Just a Moment

Ever had this happen:

ready to pop in to a shop I absolutely adore but just can’t get to often enough, I see there are no cars in the parking spaces nearby. Walking to the entrance I notice how quiet and still the premises are and how bland the usually vibrant doorway is. I pause, shaking my head as I see the shoppe is empty. “Out Of Business” the placard reads. I walk away, a bit saddened as what was such a delightful place to patron: beautiful location, perfect ambiance, kind and knowledgeable employees and I loved the product,  is no more…

Small businesses reach us where we are. They meet a need, oftentimes personally as well as materially. We may pop in just to see what they are planning or sharing next. We don’t always need what they have to sell, but we enjoy, very much enjoy, the business. When we see that business close we shake our heads and notice the void it’s absence creates.

Supporting small businesses can be very simple and not cost you a penny…though I do encourage you to put your dollar (or pound) where your heart is!

Today here are a few super simple things you can do to help small business. These are things I sat thinking through as ways my customers, podcast viewers and friends could personally build my business without spending a penny. They could be applied to other businesses you enjoy.

• Keep Yourself Connected: If you really enjoy the business, subscribe to the mailing list and see what available, new and important. Any chance you are on social media? See what they are up to on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Keeping connected these place can also show you more about the business you are supporting. As you get to know the business through these mediums you may be led to the next step…
• Evaluate Your Connection: The more you see and read are you super encouraged? Awesome! Move on to the next bullet on this list! The more you see and read the less encouraged you are? That is ok! Every business is not for everyone. Wish them well and do no harm to their business as you move on by unsubscribing the correct way. Unsubscribe to mailing lists, don’t mark it as spam. Do they have an unsubscribe survey? Take a quick moment and share your feedback. Your feedback IS important. If you are leaving their business due to a marketing campaign they launched that you do not approve of, share that information in a helpful way so the business can hear from their target audience. No longer like receiving daily emails or coupons, let them know. Your feedback does count. 
• Share Your Support! Free! In this interconnected life we have so many ways to share the business we love with others at no cost to us!  For example, I sell patterns for knitting. Yes, many of you buy these, but you may not buy them all and I count on that (every thing is not for every one). But I do share on this blog lots of things aside from patterns. I share what I hope are encouraging words, inspiring ideas, simply beautiful images. I work hard making content that you can share in the hopes that you will and THAT helps my business. I even put easy share buttons at the bottom of the page. When you enjoy the content and take the next step YOU build my business. When you RT (ReTweet) things I share on twitter those people who follow you on twitter see what I say. I evaluate and re-evaluate my content so that what I share is quality. I do that not just as a person standard, but so that you can share confidently. If you follow me, you will often times see I share with you certain businesses regularly and mix in others at times. These may be new to me businesses that someone else has shared! If it hadn’t been for Susan B. Anderson sharing InfiniteTwist on her blog a couple of years earlier I doubt you knitters would be seeing Hapa as a shawl pattern now. We would all be missing some incredible photos Nate captured through his lens.  I would not have this image as my desktop. I would miss collaborating with Cate not just on Hapa but all the other things due to launch soon.

Connect. Evaluate. Share. These are all free ways to help businesses. My blog is the entrance to my shoppe. I try to make it as inviting for you as I can. Not just for you to enjoy as you visit, but so you can take pride in pointing others here for a peek, and do it without reservation!

I share suggestions for styling your knits.

Now I also offer free patterns to readers once a month.

To newsletter subscribers I offer a free pattern and early releases, exclusive gifts, discounts and more.

Free podcasts.

Free images.

You can share these {free} by sharing with buttons below, retweeting or sharing the aloha by reposting links and Pin-ing things on Pinterest!

YOU are the power behind my businesses success. I never forget that. Neither should you! Your power to the livelihood of local business works the same way!

So what will YOU choose to do with that power?