Small Valley businesses compete for your holiday dollars

PHOENIX - This year local businesses are getting a boost with a new “shopping holiday.”

The day after Black Friday is being called Small Business Saturday, a time where shoppers are being encouraged to check out local shops and spend in the community.

“People are really starting to understand when they spend locally, those dollars go back into the community and helps the economy and create jobs,” said Kimber Lanning of Local First Arizona.

More than a million Facebook users have pledged their support of Small Business Saturday. The holiday was created by American Express which is also offering incentives for shopping at small businesses nationwide.

Linda Burner, co-owner of Bears & More in Glendale has been in business for 18 years. She understands that it can be difficult to compete with the national chains.

“You do what you have to do,” she said. “We have parties and hold special themed events and even have a newsletter that includes what is happening with neighboring businesses.”

Burner said she has diversified her business a lot over the past several years to offer more products to her line. She said that in terms of prices, despite what people might think, shopping at a small business is not always more expensive than the bigger retailers.

“We price things considering that we are customers too,” she said.

Local First Arizona is a non-profit coalition of locally owned businesses. A full directory of their members can be found on their website .