October 26, 2018

Shop Small on Small Business Saturday

Share the goods.

This year, Small Business Saturday takes place on November 24th and we want you to participate! The initiative was launched in 2010, by American Express, as an effort to support local shops that make our communities strong by encouraging people to Shop Small and bring more holiday shopping to small businesses.
Everyone is familiar with Black Friday and Giving Tuesday; Small Business Saturday gives local communities the opportunity to support B2B and B2C businesses. In fact, in 2011, the Senate unanimously passed a resolution in support of the day. By 2012, officials in all 50 states were participating. In 2017 an estimated 108 million consumers reported shopping or dining at local independently-owned businesses — generating roughly $12 billion in reported spend.
As a small business, we think a day dedicated to small businesses is pretty kickass. Here are our suggestions on how you can take advantage of Small Business Saturday, whether B2C, B2B, nonprofit or an individual. Small businesses power our economy and they deserve our support, let’s do this.

Participate

If you are a small business, consider participating on November 24th! Show off your Shop Small pride with downloadable posters, email templates, and social posts. American Express also shares stories and examples of how other small businesses have participated. Head to their Facebook page to check it out.

Promote

There are multiple ways to support Small Business Saturday and small businesses all year, from shopping to championing November 24th. American Express makes it easy:

Share on social, go to www.facebook.com/SmallBusinessSaturday and share any of the multiple posts. Also, do a quick search on Facebook and you will see all the businesses in your community that are participating on November 24th.
Reach out to ten small businesses in your community and encourage them to participate.
Organize a community event; host a breakfast kicking off Small Business Saturday at your local chamber, your place of work or virtually through social media or your website.
Distribute Shop Small® swag! You can apply to be a neighborhood champion through https://www.americanexpress.com/us/small-business/shop-small and hand out totes, shirts, posters, balloons and more. This is a great way to rally small businesses to participate.

Purchase

Head to your favorite small business on November 24th and spend some moolah! You can search here to find local businesses participating in your community. Grab some friends, start your day out with breakfast and hit shops in Grand Rapids, Rockford, Comstock Park, Ada and more!
However you choose to support, keep in mind that 90% of consumers surveyed said Small Business Saturday has had a positive impact on their community.
Shop Small on Saturday, November 24th.

Recent Musings

People standing around talking to each other upstairs.

Building What We Needed for Women-Owned Businesses

The Current State of PR

Something on Your Mind?

A little rain didn’t slow @bodespeaks down.

Kim was in Washington, D.C., this past week for #AUSA2026 - three days where Army leaders, industry partners, and the defense community come together for innovation, insight, and connection.

We can’t wait to hear some of her takeaways. Stay tuned for more soon.

@ausaorg #DefenseIndustry #Leadership #AUSA

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A little rain didn’t slow @bodespeaks down.

Kim was in Washington, D.C., this past week for #AUSA2026 - three days where Army leaders, industry partners, and the defense community come together for innovation, insight, and connection.

We can’t wait to hear some of her takeaways. Stay tuned for more soon.

@ausaorg #DefenseIndustry #Leadership #AUSA

Who made all these rules anyway?

Don’t wear color. Don’t share your ideas. Don’t put yourself out there. Don’t talk about your family.

We’re told to follow them, but @bodespeaks says question every single one. Then uncover your big hairy audacious goal, throw out the rulebook, and build a personal brand that actually works for you.

Thank you to Aggie and Cristy for having Kim on the @badass_women_in_business Podcast and, well... for being total badasses.

Listen to the full episode in bio.

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We had some fun in the office this week and asked some of the 8THIRTYFOUR team what “square up” means.

Surprisingly, the Gen Z of the group got it, but one of our Gen X’s did not (not saying any names…)

How do you “square up”?

#trending #fyp #squareup #agencylife

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We had some fun in the office this week and asked some of the 8THIRTYFOUR team what “square up” means.

Surprisingly, the Gen Z of the group got it, but one of our Gen X’s did not (not saying any names…)

How do you “square up”?

#trending #fyp #squareup #agencylife

The 834 Learning Hub is where we throw fun shindigs, where cool people come to work, where Big Deal Energy gathers, and where we push you to get uncomfortable.

It’s not your typical event or coworking space - and we like it that way. The lighting, colors, wallpaper, layout, and yes, the dogs, are all very intentional.

If you need a spot to host your offsite team training, leadership quarterly, photo shoot (dogs can be included), or you just need a space to network or cowork - reach out.

We got the goods:
- A sweet sound system
- State-of-the-art digital whiteboard
- A really big T.V. Like it’s big.
- Your own private entrance
- Free parking
- A dog (or two) if you ask nicely

Drop us a line at hello@8thirtyfour.com or click the link in bio to rent the Hub today.

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The 834 Learning Hub is where we throw fun shindigs, where cool people come to work, where Big Deal Energy gathers, and where we push you to get uncomfortable.

It’s not your typical event or coworking space - and we like it that way. The lighting, colors, wallpaper, layout, and yes, the dogs, are all very intentional.

If you need a spot to host your offsite team training, leadership quarterly, photo shoot (dogs can be included), or you just need a space to network or cowork - reach out.

We got the goods:
- A sweet sound system
- State-of-the-art digital whiteboard
- A really big T.V. Like it’s big.
- Your own private entrance
- Free parking
- A dog (or two) if you ask nicely

Drop us a line at hello@8thirtyfour.com or click the link in bio to rent the Hub today.

We love Dr. Karen May’s mission.

What if we taught our daughters AND our sons about women’s health, hormones, and pregnancy? Not as a whispered “talk” or a one-time awkward conversation. Just normal dinner-table stuff.

The girls deserve to know what’s coming (perimenopause shouldn’t be a surprise party nobody wanted). And the boys? They’ll be partners, dads, coworkers, and bosses to women going through all of it.

Thank you, Dr. May, for sharing your best practices to keep the women’s health conversation going at our Uncomfortable Conversations | The Pause event.

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We love Dr. Karen May’s mission.

What if we taught our daughters AND our sons about women’s health, hormones, and pregnancy? Not as a whispered “talk” or a one-time awkward conversation. Just normal dinner-table stuff.

The girls deserve to know what’s coming (perimenopause shouldn’t be a surprise party nobody wanted). And the boys? They’ll be partners, dads, coworkers, and bosses to women going through all of it.

Thank you, Dr. May, for sharing your best practices to keep the women’s health conversation going at our Uncomfortable Conversations | The Pause event.

Showing up to an interview with an iced coffee? Not the move… unless it’s for @bodespeaks

#icedcoffee #agency #PR #trending #grandrapids

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