Small Business Week 2021
When I sat down to decide on a topic for this week’s articles, the thought of discussing small businesses briefly crossed my mind. Not thinking much about it, I casually Googled, “When is national small business week?”. To my amassment, it’s this week, although by the time you’re reading this, it will have been last week. My apologies in advance.
I’ll forewarn you, the information I’ll be sharing this week comes from a lifetime of involvement with small businesses and, as such, will be incredibly biased. My family purchased Werkheiser’s Pro Hardware in 2003, I worked there nearly all of my teenage years, and I currently use a small office space in the upstairs of the building. Needless to say, small businesses mean a lot to me.
Furthermore, those who have supported our family the most are other small business owners themselves. Some of the best advice I’ve ever received originated from these leaders of our community. To a degree, I find it quite hilarious. Chester has it’s own small, tight-knit community that is truly unique; a combination of Mayberry and Star’s Hollow.
Last year was one of the hardest years we’ve ever had. After nearly doubling the size of our small hardware store, 3 years of growth was practically erased overnight. April of last year we decided to close our doors in order to keep our family safe. Our employees were laid off with little hope of having a job to return to.
Thankfully I can report that Werkheiser’s Pro Hardware made it through. We are here, open for business as usual. The majority of our business came back the moment we turned the lights back on, but some didn’t.
But a lot of good is already coming out of this situation. Small businesses are being supported more now than at any other point in my life. Places like Walmart are no longer an attractive place to shop. Services like “curbside pickup” exemplify this to the greatest degree. People don’t want to go into Walmart. What our business has identified is a growing market of people who just want good service and quality products. No, it isn’t the majority of customers. No, we will never out-sell Walmart. But our customers want something better than Walmart, so that’s what we strive to achieve. Recently I read a quote that explains this perfectly: “It’s ok if you don’t like me. Not everyone has good taste.”
This week I’ll discuss how small businesses impact the economy, how they affect our communities, and how my life has personally been impacted. It is my sole purpose this week to tell the story of the unsung leaders of our communities. And hopefully in the process, you’ll learn a thing or two.