Why I’m Shopping Local this Small Business Saturday!

Dear Friends,

Thanksgiving this year was very different than in years past. Many of us made the hard choice—and the right one—to pull back from crowded gatherings and to search for new and creative ways to connect with friends and loved ones.

Sacrifice is never easy, but this holiday in particular calls for us not to dwell on loss and instead be thankful for what we do have and make the most of it to help ourselves and others.    

Finding ways to stay connected and make the most of what we have has never been more important. One simple way to do that, and to lift our community as a whole, is to support small businesses and shop local! And, as it happens, today is Small Business Saturday, an event that was established to shine a spotlight on the vibrancy and economic impact of small local businesses here and all across America.

Why do we go out of our way to support our small businesses?

• Small businesses employ nearly half of the U.S. private sector workforce.
• Each dollar spent at a locally owned small business has three times the economic impact on our local community compared to national chains.
• Most of the businesses that export American goods and services abroad are small. In 2015, small business exporters were responsible for around $440 billion in American exports.
• According to a National Federation of Independent Business survey, consumer spending at independent retailers and restaurants on Small Business Saturday in 2019 reached a record high of $19.6 billion.

Here’s the bottom line: small businesses are at the heart of the American economy and an essential part of our Capital Region, providing needed services, fostering economic and cultural vibrancy and creating opportunity for us all.

Our local business owners and entrepreneurs have worked tirelessly to stay afloat during this pandemic, in many cases completely reinventing their operations to keep their businesses going

From the start of this pandemic, I have worked to ensure our small businesses could get the help they need to survive, whether through federal loan guarantees, direct stimulus checks or small business seminars with our U.S. Small Business Administration. Sadly the clock is ticking on many of those benefits, which is why I have been fighting hard to strengthen and pass the Heroes Act, a federal rescue we first advanced out of the House of Representatives more than six months ago that would provide needed funds for our small businesses as well as investing in testing, tracing and treatment and direct payments to help families weather this storm. For the sake of our communities, this rescue must be signed into law at once.

In the meantime, the best way we can help our Capital Region small businesses this holiday season is by shopping local. Buying gift cards is an effective way to support local stores and keep revenue flowing. And with purchases available online through store websites, direct mailing and curbside pick-up, we have a number of options to buy from our local businesses from the safety of our homes.

One challenge with shopping online, especially with local retailers, is the growing threat of what I like to call “Grinch Bots,” automated programs that hunt the internet for hot toys and products and snatch them up simply to re-sell them at a significant markup. This creates major challenges for local retailers that are working to stock the products consumers want, and it puts many gifts out of reach for people who could normally afford them. I introduced my Grinch BOTS Act last year to combat these abusive programs, and I urge my colleagues to advance it immediately as we head into what will certainly be an unusual holiday season.

Throughout this pandemic, I have been awed and inspired by the inventive ways our small business owners and workers have adapted to these challenging times. Their versatility and strength are a huge source of pride for our Capital Region, and their dedication has helped to keep our communities going.

As many of you continue your holiday shopping, I encourage you to join me in supporting our incredible small businesses by buying local. 

DID YOU KNOW?

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, my office and I have worked to make sure you remain informed with the latest updates and recommendations on any and all COVID-19 related topics. With that in mind, here are a few recent developments that may be of interest to you:

• New York State and Google.org teamed up to develop a web application that will help struggling New Yorkers locate benefits to assist them during their time of need.
• Developed through a public-private partnership, the user-friendly social services discovery application helps individuals who are either new to or unfamiliar with the state's social programs network.
• The "Find Services" web application provides an easy-to-use starting point for first-time users of social programs.
  
  • The web application prompts each user with a series of simple questions aimed at narrowing the field of possible services to those that are best designed to serve their needs.
  • After answering the questions, the user is provided with a ranked list of potential services along with a description to help residents judge if the service is right for them and provide them with more information about how to apply.