Dear Sturgis:
It's almost here! We are proud to participate in Small Business Saturday on the last Saturday in November every year. This is a national campaign with towns in all fifty states participating. Local and small businesses are invited to contribute a special offer on this day to encourage more local shopping and support Sturgis retail.
How You Can Support Our Businesses
Small Business Saturday is about shopping at our local businesses to support what they are doing and their contributions to our community! The more we shop local, the more local shops we will have. Consider doing the following on Small Business Saturday and beyond:
- Check out our local shops. We have hundreds of businesses in the Sturgis area, and thirty open year-round in the downtown area alone! Contact our Chamber office if you need help finding our local stores.
- Try the "90% Challenge" - local business owner Richelle Bruch has invited us to challenge the Sturgis community to complete at least 90% of our holiday shopping list or holiday shopping budget locally! Next time you open that Amazon app, think twice - most of the items you are looking for can be found right here in Sturgis!
- Shop on Small Business Saturday. Even though we encourage you to shop local every day, Small Business Saturday is a great day to start! Our shops will feature special deals, snacks and drinks, giveaways, and more on this event day.
- Encourage others to shop local! Share the 'shop local' mantra with everyone you know. Even if you buy your household items, clothes, toys, or office supplies online, no one likes it when one of our local stores selling these goods closes down - after all, what are you supposed to do if an office supply emergency pops up and the soonest you can get your order online is after two days?! Shopping local is how we keep our stores in business. Spread the word!
- Understand the benefits. Shopping local supports stores that actually care about our town. The local stores donate to our soccer teams, our post-prom party, the new bike park in town, our local nonprofits... the list goes on. When is the last time a big box store or remote online retailer did that? Say thank you to our shops by giving them your business!
How We're Contributing
The Sturgis Chamber office is contributing to the Small Business Saturday revolution by supporting our Chamber members and other local businesses. Here are our 2020 initiatives:
- Official 2020 SBS Local Campaign Headquarters
- We are your official 2020 local campaign headquarters! As such, we have ordered Small Business Saturday gear that we will be giving away to any local business or shopper that wants some - first-come, first-served. This year's official gear includes SBS tote bags, pins, flags, stickers, and more!
- Social Media Advertising: As part of this year's local campaign, we are again harnessing the power of social media. Stay tuned on our Chamber Facebook page and Instagram accounts for posts about Small Business Saturday and promotions from our member businesses. Click here to view our official Sturgis Small Business Saturday 2020 event page on Facebook! If you own a local Sturgis-area business, please consider posting your SBS contributions in the event page discussion! You can also send the information directly to us via email.
- Newspaper Advertising: We have placed a full-page, color ad in the Rapid City Journal to help advertise our community's Small Business Saturday event! Each of our participating Chamber member businesses will be listed on this ad that contacts us by November 18th.
- Radio Advertising: HomeSlice Media has generously matched our Chamber advertising dollars to support local businesses for Small Business Saturday! Keep an ear open on our local stations through the event date, and be sure to invite everyone you know to #ShopSturgis this year!
Join the movement and help us support local businesses by shopping in Sturgis during Small Business Saturday each year. You will be amazed at all of the unique products and services you can find right here in town! Thank you for doing your part to #ShopLocal and #ShopSturgis.
Sincerely,
Veronica Grosek
Executive Director
Sturgis Area Chamber of Commerce
& Visitors Bureau