BILLINGS — While Black Friday may be one of the busiest shopping days of the year, many small businesses look forward to the one that follows, Small Business Saturday. This annual event encourages shoppers to support local businesses and gives smaller shops a chance to shine, which is what Frae Everyday Goods did with their downtown pop-up.
Located on 15 Shiloh Road, Frae Goods is a store dedicated to selling sustainable products. They recently won the Battle of the Plans competition and will be opening a second location in downtown Billings. As a way to test the area, Owner Tiffany Miller hosted a downtown pop-up event at 116 N. 29th Street to help customers find unique, personalized Christmas gifts while supporting local entrepreneurs.
“Events like this definitely are encouraging that people continue to show up and support your business through different times of economic turmoil," said Miller.
As a business that prides itself on eco-friendly packaging and ethical sourcing, Miller’s store has long supported local artisans and small businesses. This event allowed her to share that mission with the broader community.
“It just made sense for us to kind of collaborate with some of our vendors to really celebrate Small Business Saturday, and hopefully everyone can kind of capitalize on the energy with that," said Miller.
Twelve other small businesses sold their products at the event. Macee Lawson was one of them with her new business selling jewelry, called Charmed, and saw the pop-up as an invaluable opportunity to connect with new customers and grow her business.
"If you go to more events, people will know who you are, they'll know you and talk about you, so word of mouth is everything, and just getting your name out there to boost your business and people talk about you, like someone's going to buy from you,” said Lawson.
Lawson views every sale as a victory. Her business has quickly gained attention for its fun designs, and Lawson has been thrilled to see positive feedback from customers.
“Honestly, every time I get an order on my website, I get so excited, I really do. I'm like, 'Yes, I got an order,'” said Lawson. “It's been cool to see the support from the community and everyone telling me that it's such a fun, cool idea."
For shoppers like Janice Armstrong, Small Business Saturday is a chance to not only find unique gifts but to support the local economy.
“This particular event has exposed me to local vendors, local artisans, which I prefer to buy from them for Christmas gifts," said Armstrong. “This helps me to know that I'm giving back. The money stays here in the community, which I believe is very important. You may pay a little bit more. I don't think it's that much more than shopping online.”
For vendors, these events offer exposure to potential customers, many of whom may be seeking something different than what big-box stores offer.
“Exposure is everything for small business, right? You're kind of dead in the water if people don't know about you," said Miller. "We've been around two and a half years and people still come into the shop that have never heard of us, or we come into this space and people are just finding out about us.”
Paul and Jill Scarpari, owners of Scarpari Baskets, make and sell their own baskets, and see each small business event they participate in as an opportunity to keep putting their name out there.
“Well, we get exposure to people that come in and see us. They take our cards and stuff. So it's important to do this. Usually around the Christmas season is the best time of year for us," said Scarpari.
While vendors like Scarpari hope for strong sales, they know that every connection is valuable.
“It's like panning for gold, right? You never know when you're going to hit the mother lode," said Scarpari.
For shoppers and vendors alike, Small Business Saturday is about more than just sales, but about celebrating local entrepreneurs and the unique contributions they make to the community.
"So much more personable to be visiting with these vendors to get their stories. You're drawn into their story, which makes you want to buy from them,” said Armstrong. “Do I really need to buy that? Well, it's beautiful, it's unique. Why not? Supporting somebody local? Yes."
