Local businesses banking on Small Business Saturday

Home

Osceola News

Osceola County

Other Sun Publications

FREE DELIVERY!
Get Free Delivery! Request your Osceola News Gazette Today.

Login Form

2013 Osceola Health

2013 Sexual Predator Sexual Offender List sexualpredatorcover13

Windows on the Classroom March 2013

School Calendar
2012-2013

View our other Special Sections

Local businesses banking on Small Business Saturday

County News

Friday, 23 November 2012 00:00

By Fallan Patterson
Staff Writer
Locally owned vendors and shopkeepers are hoping to bank on the biggest shopping weekend of the year by participating in Small Business Saturday today.
Stores all over Osceola County rolled out discounts and sales on Black Friday and many planned specials specific to Small Business Saturday.
The promotion hosted by credit card company American Express offers cardholders a $25 credit if they register their card online and make a purchase of at least $25 at a participating retailer.
More information on the program and a list of participating stores searchable by zip code are available at www.shopsmall.com.
Kissimmee Main Street promoted Wednesday the stores downtown offering specials today, including Massageworks Salon and Day Spa.
The salon is offering, today only, a $25 promo card with the purchase of a $50 gift card.
“It’s harder for us to survive so all the businesses work together to promote each other,” Debra Yawn, Massageworks marketing consultant, said of the downtown Kissimmee small businesses.
Sharon Lanier, who’s run Lanier’s Historic Downtown Marketplace for 19 years and is currently serving as president of the Downtown Kissimmee Business Association, sells antiques and unique gifts from her shop.
She loves when new people visit the store but is concerned when people walk the shopping district and only window shop.
“We’re not a museum. If you don’t spend money, we aren’t going to be here,” Lanier said. “Our goal is to let people know that we’re here as a small business operation and that we carry a good variety. It’s a fun place.”
Lanier’s is offering 20 percent off any item priced at $25 or more today.
Jammers Music Center manager Dave Dale, however, called the Saturday after Black Friday “historically slow” for the downtown area but plans to be open and fully staffed.
“I don’t see a lot of traffic down here,” Dale said. “If this year’s different, it’d be a wonderful surprise.”
St. Cloud Main Street also is promoting shopping locally for the holidays, posting specials on its Facebook page and hosting events throughout the season.
Interim Executive Director Paula Stark has prompted the St. Cloud City Council to encourage residents at meeting to shop locally and has the stores as well as the Main Street program prompting sales on social media.
Additionally, Main Street also is encouraging a sidewalk sale of downtown merchants and is hosting their monthly Hipstoric 3rd Friday event Dec. 21 themed “It’s A Wrap” as a last-minute push for attendees to shop locally.
Main Street is offering free giftwrapping at that event to those with a receipt from a downtown business.
St. Cloud businesses located outside the downtown district also are hoping to cash in during the holiday shopping season.
Thelma Chattey, who owns the women’s boutique Serendipity and the newly opened Buttons ‘N’ Bows children’s boutique and consignment shop in St. Cloud, opened early and offered specials for Black Friday such as 50 percent off their entire purchase for the first 15 customers at Serendipity.
Continuing today is a jewelry and handbag sale at the women’s boutique and the $1 sales rack and giveaway, while supplies last, of a hand-painted piggy bank with a $50 purchase at her children’s store.
“I try to do everything locally and never leave St. Cloud,” Chattey said. “Our money stays in our community so that I can help other mom and pop (operations). These are our neighbors.”
In addition to her two stores, her husband, J.R. Hordo, owns a car dealership in Orlando.
“We’re a household of family-owned businesses so we need to make sure we’re successful.”
Derrick Hicks, CEO of Thompson’s Jewelers in St. Cloud, said the store is running specials all weekend but that jewelry sales for the holidays usually picks up two weeks before Christmas due to men procrastinating their shopping.
Hicks encouraged shoppers to buy from locally owned stores because often the merchandise is the same or equal to the quality found at corporate stores but the prices are lower.
“We can actually sell the same item for less because we don’t have the overhead,” he said, adding locally owned jewelry stores carry more unique or one-of-a-kind items, allowing the gift for a special someone to be a piece their friends are unlikely to also be wearing.
“I don’t think people realize that.”
According to American Express, more than 100 million people participated in Small Business Saturday in 2011.