Small Business Saturday 2021: Why should you 'Shop Small'?

With Small Business Saturday UK on the horizon (4th December), you may have heard the phrase ‘Shop Small’ bandied about – but what does it mean?

Small businesses are businesses which have 0 to 49 employees, and the phrase ‘Shop Small’, aims to draw attention to and celebrate these small businesses. Small Business Saturday equally, is a celebration of small businesses, and a grassroots, non-commercial campaign.

A lot of the companies most people buy from, like Amazon, are large, faceless corporations that often do not represent the ethical issues of wider society in the present day. Their wealth is not put back into the community and they are often unsustainable.

Not every large business is as controversial as Amazon, but that is one advantage to ‘Shopping Small’, as through doing so, as a consumer, you are automatically helping individuals rather than large corporations.

Despite the fact the world is abundant with large, widely known brand names, at the start of 2021, there was a staggering 5.5 million small businesses recorded in the UK, which is only likely to further grow.

Small Business Saturday is important to us at Yellow Spider Media, as in addition to being a small business, we actively support and create content for many fellow small businesses.

With the celebration of small businesses coming at the end of this week, we were inspired to showcase one brilliant small business we work with: Standout Socks.

Standout Socks is a small business founded by Christian Laing with his brother and co-founder, Ross. Their mission is to ultimately raise social awareness, especially for people with varied abilities, inspired by Ross, who has Down Syndrome.

I spoke to Christian about Standout, especially considering the idea of ‘Shopping Small’.

Q: Why did you create Standout?

“It was not about finding a job for Ross, but instead, creating one.” This is very important to Standout’s ethos, as they are committed to embracing unique abilities.

The creation of Standout was also inspired by “Down Syndrome Day on the 21st of March”, as this is a time when bright socks are worn to raise awareness for Down Syndrome. As written on their website, “why just do this for one day?”. This was the genesis of Standout Socks, bringing bold, bright socks to the everyday.  

Q: What are your goals as a company?

“On a personal level, Ross wants to go to Tokyo”, Christian states, while adding that his additional goals are to have a sustainable business, to branch out into other apparel like hoodies, and eventually employ people with varied abilities and “tapping into that special skill set”.

Q: What does every purchase someone makes mean to you?

When someone makes a purchase online, Christian and Ross can see the exciting process, and “Ross loves it".”  Every purchase means that they are “doing the right thing and are on the right path.”

Q: What do you think of ‘Shopping Small’?

Looking after your local community and discouraging “consumerism” is important to Standout. People are “becoming more aware”, though, of the need to shop smaller, supporting the businesses who really need it.

Knowing that whatever you purchase from a company makes a difference is true to the aims of ‘shopping small’. As Christian questions, “When you shop at Adidas, they probably make 75% profit, so where does the rest of our money go?”. As consumers, we have the individual power to choose where we put our money, and by putting it into a small business, you are more likely to not only see the results first-hand in the growth of the business, but in its people.

What then, does it mean to ‘Shop Small’?

As shown through my chat with Christian, every small business has people behind it with real dreams and goals, and who genuinely want to make a difference in their local community, and eventually, further afield.

When you buy from a small business, you’re helping someone send their child to school, even put food on the table, you’re helping them fund a trip to a country they have always wanted to visit. The idea of shopping small has a larger meaning because every penny counts to a small business.

As Small Business Saturday occurs only a few weeks before Christmas, it may be the perfect time to consider purchasing (or otherwise supporting) from small businesses this festive season. You may actually find more unique and special presents this way! And you are, without a doubt, helping the people behind it!

You can find Standout’s website here: https://www.standoutsocks.co.uk/

By Rozz Cottrell