Celebrate 'Small Business Saturday' in Sidney

The whirlwind week of roast beast and fixins', pastries and homemade cookies, overstuffed in front of a television as you anxiously await the opening of pre-Black Friday caps with Small Business Saturday.

Sidney businesses are celebrating Small Business Saturday with a participating businesses offering sales and special offers throughout the day. Stop by The Cracked Basket between 9:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. to receive a shopping bag with a list of participating merchants and their sales and offers.

According to Forbes magazine, multiple shows indicate small businesses invest in their communities more often than do chain stores. Additionally, a larger percent of money spent stays local when purchasing from a small business. Forbes reports that $68 of every $100 spent at a small business stays in the community. Statistics also show that when a consumer spends at a non-local store $57 of every $100 spent leaves the area, compared $68 staying in the area when shopping at a local business.

"With every local dollar spent in Sidney and Cheyenne County, we are participating in our economy, embracing what makes our community unique, helping create and maintain new jobs, investing in and encouraging entrepreneurship, and reinvesting sales tax dollars locally. Shopping local helps with the overall economic prosperity of Sidney and Cheyenne County," said Economic Development Director Melissa Norgard.

Forbes says shopping from small businesses has at least five benefits: create more jobs, enhances diversity, strengthens local networks, boosts environmental sustainability and increases real estate value. Economists frequently rely on a multiplier to explain the impact of shopping local. The person who does his or her major shopping at home also supports the store owner, and the employees the store owner has on payroll. Those employees then have the resources to make their own purchases in town, leading to more businesses with employees. These local employees need a place to live locally, and purchase the majority of the fuel and food products, contributing to more employment. Each dollar spent magnifies the effectiveness of the local economy.