Christmas Season Kicks Off In The Teller High Country

Local Retailers and Shops Gearing Up For Small Business Saturday

~ by Trevor Phipps ~

After Thanksgiving, many shoppers enjoy Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday.

 For years, the most popular shopping day was Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving. These days, most retail outlets celebrate the Black Friday shopping holiday early on Thanksgiving night.

 This year many shoppers across the nation will rush to the stores after they enjoy their Thanksgiving dinner to hit all of the special sales deals. Most of the specials start on Thursday night and then continue through Friday but some of the deals are only valid while supplies last making shoppers rush in as soon as they can on Thanksgiving. Once the madness of Black Friday ends, Small Business Saturday begins.

Locally, the second shopping holiday has proven to be a bigger and more popular shopping day than the famous Black Friday.

 Last year, the shopping holiday proved to be a great success in the Woodland Park area, with some merchants citing it as the best Small Business Saturday the town ever experienced. Many businesses in town reported big sales hikes from the previous year. Tanner Coy, the president of Tweeds Fine Furnishings, said that the sales in their business increased by nearly 50% from the previous Small Business Saturday event.

Business owners and the Woodland Park Main Street group leaders are bullishly optimistic about a bonanza Small Business Saturday again this year.

 The Main Street group is helping to make the holiday a big success and recently sent out an e-mail to businesses in downtown Woodland Park.

 The information, which the team at Main Street put out, offered 10 tips to business owners on how to make the best out of the special small business shopping holiday. The tips included ways to add value for their customers during the shopping day. The information also emphasized the importance and usefulness of social media marketing.

 Then, as a special prelude to the holiday, the Pikes Peak Small Business Development Center (SBDC) decided to put forth an extra event as a prelude to Small Business Saturday last weekend. The event was originally scheduled for last Friday, but due to the weather, it was rescheduled for last Sunday.

 The organization hosted a small business tour that started in Woodland Park. The purpose of the tour was to bring elected officials, media and representatives of local chambers on a small business tour.

 The tour started at Colorado Gear Labs in Woodland Park and then continued in Colorado Springs. During the tour, representatives from the SBDC regionally were present at the local businesses for around a half-hour at each location.

 “Colorado’s small businesses stand poised and ready for this season every year,” said Frances Padilla, District Director, U.S. Small Business Administration Colorado District Office. “And they enjoy offering that perfect and unique present or dining experience for shoppers. When you shop or dine at any of Colorado’s more than 631,000 small businesses, you too are making a difference in your community.”

 The SBDC, Woodland Park Main Street, and local small business owners have all worked hard for the last year to make this year’s Small Business Saturday the best event ever.