CANTON — The SUNY Canton Small Business Development Center (SBDC) and regional partners are reminding consumers “how crucial it is” to shop at local, independent businesses this holiday season “to help them survive” as they operate under continuing COVID restrictions. It announced a new campaign called “Buy Local or Bye-Bye Local” which seeks to help […]
CANTON — The SUNY Canton Small Business Development Center (SBDC) and regional partners are reminding consumers “how crucial it is” to shop at local, independent businesses this holiday season “to help them survive” as they operate under continuing COVID restrictions.
It announced a new campaign called “Buy Local or Bye-Bye Local” which seeks to help North Country businesses “before they are gone forever.”
The SBDC said it is partnering with business organizations across seven counties on this campaign. They include the Saint Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce, Franklin County IDA/LDC, Essex County IDA, Ticonderoga Area Chamber, and Saranac Lake Area Chamber. IDA is short for industrial-development agency and LDC stands for local-development corporation.
The SBDC campaign is also partnering with the Adirondack North Country Association (ANCA) on this effort as an extension of its #clicklocal campaign; encouraging North Country residents to consider shopping local, even when they are online.
“Many small-business owners have added e-commerce shopping platforms to their websites, making it easier than ever to buy local from the comfort and safety of home,” Danielle Delaini, coordinator of ANCA’s business-transition program, said in a statement.
The Buy Local or Bye-Bye Local campaign is meant to bring awareness to consumers on how crucial it is to shop locally, especially for the upcoming holiday season and the slower winter months. The shop local educational campaign will highlight gift ideas that can be purchased locally and feature small businesses that continue to operate with significant restrictions placed on them including restaurants, salons and spas, bowling alleys, movie theaters, gyms, nonprofits, breweries, and more.
“Few sectors have escaped the effects of the lockdown. Independently owned businesses and not-for-profit organizations have been hit particularly hard. Uniting together to shop local first will help save small businesses across our North Country region and could even fuel an economic recovery,” said Angela Smith, assistant director of the SUNY Canton SBDC.
The SUNY Canton SBDC says its business counselors are also available for virtual and in-person confidential sessions to help small businesses looking for advice to adapt their finances, human resources, sales, and marketing. It has two numbers that businesses can call if they have a question: (315) 386-7312 in Canton, and (518) 324-7232 for businesses in Plattsburgh.