We are all consumers. We all have to eat, have a place to live and clothes to keep us from offending our fellow humans.
Consumers come in all shapes and sizes. Some are drawn to big box retail while others prefer more scaled down locations to visit while ferreting out ways to part with their money and doing their share to keep the economy buzzing along.
While big box retailers and ubiquitous chain store outlets have their place in the economic scheme of things, it is small businesses that keep a community vibrant.
Small businesses employ a significant percentage of people in our community.
According to Statistics Canada's Survey of Employment, Payrolls and Hours (SEPH), on average in 2007, just over 5.1 million employees on payroll, or 48 per cent of the total private sector labour force, worked for small enterprises (those with fewer than 100 employees).
In addition to offering employment opportunity, small businesses are closer to their customers and their markets. They can tailor the products and services they offer to the needs of the market place. The result is more variety and a wider range of choices.
And even though their profit margins are leaner and scrupulously monitored, they will rarely turn down a request for a silent auction, raffle or door prize donation. It is their way of giving back to the community that provides them with a livelihood.
Small business is the engine that drives the economy. Oct. 17-23 is Small Business Week. Why not step into that new shop you've been noticing, but haven't made the effort to check out? What you find might surprise you and you'll have the opportunity to support a vital cog in the wheel that drives the local economy.
