DALLAS — Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson officially proclaimed Nov. 28, 2020 as “Small Business Saturday.”
“Supporting local small businesses is more important than ever,” the mayor wrote in a tweet Saturday.
Dallas business owners say they are thankful for the awareness after what’s been a tough couple of months.
“Business has been down like 75–80%, I'd say, compared to last year, or any given year, this time,” Kettle Art Gallery owner Frank Campagna said.
Campagna’s art gallery in Deep Ellum features work from 15–20 DFW artists. Its 15-year anniversary was last week.
“You're not going to get that feeling or get to know the people that provide you with the product that all these different businesses serve unless you keep them around," Campagna said.
Lauren Ermish and her fiancé sell dog treats, food, toys, leashes, and other supplies at their business, Uptown Pup in Uptown Dallas.
They opened in October 2019, just several months before the pandemic hit.
“It's hard, because we want to do more events," Ermish said. "We want to set up tables and that's really how we can generate more business. But it puts us more at risk as business owners, because we don't want to get sick and have to close for two weeks.”
Uptown Pup had to scale back its hours for a few months. But Ermish said they went all out for Small Business Saturday, participating in the holiday for the first time.
“It’s been really busy, which is great,” Ermish said. "In May, we were like, 'Oh my gosh, we have to do short(er) hours. We have to cut the expenses that we have for running electricity.' And now, I'm more focused on the future."
According to the U.S. Small Business Administration's Office of Advocacy, there are 2.8 million small businesses in Texas, which make up 99.8% of Texas Businesses.
The SBA defines small businesses as “firms with fewer than 500 employees.”