Small Business Saturday | Events

Leading up to Christmas are several days focused on retailers.

One of the marketing efforts is Small Business Saturday which encourages shoppers to patronize their loca, independently-owned businesses (and all year long too, for that matter).

Local retailers may offer special promotions such as free gift wrap, discounts, and other perks to bring in your business this Saturday, Nov. 24.

Here's a link to help customers support their local business community this Saturday.

American Express will credit $25 to the accounts of their cardholders if they spend $25 in a single transaction at a local, participating retailer (offer expires  Saturday. Nov. 24, 2012, 11:59PM MST ).

According to the Small Business Administration, small businesses (defined by the SBA as independdent-owned enterprises with fewer than 500 employees) make up 99.7 percent of U.S. employer firms, 64 percent of new private-sector jobs and just under 50 percent of private-sector employment.

In 2010, there were 27.9 million small businesses in the U.S. economy. That's the same year Small Business Saturday launched.