Supporting Small Businesses During Economic Crises
The COVID-19 pandemic is affecting businesses, both small and large, in a variety of ways.
In Illinois and some other states, non-essential businesses have been forced to close their doors or re-invent how they do business altogether. Others have had to change their hours or operations in costly ways to protect patrons as well as their employees.
During this ever-changing environment, it’s important to know that there are still things we can do as consumers to help support our local economies. If you're able, here are a few ways you can show your support while still practicing social distancing guidelines:
1) Order Takeout
Ordering takeout is a great way to support your local restaurants while still practicing social distancing. Some businesses are even offering curbside pickup or contactless delivery. If you don’t want to leave your house and your restaurant of choice isn't offering delivery, many third party delivery services are still running during this time to accommodate as well!
2) Buy Gift Cards
Even though you may not be able to visit your favorite local stores and resturants, you can still support small businesses! Buying a gift card allows you to still support the business and lets you take advantage of their services in the future!
3) Social Media
Social media is a great platform to still support local businesses! Sharing their posts is not only a free way to support local business, but it also helps increase their exposure to new audiences.
4) Reschedule Your Appointments
Try reschdeudling your appointment instead of canceling them. We may not know what lies ahead in the next couple of weeks, but postponing the appoingments reminds the small businesses you are still supporting them, and once the situation allows, you will resume your regular appointments!
Resources for Small Businesses
There are several ways that small businesses & entrepreneurs can find support during this unprecedented time that we'd like to point out:
Prioritize Your Needs First
When making choices about how to support businesses you care about, it's important to take care of your needs first.
Given that unemployment rates have spiked in the past few weeks and many people were already struggling with food & housing insecurity prior to the pandemic, we want to highlight some resources for those experiencing financial crisis a little more personally:
Overall, if you are able to support small businesses the ideas above are a few ways to do so. However, it is a challenging financial time, so remember to always take care of your needs first.
