Take a second to tally it up – how many small business friends do you have? You might be surprised at how many you know when you stop to actually think about it. Count in the total those who own restaurants, small shops, and real estate or insurance agencies. Don’t forget the crafters, artists, and writers (like me). And consider the home child care providers, tutors, and private home health card providers. Oh yeah, and the self-employed mechanics, plumbers, electricians – wow – we could really go on and on!
Now that you have reminded yourself how many people in your circle run small businesses, you can imagine the need for encouragement. Let’s look at some ideas for encouraging our small businesses.
- Hire them, buy from them, support them! These businesses don’t succeed without the support of friends, families, and neighbors. They are here to serve, please give them a chance to serve you!
- Share them! Make an intentional effort to call them out (in a good way) on social media and in person. Tell others about their business and about the great experience you have had when using them.
- Give them grace! These business owners are people just like you. Chances are they also have off days. If you have experienced one of those off days, purposefully give them a chance to try again.
- Speak (or write) encouraging words! Express your gratitude and praise by telling them how much you appreciate their hard work. A note is always amazing because they can read it any time they need to remember.
- Pray for them! Pray that the community will benefit from their service and that God will bless their business.