If you're familiar with Small Business Saturdays, you probably know exactly what date that was. If you're not as familiar with Small Business Saturdays, then it's worthwhile to note that October 25th last year was declared Small Business Saturday across all of Canada, a day in which people were encouraged to shop and support their local small businesses.
Small Business Saturdays, which is something that takes place both in the United States and Canada, began in Canada in 2012 under the inspiration of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business or CFIB.
The CFIB is a Canadian organization composed of over 109,000 small business owners from across the country. CFIB's purpose, in part, is to represent the interests of small business owners before the three levels of the Canadian government.
With an understanding that small business owners truly need to find new ways to compete against big brand names, as well as find new ways to connect to their customer base, the CFIB launched Small Business Saturdays in 2012 to bring more attention to local shops and businesses.
The fact is that small businesses play an integral role in the health of the Canadian economy. In the year that Small Business Saturdays began – 2012 – it was recorded that small businesses were responsible for 42% of the country's private sector gross domestic product, while employing more than five million people. Five million people equates to 48% of the private sector labor force in Canada.
Since 2012, Small Business Saturdays has grown not only in name, but also in customer engagement. Last year, the entire week of October 25th was declared Small Business Week, a time in which, under the direction and help of the CFIB, webinars for small business owners were hosted, the MyStartUp initiative was launched, and a fun #MyFavSmallBiz tweet contest took place with customers tweeting their favorite small businesses in their areas.
What's more, Small Business Week (and Day) successfully directed attention to the shopsmallbiz.ca, a website that was created by the CFIB in 2012 as a way to give customers in Canada an easier, more convenient way to find their local small businesses.
"There's no doubt that small businesses in Canada, and in the United States too, need to find other avenues for customer engagement. That's one of the reasons why I think [Small Business Saturdays] is such an inspiring program." This is from Calgary's Rob Peers who works in business development and is familiar with the struggle that small businesses face in an economy that is increasingly dominated by corporate brand names.
"I think Small Business Saturdays has had more success in some areas of Canada than others," continues Rob Peers. "And I look forward to more people (and businesses) in Calgary learning about the event and taking part."
With the current support the event has garnered and the momentum it's enjoyed in North America, there's little doubt that 2015 will be another successful year for Small Business Saturdays throughout Canada.
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