Small Business Week allows entrepreneurs to shine

By Charles Christian

Small Business Week in St. Joseph is giving local business owners a chance to enhance their business skills and see an uptick in customers.

St. Joseph joins the rest of the nation in celebrating Small Business Week from April 29 through May 5. During this week, the St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce is providing a variety of ways for entrepreneurs to grow while providing special incentives for customers.

All week long, customers can participate in Small Business Bingo by printing out a card from the Chamber’s website. Completing the card will allow customers to be eligible for a special drawing on May 6.

Along with bingo, a Downtown retail scavenger hunt from 10 a.m. to 6:15 p.m. on May 3 will give customers a chance to collect prizes while visiting a variety of small businesses in town.

Business owners can benefit in ways beyond the additional retail traffic. The Chamber will also host several courses and community bonding events for small business owners throughout the week. It is the strong sense of community among the small business owners that Ashley Dawson, owner of The Story Collective in Downtown St. Joseph, said was a big factor in her decision to open a small business in town.

Dawson said small businesses are part of the heartbeat of a community like St. Joseph.

“Small businesses make the town unique,” Dawson said. “They make the town worth visiting and exploring.”

Gina Marable, a St. Joseph resident and frequent customer of small businesses in the area, said she has seen local shops transform St. Joseph for the better in recent years.

“I think small businesses are great for this community,” Marable said. “They bring life to Downtown in ways we didn’t previously have maybe 10 or so years ago here.”

Small business owners and customers can visit the Chamber of Commerce website at saintjoseph.com for more information.