We’ve been hearing it from left, right, centre: SUPPORT LOCAL, SUPPORT SMALL BUSINESSES… We know it. In this turbulent economy, small business relies heavily on the support of its client base more than ever, and we’re feeling every small business closure reverberating deep in our entrepreneurial bones. Sounds poetic but it’s true. As an entrepreneur, I understand the blood, sweat, and tears that goes into building a business from zero, sleepless nights, worrying about whether or not when you flick that light switch, someone’s going to come through that door and actually spend money at your establishment. This is no joke, aside from the $100k plus, it’s sleep lost, family time that was spent working that you won’t get back, money you could have spent on a new winter coat that you spent on light fixtures, life plans put on hold because you’re saving up for your first and last month’s lease… No, this is no joke to see a virus not only wipe out PEOPLE, but your proverbial baby. Not everyone has the ability to pivot and change gears to survive, especially when you’re providing a service.
To me, supporting local means living your life the way you were before, abiding by the new bylaws to keep everyone safe, and continuing your appointments at your hair salon, your nail salon, your massage with your RMT, your acupuncture appointments… Heck, I’ll plug my business — GET YOUR WAX ON (at bare essentials). It keeps people employed, keeps families fed, keeps the economy going. When a business shuts its doors, the impact ripples. Staff laid off, personal loss, mental health issues for both business owner and it’s staff, loss of a client for the suppliers that business supports, loss of a tenant for the building it’s in, and one less place for you to spend your money with this crap is over.
So yes, support local. But don’t forget that service providers are also counting on clients to book services, and there’s only so much product you can buy to keep them afloat. The amount of people/business owners/estheticians/nutritionists/stylists that have been in support of this message just tells me that I’m not alone in this struggle.
What can you do? Well, if you’re not particularly nervous, go book something. If you don’t have anything to book for, you can buy a gift card for someone in your life that will definitely use it. If you are a little nervous, call ahead and ask what their protocols are. Chances are, they’ll be going over and above the requirements to help you feel safe. At Bare Essentials, we pre-screen before, screen again when you come in, take your temp to ensure you’re not fevered, have ample sanitizer everywhere, cover surfaces with paper, and disinfect with a high level surface disinfectant. We have our estheticians wearing the o2 mask to prevent any cross contamination from them to you and vice versa. The common thread in our reviews is how safe clients feel with all of our protocols… Guys, your personal service places are cleaner than Walmart or Sobeys.
And don’t rag on the big box stores too much. Yes, support local, but those big box stores are employing locals (thanks to Sandra Compton for bringing that point to light). Let’s all do our part and help make this Christmas season memorable in a good way. I love you all, and appreciate every single one of you and your transactions with my business — you help keep my staff employed, and every time I get an email confirmation, it’s one less bit stressful, and an extra hour that I don’t have to cut from that employee’s shift. I think among all of this, I’m more worried about the 20+ people I employ than myself. I’ll be fine. I hope.