By Dawn Burleigh

Without a doubt, one of the assets of any town is the small business owners.

The shops can offer a unique product only found there.

It could be a special ingredient in a special dish at a restaurant or maybe a fashion style, whatever it is, it is unique to the local owner.

Sunday kicks off National Small Business Week. Every year since 1963 the Small Business Administration (SBA) takes the opportunity to highlight the impact of outstanding entrepreneurs, small business owners, and others from across the nation through National Small Business Week.

This year National Small Business Week will be held from April 29 – May 5, 2018.

Owners of small businesses are sometimes the only employee for the company. They work diligently to offer customer service, a unique product all while tending to family needs and household necessities.

Recently, I was at a location on 10^th Street in Orange. I have driven past the building many times over the years. I attended a meeting held in one part of the building and wrote an article on a sporting goods store located there. However, there was one door I had not entered until recently and discovered there were several businesses located inside. The discovery was made when I noticed a sign on the wall similar to those found in office buildings directing you to the room/floor one was seeking. I was impressed at the use of space to accommodate numerous enterprises.

Small business owners are often more sentimental, and see their business as part of the community and part of the family.

“During Small Business Week, we celebrate our Nation’s small business owners, whose entrepreneurship and hard work bring jobs and prosperity to our communities. Small business owners embody the American pioneering spirit and remind us that determination can turn aspiration into achievement,” according to the 2017 Presidential proclamation for Small Business Week.

It is the spirit of the small business owner that turns a dream into a reality.

Each owner adds more to the community while providing a product or services needed to the area.

During the week, take a moment to give a small business the opportunity to amaze you.

There are more small businesses in our area than space will allow me to list.

Each year, SBA honors the nation’s top small businesses.

“These small business owners define entrepreneurial spirit and best represent the 30 million small businesses that are the backbone and economic engine of our economy,” Administrator Linda McMahon, the head of the U.S. Small Business Administration said in a press release.

In the Small Business Act of July 30, 1953, Congress created the SBA, whose function was to “aid, counsel, assist and protect, insofar as is possible, the interests of small business concerns.”; The charter also stipulated that SBA would ensure small businesses a “fair proportion”; of government contracts and sales of surplus property.

By 1954, SBA already was making direct business loans and guaranteeing bank loans to small businesses, as well as making loans to victims of natural disasters, working to get government procurement contracts for small businesses and helping business owners with management and technical assistance and business training.

SBA, today, has grown significantly in terms of total assistance provided and its array of programs have been tailored to encourage small enterprises in all areas, according to its official website.

By shopping at local small businesses, one contributes to the multiplier effect.

Shopping locally means more tax dollars into the county and businesses are able to give more to non-profits and churches as part of the multiplier effect.

The multiplier is comprised of three elements — the direct, indirect, and induced impacts.

• Direct impact is spending done by a business in the local economy to operate the business, including inventory, utilities, equipment and pay to employees.
• Indirect impact happens as dollars the local business spent at other area businesses re-circulate.
• Induced impact refers to the additional consumer spending that happens as employees, business owners and others spend their income in the local economy.

On average, 48-percent of each purchase at local independent businesses was recirculated locally, compared to less than 14-percent of purchases at chain stores, according to American Independent Alliance website.
Local schools are funded through a combination of state and local tax money at approximately $5,200 per student. Each of the school districts in Orange County earn different amounts per pupil based on property values and tax effort. However, when school district enrollments increase, so do local school budgets.

It can begin by shopping at local small businesses.

 

 

Dawn Burleigh is editor of The Orange Leader. She can be reached at dawn.burleigh@orangeleader.com