POLSON — Small businesses in Polson showcased their handmade goods and unique finds during Small Business Saturday, with Main Street buzzing with activity as local entrepreneurs encouraged shoppers to support their community.
In small towns like Polson, small businesses serve as the backbone of the local retail scene. This holiday season, many business owners are urging customers to open their wallets and shop small, emphasizing the direct impact on local families.
“My small business helps me to provide for my family especially around the holidays,” Summer Slocum said.
Slocum balances two roles as a stay-at-home mom and owner of The Enchanted Spore, creating diverse artwork to support her household.
“I created a wide range of art from acrylics, digital paintings, jewelry, keychains painting flower pots and scent holders, I just do a little bit of everything,” Slocum said.
Every dollar earned by small businesses flows directly back into the owners’ lives, which motivated Jill Hedeen, owner of Ascendria, to provide a platform for small business owners to showcase their products during the colder months.
“In the winter time we don’t have any markets like we normally do in Polson,” Hedeen said.
For many small businesses, finding a warm space to sell products presents a significant challenge, and some struggle to reach customers effectively.
“It is challenging I don’t always make sales but it is more for experience too,” one business owner said.
Other entrepreneurs like Desirae Symbothy, who started The Missions Project, focus their small business efforts on community service. Every dollar earned goes toward sending bibles to other countries and supporting local churches.
“I started the mission project to support the community here and in other countries,” Symbothy said.
Hedeen emphasizes that supporting small businesses means investing in local families rather than large corporations.
“Our business is important because we are local families, and we’re not your big corporations and so you’re supporting your neighbor basically,” Hedeen said.
Local business owners encourage shoppers to reconsider their gift-buying choices this Christmas season, highlighting the personal connections that come with shopping small.
“When you shop small businesses you get to see them face to face you get to know their faces and it continues happiness and love to the next generations,” one business owner said.
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