Rochester business leaders weigh in on holiday season challenges for small businesses

ROCHESTER, Minn. (KTTC) – The holiday season is just around the corner and for small businesses, this is one of their most profitable time periods. However, leaders in the business community stated some seasonal challenges stand in the way as the businesses gear up for the shopping spree.

According to the Rochester Area Chamber of Commerce, keeping up with inventory and maintaining staff during this season are two issues commonly seen with small businesses.

“Another one that really stands out is how do you really make your small business shine so that you can attract those customers,” Chamber President Ryan Parsons asked? “We’ve seen people get really creative in how they go about that and that’s always encouraging. Whether that be through specials, sales, or just really highlighting what they’re all about, and getting creative in how they do it has really helped make a difference and have some positive results for small businesses.”

Rochester Area Economic Development, Inc. (RAEDI) stated the holiday season makes up more than half of a small business’s yearly revenue. RAEDI President John Wade explained the lingering effect of the pandemic and inflation has deterred people to either shop online or be careful with their spending.

Rochester business continues to be resilient,” he said. “That is not to say we are not immune from downturns in the economy or a slowing of the economy due to a lot of people having pressure at home.”

On Saturday, the city of Rochester welcomed Bricks & Minifigs—a new shop that buys, sells, and trades Lego products. With the holiday shopping frenzy fast approaching, its owner, Rob Warland, shared his shop faced challenges getting ready.

“The biggest challenge that we’ve found is to be able to get enough staff to be able to take care of all the customers,” he said. “There’s a lot of training and all the little details of what it looks like to run a day-to-day business.”

“This is really that time of year where they need a huge performance in order to really meet their expectation and their annual performance goals, so the importance of the holiday season to small retailers, restaurants and others can’t be understated.”

In spite of the obstacles, Warland, like many other business owners, is preparing to get festive with bundles and discounts for his customers.

“Our whole purpose is to spark joy and creativity,” he said. “We wanna be ready for that uptick in people coming out to buy things and we know that Lego is a great gift for the holidays.”

RAEDI and the Rochester Area Chamber of Commerce encourage everyone to shop local. To view the list of businesses for holiday gift shopping, visit the chamber’s website.

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