This Saturday, November 27, 2021, is Small Business Saturday – a day in the midst of the holiday shopping frenzy to take a moment and make sure that we’re being intentional about where our dollars are being spent. Every business needs customers to survive, that’s a given. But it really does mean something special when you support a small business. Whether you’re choosing to shop small businesses that are local to you (like us, made in Michigan!) or looking for shops that are woman-owned or that support causes close to your heart, shopping small means making a choice to live out your values!
Our founder, Annie Lang Hartman, is passionate about the outdoors (of course)...but she’s also passionate about sharing her experience as a small business owner. In fact, Marketplace from American Public Media has been checking in with her throughout the past year. She’s shared her perspective on navigating the pandemic, keeping up with inventory, growing a small business amidst and more... and now, she’s sharing her thoughts on the impact you make when YOU choose to shop small:
Bezos doesn’t get excited when his phone beeps as another order comes in, but I still do. Every. Single. Time...
A few years ago when I got our first huge order from a retailer, I was sitting in my living room after it got picked up by a semi-truck. I was surrounded by a sea of packing supplies. All of my furniture was literally hidden under a mountain of plastic sleeves, bubble wrap, peanuts, cardboard, and tape. At that point, I was the only employee and I wasn’t even working for myself full time yet - a true small business - but I looked around at the dumpster’s worth of trash that accumulated from one order and I understood the impact I was having, even being so small. I realized my decisions, big and small, mattered. From the packaging I choose to the other small businesses I spend money with to manufacture our products...it all matters.
And every time someone chooses us over a big box store or Amazon, that matters, too. It has an impact. Even if you are only spending $5 on a greeting card, that’s $5 for us that goes towards rent or payroll or insurance or buying more inventory from the small businesses we work with or surprising an employee with a cup of coffee bought at another small, local business. I spend a lot of time thinking about where we are headed in the future. I know I will never get to the point where I have space exploration money, but with each year’s growth, we are committed to using this business to do good. To increase our donations. To start grants. To support team members. To use our resources to lessen our impact.
It all matters, and it starts with our customers. Thank you for shopping small...not just on Small Business Saturday, but every day.
We can’t thank you enough for your support and we urge you to shop small businesses this weekend (and beyond!)...small shops like us are ready to finish out your gift list with unique, handmade, sustainable products and cute cards that you just won’t find anywhere else. And you’ll know someone is grinning ear to ear with every purchase you make.
🎧 Listen to all of Annie’s interviews on Marketplace:
Demand is up for small retailers, but supply is another story
This northern Michigan retailer is banking on a summer with lots of foot traffic
For this stationery retailer, it’s been a sympathy card kind of year
Three small businesses weigh in on the pandemic holiday season
For small retailers, COVID-19 is changing business, but to what extent?
Small businesses prepare for the holidays amid the pandemic
Let’s be social!📱We’re on Instagram at @compasspaperco, and we’d love to have you join the fun. If you’re looking for sneak peeks at products, exclusive discounts (ooh la la!), and a FREE gift with your first purchase, you’re definitely going to want to join our email list.