It is that time of year again. Chestnuts roasting on an open fire…crowded big box stores, turkeys, Black Friday, Christmas lights, long post office lines, excited kids, Small Business Saturday, maxed out credit cards, family time, cookies, Cyber Monday, snow days, wrapping paper, Giving Tuesday, and on and on and on. This is also the time of the year when small business and local businesses encourage you to SHOP SMALL and to SHOP LOCAL. I am no exception.
There are dozens of reasons to shop small and to shop local. You are keeping your dollars in the local community. Small businesses employ over half the people in the U.S. workforce and create 2 out of every 3 new jobs here in the U.S. You create personal relationships by shopping at small businesses and you get amazing customer service! Many of you are heeding the call and doing your part. Last year 104 million shoppers spent a record $17.8 Billion dollars on Small Business Saturday according to a report by American Express and NFIB. Yay!!!! If you were one of the 104 million people, give yourself a pat on the back!
So once again this year I encourage you to support small and local. Attend an Arts or Crafts fair and buy something handmade. Buy your tree and ornaments from your local florist or farm. Buy produce and meat from local grocers, butchers, and farmers. Support your local winery, distillery, and brewery. Visit the small shops in your downtown area. Is this a lot of work? Does this take a lot of time? YES, yes it does take time and effort. Is everyone capable of doing this? No, and I fully understand that. I sold my jewelry at art fairs for years. Then I had a brick and mortar storefront location for 17 years. Now I attend art fairs with my jewelry and do pop-up-shops with several lines of pet-themed gifts. I love meeting you, talking to you, hearing your stories. I love meeting your children and watching many of them grow up and turn into adults over the years. I love meeting your friends and meeting your dogs. I love that you love what I sell! But I also understand and realize that we live in a face paced world and that times have changed and that many things are done on our phones and computers now….like shopping. The good news is that many small businesses have adapted and have websites…just like the big guys do. So you can still shop small even online! Not everything has to be purchased from Ebay or Amazon or Walmart. You can buy stuff from your local florist.com or your local boutique.com or in some states even your local winery.com. Shopping small and supporting local can be done from the comfort of your home or office on your computer or even your phone.
So this is where I shamelessly promote my small businesses. I piece together a living by having three small businesses. I make jewelry 
and sell it at art fairs, through social media and on my website www.somethingfishyjewelry.com. I do a lot of custom jewelry pieces so if you have something in mind you can call, email, or message me. I have been getting a lot of requests for custom pet name bracelets lately. Another bonus of shopping small is that we can work with you to make or get you something special!
After running an accessories boutique in Wisconsin for 17 years I always said that my next retail venture would be something with pets. So after moving south I started Sir Woofalot. I carry some stuff for dogs and cats but mostly pet-themed products for people. T’s, sweats, hats, purses, jewelry etc. I do pop-up-shops in Virginia and North Carolina, and just launched www.sirwoofalot.com! Sir Woofalot has been a lot of fun for me and I hope it will be for years to come…don’t worry cat lovers…there is a Baron von Purr Purr too and we are seeking out and adding more cat merchandise daily.
My third business is a supplement company called The Natural Shopper (www.thenaturalshopper.com). We sell bee product supplements like bee pollen capsules, propolis capsules, and Royal Jelly capsules. We also sell bee pollen granules and our own proprietary blends like Total Bee Plus which includes pollen, propolis, Royal Jelly, and honey. A weight management blend and a joint care blend round out the products we currently carry. We also sell wholesale and private label if you or someone you know would like to carry our products. We are always looking for product suggestions and have been looking into skincare products, pet products, and possibly a small line of bee-themed gifts or jewelry that would benefit bee 
conservation.
I will be doing different promotions and giveaways or free gifts with purchase throughout the holiday season. I will be promoting those mainly through social media. All three businesses have Facebook pages. There are also links to sign up for my email list on all three websites so if you are interested in Sir Woofalot, for example, you can sign up on that email list to stay up to date on promotions for that site. Thank you for reading this all the way to the end. I appreciate it!