Independently-owned local businesses get ready for ‘Small Business Saturday’

FREDRICK COUNTY, Md. (7News) — This weekend, the 15th annual “Small Business Saturday” will take place, and businesses throughout the U.S. and the D.C. area will participate.

American Express launched Small Business Saturday in 2010 to help small businesses affected by the 2008 financial crisis.

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American Express estimates consumers in the United States spent $17 billion at independent retailers and restaurants on Small Business Saturday in 2023, and it estimates $201 billion has been spent on Small Business Saturday since 2010.

“Small Business Saturday will probably give me a week’s worth of income in one day,” said Jessica Jordan, who owns Jessica Jordan Jewelry & Gifts in downtown Frederick. “It’s crucial for a small business. We’re competing against Amazon world.”

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According to the Downtown Frederick Partnership, there are more than 200 locally owned and operated businesses in downtown Frederick. Business owners said Frosty Friday and Small Business Saturday help attract thousands of shoppers to them.

At the Museum of Frederick County History, volunteers hosted a Frosty Friday event for children, complete with hot chocolate and crafts in which kids could make ornaments.

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Heritage Frederick volunteer Nancy Bodmer said although they are a museum, they are also in some ways a small business since they use proceeds from the books and souvenirs they sell to help fund their mission. She said Saturdays during the holiday season are their busiest time of the year, and Small Business Saturday is the single busiest Saturday.

“It is so well attended,” she said. “You’ve got many more people in town. It’s really worked out well for us.”

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Besides downtown Frederick, other places with large concentrations of small businesses include Old Town Alexandria, Georgetown, and Harpers Ferry. That said, there are many other areas taking part in Small Business Saturday, and many scattered small businesses throughout D.C., Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia also take part.

If you would like to support small local businesses, American Express offers a small business search on its website to help you find small businesses near where you live.