Celebrating Small Business in May and Year Round Here on the Suncoast

May is Small Business Month when we support all the small businesses in our community. Creating jobs in their community is one of the best benefits that small businesses afford their home communities. They pump their profits into developing employees, marketing, and relationships in their communities where big-box retailers do not replicate this trend. Local jobs are a great side effect of small businesses in communities where the owner lives and works.

When you order items from a big-box retailer such as Amazon, it is difficult to know who and where products were made. When you buy from a local business, you’ll often know the owner and can ask more direct questions about product sourcing. This helps you to shop with more confidence.

According to the Small Business Administration (SBA), the United States is home to 28.8 million small businesses, accounting for 99.7% of all US businesses. Small and independent businesses have undoubtedly played an integral part in spearheading the fast-paced growth of our country since 1776 — boosting the economy, creating jobs, and ultimately serving as a foundational stepping stone toward the American Dream. Yet, there are many more than just financial losses to consider when allowing these businesses to disappear.

Here is just a small list of small businesses here on the Suncoast:

Visit A Paradise – This Vacation Rental Management Company has provided excellent service since 1989. They are known throughout Anna Maria Island and Manatee County for their level of service in rental property management. If you have property on the Island or anywhere in Manatee County, we can help you keep it rented.

Affinity Cabinets – Whether you’re looking for a modern, traditional, or more transitional style, new cabinets and countertops are a terrific way to transform your kitchen or bathroom into your dream space. A home makeover will not only make a house more functional, it will make it look and feel like a brand new home, one that you created!

The Herbarium – The Herbarium is an importer of natural and organic luxurious bath and body, skincare, and home products from Italy – with a large assortment of bar soaps, lotions, fragrances, diffusers, and other premium products – all imported from Italy. The Herbarium takes pride in selling and distributing some of the most coveted luxury bath & body products Italy offers. Each brand is carefully selected for its aesthetic virtues, the exceptional composition of ingredients, and its high regard within the international marketplace.

Florida Fishing Fleet – Florida Fishing Fleet offers the best gulf coast fishing charters in Cortez, Florida, located in the heart of the Cortez Fishing Village. Florida Fishing Fleet is just minutes from Anna Maria Island. Services include: head boat/party boat split deep sea fishing trips, private deep sea fishing trips, nearshore fishing trips, and inshore/backwater fishing trips.

Small-business owners often go into business based on their passion and feed directly into their local communities. From providing a hometown feel in knowing the products and people that produce the goods, you consume to lending your money to purchasing goods from neighbors and others benefiting your direct community. When it comes to showing your support for small businesses, it’s important to do so, and not just to help them gain revenue and stay operational. Everything from the local clothing boutique to the corner cupcake bakery relies on the support of loyal customers to keep its doors open, and when you spend money at a small business, you’ll gain plenty of wonderful benefits. 

HAPPY SMALL BUSINESS MONTH SUNCOAST – SHOP LOCAL – SHOP SMALL!

Photo courtesy of Deposit Photos