New mittens for the kids. Gifts for our favorite folks. Flour and sugar for treats. The holidays are here, and most of us are shopping – a lot.  And whether it’s for gifts, groceries or gloves, you probably have a choice between shopping the giants and buying from small businesses. 

Actually, more than 30 million U.S. businesses are small, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration. So most people can find a small business that provides the good or service they need. And although small business are – well – small, they make a huge impact. 

Between 2000 and 2017, “small businesses created 8.4 million new jobs while large businesses created 4.4 million.” And small business owners are families, women, immigrants and people of color. Data from the Small Business Administration give us these numbers about small businesses:

• 10 million women-owned and 2.5 million more owned equally by men and women

• 8 million minority-owned

• 2.5 million veteran-owned

• 20 percent family owned

• More than 14 percent owned by immigrants

Those are some inspiring numbers! 

And if that’s not enough, small businesses tend to stay local, hire local, and support local civic life. That community connection keeps small businesses accountable to and engaged with the communities in which they operate. According to Ashoka Changemakers, a “global network of social entrepreneurs, innovators, business leaders, policy makers and activists” small and medium-sized businesses tend to be more environmentally friendly, because these businesses “typically have a deep connection to their communities’ and environments’ needs, and therefore often have an incentive to be good stewards of their surrounding environment.” 

CoffeeSock is a small, woman-owned, family-run business with community and environment at our heart.  We employ a rad group of women artists and leaders to produce sustainable products that add value to our community far and wide. And we’re proud to support the Austin economy and contribute to the city’s civic life. That’s what small businesses do all over the globe.

This gift giving season and beyond, when you need to buy, we hope you’ll spend small, where the your purchase multiplies, supporting families, women and minority owned businesses, local communities, and sustainability.

Happy holidays y’all!