It’s Small Business Saturday, and I’m getting ready to head out to one of the very few independent bookstores left in our area to meet and greet customers. The store, called Readers World, is run by people who were displaced when Border’s went under, and it’s carved out a niche of supporting local authors – especially independent ones! Hooray!

I know the big stores offer a lot more variety, deeper discounts and the convenience of shopping for multiple items in one place, but we also need stores like this — stores that offer the convenience of a quick in and out, stores that offer personalization, cozy stores where shop owners get to know their local customers and authors. It’s a special place, and I hope enough people will continue to shop here to keep this wonderful store in business.

Don’t you enjoy going to new places and finding that little gem of a shop that’s different? Or that cute little shopping area that’s not a mall, or a strip center sporting the exact same shops you see in your town everyday? I do! And I love finding unique gifts for the people on my Christmas list. Many times, the small independent shops are the best places for finding something different – and exactly right.

I’m not doing a lot of shopping today because the weather is on the nasty side, but when I finally get down to seriously checking off my Christmas list, I’ll try to shop local, and small, because I don’t want to lose the fun shops that offer a quiet, cozy atmosphere, and unique items that my friends and family will love, and that I’ll feel good about buying!

Happy Small Biz Saturday, everyone! And happy shopping.

Darlene