Small Business Saturday Promotes Lakeville's Local Businesses

In recent years, has become synonymous with long lines, massive discounts and the big box stores that offer them.

But now, main street America is staking its claim in the retail madness of Black Friday weekend.

Nov. 26 is the second annual Small Business Saturday, which was launched last year by American Express to support local businesses during the holiday season.

“Small businesses are the lifeline of a community,” said Judy Tschumper, executive director of the .

Local businesses enrich their communities simply by existing. During the past two decades, small businesses have created 65 percent of net new jobs and for every $100 spent in locally owned, independent stores, $68 returns to the community through taxes, payroll and other expenditures, according to the Small Business Saturday website.

In 2009, there were 28 million small businesses in the U.S. But in order to survive, they need community support, advocates say.

There’s a lot of people that live in Lakeville that don’t even know we exist,” said Marcia Ritter, owner of .

Tschumper agrees that this is a major problem for small businesses in Lakeville’s historic downtown.

“The north residents don’t even know that there’s a downtown because they’re so close to the Mall of America and the Burnsville Center,” she said.

Nevertheless, there are ways for small businesses to combat their big box competitors.

“We try to sell unique, different things that you can’t buy at Target or Kohls,” said Erica Demo, owner of , who’s offering a buy-one, get-one special on gift certificates this Saturday.

Nationally, the holiday season is a crucial time for small business owners.

Last year Black Friday weekend drew 212 million shoppers to stores and websites. In 2010, the average shopper spent $365.34 and consumer spending totaled $45 billion, according to the National Retail Federation,

IBIS World reported that, in 2010, 59.2 percent of all holiday spending took place during the Christmas season.

This year, Lakeville’s small business owners ask you give the gift of shopping local on Small Business Saturday.