Shop local, dine local supports our small business heroes

Every year after Thanksgiving, Americans kick off the holiday shopping season with big stores advertising deal after deal. Not long ago, Americans during the holiday season typically would visit locally-owned small retailers in a downtown area to purchase all of their gifts. Business owners would decorate their shops with lights and ornaments or create elaborate window displays to grab the imagination of passersby and encourage them inside. It was a magical time of year, and many of us still hold on to those memories today.

With the dramatic changes in retail over the last 20 years, those holiday scenes have been in danger of passing into the realm of nostalgic folklore. Recent surveys show that 79 percent of Americans make regular online purchases throughout the year. Brick and mortar businesses are looking for new ways to compete and provide a more personalized customer service focus, as well as benefits to the local community by creating jobs and boosting the local economy.

Their efforts are working, and small businesses remain the top producers both in North Dakota and nationally. Here at home, North Dakota's 72,000 small businesses continue to generate two of every three net new jobs and deliver essential goods and services to the state's population. As the voice of our nation's entrepreneurs, the U.S. Small Business Administration celebrates the United States' 30 million small businesses that still ignite our local economies and enrich our communities throughout the year.

In 2017, Small Business Saturday provided a huge boost to the overall U.S. economy when 108 million consumers shopped or dined small and generated nearly $12 billion in reported spending. With the increased consumer confidence in the economy, combined with the benefit of the president's tax cuts, this year's Small Business Saturday, on Nov. 24, looks to be even brighter. In addition to the tax cuts themselves, which have benefited virtually everyone, more than 6 million American workers have received a bonus, a pay raise or improved job benefits as a result of these cuts. This translates into great news for small retailers and restaurants across the country, because consumer spending during the holidays is expected to increase by 5 percent as a result of our growing economy. By cutting taxes and regulations, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act has helped small businesses, the backbone of North Dakota's economy, to thrive and grow.

Their accelerating prosperity is good news not only for America's small businesses themselves but for society as a whole. In so many ways, small businesses act as the glue that holds our communities together. They fund the local tax base, finance local nonprofits and charitable organizations, and create good jobs that boost the overall economy.

On Nov. 24, Small Business Saturday, join me in making at least one purchase from a locally-owned small business in your city or town. These business owners are true heroes of our community. Let's all join the more than 100 million Americans in shopping and dining local as we begin this holiday season.

Dan Nordberg serves as the SBA's Region VIII Administrator and is based in Denver. He oversees the agency's programs and services in Colorado, Montana, Utah, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming.