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Small Business in COVID Times | Thoughts From a Business Owner

Surfing my socials last week, I came across a meme that I can't stop thinking about:


"McDonalds can mess up your order 1000 times and you still support them. A small business owner makes on mistake and you bash them for eternity"


Seriously, how and why is this so true? When you really think about how enraged some people get over simple human error, or worse, issues that are totally out of our control and honestly have us stressing into the wee hours. Take into account all the additional stresses of COVID for your business, your family, the economy, it's all just so much isn't it. 


Here's the reality...

  • We cannot compete with shipping costs - we simply can't. Getting your product to you is expensive, period. 


  • We are at the mercy of Canada Post delays. No, we cannot speed up the shipping time and emailing to let us know how angry you are that your package hasn't arrived... well we are probably already stressing about that possibility and the costs associated with replacing your items and reshipping your order.


  • We definitely encourage you to share your experience through reviews and ratings (they really do make a difference), but to leave a negative review about aforementioned shipping delays really isn't helpful for anyone. 


  • Big box retailers can usually out-price the small guys. No surprise here, you know this already. 


  • We order a much smaller amount of your fav things, so yes, things can be out of stock often and quickly.




When supporting local business, kindness is key...

Think of us as family and be patient, understanding and don't give up on us over something we can make right. Small businesses are the cornerstone of our neighbourhoods and communities and many of us don't have years of experience in retail. We often run our business with heart first - and misguided negativity hurts. 


What can you do to support your local businesses: 

  • Spread social proof - share our feeds with your friends, comment, like the posts when you can.


  • Recommend your fav businesses in chats and groups.


  • Reach out and ask questions, recommend products, share an idea (give us a chance to earn your business)


  • Leave a website or Google review with your experience (and if it wasn't great, did we do something to try and make it better -share that too!)

Check out some of our fav local businesses:

 

It's a hard time to be a small business owner for the most part, but hang in there friends. You've put so much love and energy into your business, if we support one another we'll make it through. 

We'd love to hear your thoughts, and please include your favourite local business so we can check them out too.

Sarah
co-founder | e+a

 

 

 

 

 

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