We are all here because we love animals, especially our pets. We want to do something we enjoy that creates better lives for them and builds higher standards in the pet industry. Owning and running your own business requires a special type of person and takes a lot of time and effort. Doing it on your own makes it that much more difficult. When you build a support system it helps by making you feel like you aren’t alone. There are others out there that are going through what you are, or have been there already and can provide support in a variety of ways. It doesn’t matter if they are “doing the same thing you are”, we believe in community over competition. Supporting others is a great way to build a community. Here are 7 ways you can support your fellow business owners.
- Shop at their store, buy their handmade products and/or use their services.
- When you’re a small business owner and someone wants to buy what you offer, whether it is a product or service, it feels pretty good! As a small business I’m sure you know this feeling! Support small businesses as much as you can, they are more likely to offer higher quality products and services and go the extra mile because they do truly care about their customers because each customer allows them to do what they love.
- Leave a review.
- When you shop at their store or use their products or service, post about it or tell others. Leave a review on their social media or even better, on their SaskPets Listing! Others are more likely to use a service, purchase a product or shop at a store if someone they trust recommends it and/or it has good reviews. It doesn’t take a lot of time to leave a review, but it can make a big difference in helping potential customers decide where to shop and what to buy.
- Engage with their social media posts.
- This can be as simple as a liking their Facebook or Instagram posts, or you can go the extra mile and comment or share their posts. Going this extra step further gets their posts seen by more people and they are more likely to return the favor. Plus who doesn’t feel good when someone actually interacts with something they post on social media! Start small, make a goal of liking 10 posts a day and commenting on, or sharing 5 from different small businesses. You’re scrolling social media anyway, take a few extra seconds to make a few peoples days by interacting with their posts.
- Sell and promote locally made products in your store.
- If you have a storefront, or online store, sell locally made products in your store. You can look at purchasing wholesale or selling on consignment. Help them get their products out there. Plus, they’ll advertise that their products are in your store, generating goodwill with customers and other small businesses because you offer locally made products.
- Collaborate with others on classes, events, contests or giveaways.
- It can be a lot of fun to collaborate with others on different things and it creates added value and reach for each business. You can also split the costs to make something bigger more cost effective for each of you.
- Keep marketing materials of other businesses handy.
- Whether you have a physical storefront, are mobile or mostly online keep other businesses brochures and business cards to give out to, or share the information with customers looking for certain products or services you don’t offer. Have other businesses do the same for you. It helps extend your reach and gives you more exposure.
- Have a page on your website that links to other businesses.
- It can be as simple as a page with a list of other local businesses linking to their websites/social media pages. This helps them with SEO and helps your customers find things easier. Have other businesses do this for you as well to gain more exposure and increase your SEO. It also provides your customers with referrals of people you recommend.
If you have any other ideas of ways small businesses can support each other please comment below!