Without small businesses, our economy would come to a complete standstill. Picture: Pexels
By Mmaphuthi Morule
Johannesburg – Traditionally the festive season in South Africa is a period when businesses look to cash in and increase their profits.
According to short-term lender, Wonga, South Africans are expected to spend about R226 billion over this festive season.
As shoppers look to spend their hard-earned cash, small businesses will be fighting it out against larger retailers for their share of the large festive spend by consumers.
Before you whip out your credit card, here are the five reasons why supporting small is where it’s at this festive season:
1. Without small businesses, our economy would come to a complete standstill
Small businesses employ between 50% and 60% of South Africa’s workforce and contribute around 34% to our GDP. That’s a big deal: it’s not the big guns who’re keeping the wheels of commerce turning, but the small and medium enterprises run by the underdogs of Mzansi. In other words, every cent you spend at a small business ultimately galvanises our economy – impacting every single SA citizen.
2. Small businesses form the lifeblood of local communities
Your local coffee shop is where you fuel up for the day. The flower seller who’ll always give you a discount “just because”… The pizza place down the road where you’ve celebrated and commiserated. Without them, your neighbourhood would be a homogenous collection of roads and houses. Importantly, small businesses play a vital role in the well-being of communities.
By supporting local businesses, you’re investing in the community at large.
3. Shopping locally is a love letter to the Earth
Resisting the siren call of the latest, flashiest version of whatever your retail weakness is, is tough.
But, and it’s a big one: the effects of climate change cannot be ignored any longer. Advocating for environmentally responsible consumption is the responsibility of every single individual on planet Earth – and one impactful way to do this is by supporting local businesses, which have a markedly smaller environmental footprint.
Over-packaged, internationally shipped, plastic everything may be cheaper or more convenient to buy – but the ramifications of rampant, careless consumption are dire.
Take fast fashion, for example, an industry that’s one of the biggest polluters on the planet. It may be tempting, but the cumulative environmental impact of billions of consumers buying “just one pair of leggings/halter-top/sneakers” is staggeringly detrimental. As the legendary environmentalist, Jane Goodall, put it: “What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.”
4. You’re supporting a person just like yourself
There’s a meme shared among entrepreneurs: “When you buy from a small business, an actual person does a little happy dance.” Instead of adding to the already eye-watering bank balances of multimillionaires who own big brands, your money goes directly to someone just like you – individuals supporting their families amid skyrocketing costs of living. Your money is a pithy drop in the proverbial ocean for the directors and shareholders of massive corporations – but to small businesses, every single cent makes a tangible difference.
5. Your money facilitates the birth of new ideas and innovation
Small businesses are the birthplace of ideas. They’re born over endless cups of tea around the kitchen table while shooting the breeze with a customer or bandying about the “what ifs” and “imagine if”. They’re also born out of necessity; countless small businesses owe their origin story to the fact that their product or services offer a solution to a problem that had yet to be solved. Without your support, these ideas would never come to life.
By buying from small businesses, you’re funding the innovators, artists, and creators – as opposed to mainstream brands that are notorious for appropriating the work of independent businesses and then profiting off of them.
Mmaphuthi Morule is the head of brand for Yoco.
IOL Business