – Why do you shop local?
Resources to connect with locally owned businesses / referral sources:
Local Shops 1
localshops1.com
Tampa Bay Beaches Chamber of Commerce
tampabaybeaches.com
St. Petersburg Chamber
stpete.com
Keep St. Pete Local
keepsaintpetersburglocal.org
(1) Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Business Employment Dynamics 200-2018. (2) Sources: U.S. Census Bureau: Stats of US Businesses & Non employer Statistics 2016.
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Sarah Laracuente
Sail Marketing, LLC
727-324-7461
sarah@sailmktg.com