5 good reasons to support small businesses

As we enter the ‘silly season’, small businesses everywhere are holding their breath, crossing all digits and wishing on a star. Why? Because as South Africans gear up to spend for the holiday season, big box stores are pulling out all the stops as they vie for the lucrative attention of bargain-hungry shoppers – making it a little bit more difficult for small businesses to compete.

Mmaphuthi Morule, head of brand for Yoco, encouraged consumers to consider these five reasons for supporting small to heart this festive season:

1. Without small businesses, our economy would come to a complete standstill.
Small businesses employ between 50% and 60% of South Africa’s workforce and contribute around 34% to our GDP, according to Morule.

“That’s a big deal. It is not the big guns who are keeping the wheels of commerce turning, but the small and medium enterprises run by the ‘underdogs of Mzansi’. In other words, every cent you spend at a small business ultimately galvanised our economy – impacting every South African citizen,“ he said.

2. Small businesses form the lifeblood of local communities.
Your local coffee shop is where you fuel up for the day or the flower seller who will always give you a discount ‘just because’. The pizza place down the road where you have celebrated and commiserated. “Without them, your neighbourhood would be a homogenous collection of roads and houses. Importantly, small businesses play a vital role in the well-being of communities,” said Morule.

3. Shopping locally is a love letter to the earth.
“Resisting the siren call of the latest, flashiest version of your retail weakness is tough. But, the effects of climate change cannot be ignored. Advocating for environmentally responsible consumption is the responsibility of every individual on planet earth. One impactful way to do this is by supporting local businesses, which have a markedly smaller environmental footprint,” he said.

Over-packaged, internationally-shipped, plastic everything may be cheaper or more convenient to buy, but the ramifications of rampant, careless consumption are dire.

“Fast fashion, for example, is an industry that’s one of the biggest polluters on the planet. It may be tempting, but the cumulative environmental impact of billions of consumers buying ‘just one pair’ of leggings/sneakers is staggeringly detrimental.”

4. You’re supporting a person just like yourself.
There is a meme shared among entrepreneurs, “When you buy from a small business, an actual person does a little happy dance. Instead of adding to the already eye-watering bank balances of those who own big brands, your money goes directly to someone just like you – individuals supporting their families amidst skyrocketing costs of living.

“Your money is a drop in the proverbial ocean for the directors and shareholders of massive corporations – but to small businesses, every cent makes a tangible difference,” he said.

5. Your money facilitates the birth of new ideas and innovation.
Small businesses are the birthplace of ideas.

“They’re born over endless cups of tea around the kitchen table while shooting the breeze with a customer or bandying about the ‘what ifs’ and ‘imagine if’.

“They are also born out of necessity. Countless small businesses owe their origin story to the fact that their product or services offer a solution to a problem that had to be solved. Without your support, these ideas would never come to life.

“By buying from small businesses, you are funding the innovators, artists, and creators – as opposed to mainstream brands that are notorious for appropriating the work of independent businesses,” concluded Morule.

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