By Vivian Crawford
Starting your own business is easier than ever these days! You can create your own website, start a social media account for your business, and even sell things on Etsy! You can own your own business before you even become an adult! Over the summer, I started making jewelry, and I enjoyed it so much that I decided I wanted to try to run a small business. It definitely takes a lot of work and time because you want to be active on your account and interact with your followers, but it’s definitely worth it. My business grew a lot faster than I expected it to, and I’ve become friends with some amazing people on the way! I 100% recommend starting your own business because it teaches you a lot of skills and gets you some money along the way:)
Reasons Why You Should Support Small Businesses
Small businesses are often underestimated, but I know plenty of small businesses that sell things cheaper than you would find in the store but are of better quality. A lot of small business owners are also around our age, so it is cool to be supporting one another, instead of a big brand that already has plenty of money. Some of the things we buy in big stores are shipped from other countries and are made by people who don’t have enough money to have a good job. So they are forced to work in these big factories that are not in good conditions and do manual labor all day. I would rather support a small business run by a teenager, selling something they enjoy making, instead of supporting these forced labor conditions.
How you can support Small Businesses
The first thing everyone thinks about when you hear, “supporting small businesses” is buying their products. While that is definitely true, and greatly appreciated, a lot of people don’t always want to or have the money to buy from them. There are plenty of other ways you can support your local small businesses! Here are some ways you can support small businesses over social media-
Follow small business accounts
Like their photos
Share their photos on your story
Comment on their posts
All of these things will help to grow their businesses, and therefore, get them more orders. So even if you can’t buy from them, maybe someone you shared the post with will be able to.
Another thing to note is that there are plenty of small businesses out there for literally everything. Guys and girls alike can support small businesses. Do you like thrifting? There are social media accounts that sell thrifted clothes! Do you like shoes? There are social media accounts that resell name-brand shoes! Do you like jewelry, for both guys and girls? You probably guessed, there are social media accounts for that!
You can also support small businesses in person by going to craft fairs because there are usually a lot of small businesses there selling their products. At craft fairs, there are also usually a good variety of business and products for both guys and girls.
I hope that after reading this, you are inspired to go buy from small businesses, or start your own small business! It’s also a good idea if you are looking for gifts since we are getting close to the holidays! Have fun shopping!
If you are looking for cute, affordable, but well-made jewelry, check out @_southern_pearls__ (my small business account:))