WBTV Charlotte (November 2017) – The long hours. The hard work. The aching back and feet! These are the hardships of Charlotte’s small business owners, the backbone of our local economy.

So, for Small Business Saturday (Nov. 25), Charlotte’s “Small Biz Support Squad” is celebrating some of their partnered local businesses. In the past, they have traveled through town to surprise local owners with balloons, gifts and stress relieving massages to thank small businesses for everything they do for our community – create jobs, provide goods and services and keep our local economy chugging through good times and bad.

American Express started Small Business Saturday in 2010 to honor small business owners in thousands of communities across the country.   In just seven years, the annual event has blossomed into a hyperlocal phenomenon as more than 112 million American shoppers helped local businesses generate more than $15.4 billion on Small Business Saturday in 2016.

Charlotte is a perfect place to celebrate Small Business Saturday as brave entrepreneurs who work tirelessly to build reliable businesses in their community.

Forbes has recently ranked Charlotte as a top 10 place for businesses and careers and U.S. News & World Report ranked Charlotte as #14 in its “Best Places to live in the USA” list, and according to WalletHub’s May 2016 research on 150 large cities, Charlotte ranked #2 in average growth of number of small businesses and the #3 best place to start a business.

Also, recent Charlotte Chamber of Commerce research shows Charlotte’s population is ranked #16 in total population among US Cities and has grown almost 40% in the last 10 years as a young and diverse population has flocked to the area for jobs, opportunity and quality of life.

Watch WBTV Charlotte clip below for full story.