Small businesses on Main Street get a boost this Saturday

Katie Kuempel, owner of Angelina gift and accessories store in downtown Barrington, has been posting to her Facebook fans for weeks, excited about this particular Saturday.

It's not just a typical shopping day. It's Small Business Saturday, the first official holiday campaign for your local shopkeeper sandwiched between Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

While it took a massive company like New York-based American Express, as well as its resources and marketing expertise, to help the little guy on Main Street, Angelina's is looking forward to seeing some new faces on Small Business Saturday.

“We're not sure exactly how this will go because it's the first year for it, but I definitely think it will help,” Kuempel said.

Even MainStreet Libertyville, a longtime advocate of small businesses, has helped drum up interest for the one-day event and hopes the shopping habit will stick year round.

“We're dedicated to economic development of our downtown, so our focus is on small businesses, everything from individual to mom-and-pop stores,” said Pamela Hume, executive director of MainStreet Libertyville.

After all, anything will help after a tough recession and stiff competition from big box retailers and discounters. The American Express-hosted Facebook page for Small Business Saturday already has logged about 1 million fans and continues to grow.

The movement was launched Nov. 8 in New York by American Express officials, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and others. Some groups that support the movement include the 3/50 Project, Business Matchmaking, and the Chicago Convention & Tourism Bureau, among others.

After talking with several small business owners since last year, American Express executives said they helped to develop the Small Business Saturday concept, since other retailers have Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

“Small businesses needed an equal voice during that weekend,” said Rosa Sabater, senior vice president of American Express Open.

But she and her colleagues had no idea how the event would take on steam nationally in just a few weeks.

Even three dozen government officials nationwide, including Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn, issued statements or proclamations that urged shoppers to visit their merchants. They believe the event can increase awareness for the local shopkeeper, who contributes to the local economy, pays taxes, hires local workers, sponsors sports teams and ultimately helps the neighborhoods.

So to boost the campaign further, American Express is giving a $25 statement credit to 100,000 cardmembers who register their card and use it to shop on Small Business Saturday at any locally owned, independent small businesses that accept American Express.

American Express also is giving $100 of free Facebook advertising to 10,000 business owners who sign up at facebook.com/smallbusinesssaturday to help build online buzz and drive customers to shop at their businesses that day.

By entering some information and clicking a button, these business owners can create a personalized, geographically targeted ad that will run on Facebook leading up to Nov. 27. Facebook has donated $500,000 in Facebook credits for these small business owners to use in the future.

Small business owners also can download online promotional materials and use a number of social media tools to promote their businesses on the inaugural Small Business Saturday. American Express also is donating up to $500,000 to Girls Inc. to help young women to be the entrepreneurs of tomorrow.

Also, nearly 18,000 tweets have been sent on Twitter using the hashtags #smallbusinesssaturday and #smallbizsaturday.

It's hard to find anyone who's against such an event.

“I think it is a wonderful idea to help promote small business and bring business ‘back home' as a benefit to Main Street and downtown communities,” said Katie Wood, executive director of the Downtown Naperville Alliance.