The primary week of Might is Nationwide Small Enterprise Week — a time to acknowledge the small companies that gasoline this nation, and the individuals who make them go.

As champions of small enterprise, we at Fixed Contact at all times love an excuse to have a good time their successes. We additionally really feel a accountability to shine a light-weight on any client traits which will assist our prospects enhance the methods they impart with the individuals they serve.

For this yr’s Nationwide Small Enterprise Week, we wished to go additional in our recognition of the small companies in our lives.

Saying “thanks” is sweet, however to actually have a good time their influence, we knew we would have liked to grasp the numerous methods People work together with the small companies round them — and the way completely different our routines and communities could be if they didn’t exist. 

“A World With out Small Companies” is a brand new report from Fixed Contact during which we polled over 2,500 shoppers from all throughout America, asking them about how, when, and why they have interaction with small companies as we speak. That enabled us to get a transparent image of how nicely shoppers perceive small companies, those they help frequently and the way they shade our cities and cities.

With that information, it was instantly clear to us simply how invaluable small companies are in America  — spoiler alert, we couldn’t reside with out them!

Throughout a typical week, over 90 % of People work together with a small enterprise, and greater than half go to not less than three of them.

Small companies energy our lives, make us really feel good, and assist us discover what we’re searching for

Relating to how prevalent small companies are in our routines, the reply is obvious. 

Throughout a typical week, over 90 % of People work together with a small enterprise, and greater than half go to not less than three of them.

This underscores one thing we’ve recognized for a very long time — small companies are in all places. They join and feed our communities, deal with our youngsters, present leisure and maintain us wholesome. Whether or not you notice it or not, small companies have an enormous affect in your life.

Small companies even have a superpower that’s distinctive to them.

Take into consideration the final time you bought one thing from a small enterprise — there’s likelihood you walked away feeling constructive about both your self, the enterprise or the expertise.

Doing enterprise as we speak is about establishing emotional connections.

It doesn’t come as a shock to see that different shoppers agree. In accordance with our analysis, People mentioned supporting small companies makes them really feel useful, linked and concerned.

It’s tough to ascertain that sort of emotional reference to a bigger enterprise, which might be why 71 % of respondents instructed us they like the expertise a small enterprise supplies.

Small companies give our communities their distinctive taste

Downtown, U.S.A. seems to be just a little completely different as we speak than it did just some years in the past (thanks, COVID), however that hasn’t stopped shoppers from supporting native companies.

It’s small companies that give our downtowns character.

The truth is, it’s small companies that give our downtowns character, and shoppers acknowledge that. Of these we polled, as much as one-third of people who reside in a metropolis mentioned they might contemplate shifting to a brand new space if all of the small companies of their downtown closed.

So, what does the standard American downtown appear to be?

You’ll be able to virtually at all times discover not less than one restaurant, bakery/espresso store, salon or magnificence store, comfort retailer and franchise enterprise. Notably, this record additionally displays lots of the small companies individuals mentioned they completely can’t reside with out. People crave the comfort, familiarity and customized customer support that small companies present.

This illustrates not solely how tightly small companies are built-in into our downtowns, however how completely different these areas would look if they didn’t exist.

Think about in case your nearest downtown space didn’t have any of the physician’s workplaces, artwork galleries or yoga studios that add to its appeal. These companies may fly underneath the radar typically, however with out them, each city would really feel simply the identical as the subsequent.

People crave the comfort, familiarity and customized customer support that small companies present.

With out training, some small companies stay neglected

Our findings present the worth small companies present, however we additionally discovered that many People have some extent of “small enterprise blindness.” Whereas their need to help small companies is robust, they’ve problem recognizing a number of the much less apparent small companies they depend upon daily. 

We found that earlier than being supplied the definition of a small enterprise, lower than half of shoppers realized artists and performers, comfort shops, enterprise/monetary consultants, actual property brokers, gyms, docs and franchises are all small companies. Indicative of their confusion, about half of respondents additionally felt small companies closing would trigger little to no disruption of their lives.

Many People have some extent of “small enterprise blindness.”

The fact is that we take as a right what these unsung heroes present to our communities — typically we don’t even notice how far more tough staple items could be if they didn’t exist.

As soon as shoppers realized how lots of the companies round them are thought-about small companies, they started to understand their worth much more. For instance, regardless of not realizing they had been small companies at first, shoppers in the end felt docs contribute essentially the most to our communities.

Celebrating Small Companies

Small companies are the lifeblood of this nation.

In accordance with the Small Enterprise Administration, they make use of about half of the non-public workforce in america, and so they deserve a lot of the credit score for cultivating the distinctiveness of our cities and cities. 

As we take pleasure in one other Nationwide Small Enterprise Week, let’s do extra than simply thank these enterprise leaders for his or her efforts. Let’s have a good time them!

In spite of everything, a world with out small companies wouldn’t be a enjoyable or productive place for anybody to reside. So, let’s present small companies simply how important they’re to our life and our communities.

Frequent their outlets. Thank them for all they do. And most significantly, help your native small companies by at all times buying small — first.