I, personally, am a fan. And, while the day was started to help brick and mortar businesses thrive, I think we can put small startups in that category too and throw some green their way as well (because why go to an actual store when you can buy a Brewie from the comfort of your couch?). However, not everyone is as supportive of the Small Business Saturday initiative as I am. In fact, a small business expert named Gene Marks voiced the opposite opinion recently. One of his arguments is that it’s naive for small business owners to believe that consumers are out in droves to support them on Saturday. He points out that most of those people would have been out there anyway, being that it’s the biggest shopping weekend of the year. He also points out in his article in Entrepreneur Magazine that Small Business Saturday is nothing but a PR stunt for small businesses. This might be true, and I’m sure there are some big businesses profiting off of the day, but all in all I don’t think anyone can argue that it’s necessarily bad for small businesses. I will say that any effort that is made to support entrepreneurs who’ve risked anything to live their dream, whether it be a software solutions company or a brick & mortar shop that sells alpaca yarn, deserves all of the support we can give them.
