Covites shop small on Small Business Saturday

By PAMELA GRANT
Cove Leader-Press

Sandwiched between Black Friday and Cyber Monday, Small Business Saturday encourages residents to make sure they don’t forget to support local businesses.
Copperas Cove’s Small Business Saturday kicked off at 8 a.m. at the Chamber of Commerce where participants could pick up a free donut from Shipley Do-Nuts, a swag bag of goodies donated by local businesses, and a passport to be signed and/or stamped by a list of participating small businesses. Copperas Cove Leader-Press supplied participants with a map showing locations of participating businesses.
Participants have until Dec 1 to collect a stamp or signature from each of the participants to be eligible to win a prize. The winner will be drawn at random in a raffle on Dec 2 at 8 a.m. with one grand prize winner winning a 4-burner propane grill valued at $180. There will be a second winner who will receive a $50 gift card. This year, they are also holding a second contest wherein they are encouraging participants to take pictures at the small businesses and post them with the tag #DiscoverCove. The winner of this contest will also receive a $50 gift card.
“Small Business Saturday is the main day of business for our small businesses,” said Silvia Spires, Chamber of Commerce President. “We often overlook small business and the impact that we can make by shopping locally and small. Where we might normally drop a lot of money for the holidays at major retailers, it would make a bigger difference to small businesses…Those people that you support when you shop local and small are your neighbors, families, friends, people you go to church with. They depend on that revenue as a primary source. Especially during the holidays, they can feel the pressure from the loss of sales, especially with major retailers having Black Friday.”
Small businesses are the backbone of the community. Spending a few hundred dollars at a big business is just another drop in the bucket, but for a smaller business, it could be what helps them to stay open or to help make Christmas extra special for their families. Spires said that it’s important to shop local during the holidays but not to forget to shop local throughout the year noting that it can make a big difference.
More than a dozen local businesses took part in this year’s Passport Scavenger Hunt including JAK Creations, Blessed Creations of Power, Lil Blessings 4D Ultrasound, Get Fit with Coach Tangy, Camp Caylor, Fresh Fire CCI, Mary Kay, Happy Nails and Spa, Second Star Portraits by Crystal Zabka, Keith Ace Hardware, Cactus Lilly Boutique, Hair Parlour, Red Apple Smoke Shop, Ken’s Automotive, Babies N Things, Pure Skin Repair, Shanel’s Divine Touch Baskets, Card My Yard, and Allied Therapies of Texas. Several other businesses took part in Small Business Saturday and/or offered special deals for the day but did not participate in the scavenger hunt.
Some of the businesses required a purchase of at least $1 to give out the stamp while others just required participants to stop by and ask for it.
Some businesses, like Waffle Cone, allowed other small businesses to set up inside of their store. Erica’s Klass N Sas Bling, Get Fit with Coach Tangie, JAK Creations, and TaLisa Porch, an independent Mary Kay distributor, were all set up inside the Waffle Cone.
“It’s great. I really appreciate them for doing this,” said Kristy Ancheta, owner of JAK Creations. “It helps so much. When you have a business at home and not a store front, it’s hard to get your name out there.
JAK Creations offers laser engravings on a variety of items including wood. They mostly make customized gifts and even have several already made items that can be picked up as last-minute gifts including ornaments and more. Ancheta said that they can also engrave tumblers, knives, cake pans, and more.
“I think it’s awesome to support local,” said April Kellum who checked out JAK Creations and the other small businesses at the Waffle Cone. “I’d rather give my money to them than to the big stores.”
Kellum noted that small businesses are more likely to offer custom creations which is great for people who have uncommon names or names that are spelt somewhat differently than usual. She said that she was very excited to see some of the products offered by the various small businesses participating this year. She said she’s been following JAK Creations for over a year online, but this was her first chance to see (and purchase!) some of their items firsthand. Kellum said that she planned to check out all the small businesses on her list.
Small Business Saturday was founded by American Express and takes place every year the Saturday after Thanksgiving. The national event is an effort by the company to encourage spending at small businesses to help those establishments to stay open.