Small Business Saturday to go monthly in Delaware

If one Small Business Saturday is good for the nation, 12 events promoting small companies in Delaware would be even better.

That's the thinking behind a new campaign that will extend the nationwide promotional event each November into a year-round push for consumers to shop at small businesses in the First State.

Delmarva Broadcasting Company (DBC) on Thursday announced it will be launching a $100,000 ad campaign to make the first Saturday of each month a Small Business Saturday in Delaware, starting April 4.

"Small Business Saturday is a great concept, but why is it just that one Saturday after Black Friday," said Mike Reath, the vice president and general manager of DBC, which owns seven radio stations, including WDEL and WSTW. "We wanted to know what it would look like if we encouraged people to shop locally each month."

Launched in partnership with the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce's Small Business Alliance, the campaign will include radio ads, as well as an effort to encourage Delaware retailers to offer special deals during each of the monthly events.

"All small businesses, but especially retailers, have been hit hard by the economy over the last couple of years," said state chamber president Rich Heffron. "These are vital businesses in our state and anything we can do to help promote and honor them is a great idea."

The U.S. Small Business Administration's latest profile of Delaware indicates the state has about 74,000 businesses each with fewer than 100 employees. Those firms accounted for nearly half of the state's private workforce in 2012.

"Honoring small businesses ain't going to cut it," said Alan Levin, director of Delaware's economic development office. "We need to support them, because they're the ones creating opportunities and jobs. They're the ones making things happen."

First created by American Express in 2010, the national Small Business Saturday resulted 88 million consumers collectively spending $14.3 billion at independent retailers and restaurants, according to a report from the credit card company and the National Federation of Independent Business.

John Passero, the owner of John's Home Appliance Center in Claymont, said he hasn't felt the annual day's economic impact because his shop is usually closed on Saturdays.

"But because of this program, I will start opening on Saturdays," said Passero, whose business is among the first to be featured in DBC's ad campaign. "People are going to be shopping for deals and just the fact they're paying attention to small businesses is great."