Times West Virginian editorial
This week is Small Business Week throughout the country, where people are encouraged to shop at and give back to all the small businesses in their community.
According to the official Small Business Week website, it “honors the innovators who take a risk on an idea, invest in their communities and create jobs. Their skills and creativity not only support their own families; they make our neighborhoods vibrant places to live and work and fuel our nation’s economic strength.”
The tradition of celebrating this week began in 1963 and has continued every year since.
Shopping and giving back to local small businesses is vital not only to the economy of the community, state and nation, but to the financial well-being of that business owner.
When you shop at a local small business, your dollar means much more than it would at a major department store or chain restaurant.
The money spent at a local small business goes to dance lessons for a child, to a new pair of sneakers or to a vacation for a family that has taken that risk of opening a small business.
These small business owners are often people that you have grown up with in the community and ones who have decided to stay in their community in order to provide a service to the place they call home.
We have plenty of small businesses throughout West Virginia and right here in Marion County. This week is designed to bring awareness to these small businesses and let the public know just how much they need our support.
So, over the course of the next few days, we encourage you to go out of your way to grab a coffee at Joe ’N Throw. Take some extra time and grab lunch at Classics and dinner at Say-Boy. Take your car to Gwynn Tire Pros to get serviced and get your nails done at Tuscan Sun Spa.
These are just of a few of the local small businesses you can support this week.
If you haven’t been there before, perhaps the friendly, community-oriented product and service you receive will keep you coming back in the future, and we can all do our part to keep small business viable in Marion County and all of West Virginia.
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