Come November, Americans nationwide will be shopping locally to celebrate Small Business Saturday, but per usual, Our Town America is extending the holiday by honoring local businesses through their 2nd Annual Small Business Resilience Award. Community members throughout the nation can nominate a neighborhood business that they believe deserves this distinction.
Unfortunately, many small business owners are now facing a labor shortage. In June 2021, the number of open jobs reached an all-time high of 10.1 million, up from 9.2 million in May, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. At least half of small businesses reported it is harder to find qualified employees than it was last year. As the cost of finding and retaining employees increases, supply costs are also rising. Seven out of every 10 businesses are seeing a rise in supply costs, according to a report by CNBC.
Numerous factors play into the labor shortage, but small businesses are tackling the issue by increasing wages, adding benefits and offering signing bonuses to attract employees. Improving workplace satisfaction by offering job flexibility and rethinking job requirements to widen qualified candidate pools has been effective for many small businesses across the country.
Help Our Town America Applaud Small Businesses
Small businesses are the heartbeat of the American economy. There are more than 30 million small businesses in the United States employing 60.6 million people, according to the U.S. Small Business Association. Our Town America is once again searching for local businesses who are beating the odds; those who are successfully conquering the challenges of 2021 to provide a valuable service to their local communities.
Last year, we rolled out our Small Business Resilience Award to honor local businesses who triumphed during 2020, and we are continuing the tradition in 2021 by searching for local businesses who found a way to conquer the labor and supply cost hurdles of 2021.
We need your help. There can only be one winner in each listed community. Simply being nominated is an accomplishment to be proud of and is a symbol of hard work during this difficult season. If you are wondering which small business in your community to nominate, Our Town America has some suggestions to get you started.
- Nominate a dry cleaner that still makes on-time deliveries despite driver shortages.
- Nominate a restaurant that has servers working double-time to deliver meals during the lunch rush.
- Nominate a local business that keeps prices down for customers even though supply costs are rising.
Nominate a Small Business
Shop Local, Shop Small, and Support a Business in your community by nominating your favorite establishment for Our Town America’s 2nd Annual Small Business Resilience Award at the button below. Voting ends November 19th, just before Small Business Saturday.
Brittany is the head of Our Town America’s corporate marketing department. She specializes in digital and print media, social media, and public relations.