Small Business Saturday is back for another year.

The marketing initiative pushed by American Express to direct their customers toward small businesses has become a rallying cry for locally rooted stores to drive their own sales spikes the day after the infamous Black Friday sales at major retailers.

With the Nov. 25 event fast on its way, the Chronicle caught up with a few local businesses to ask about how they hope to leverage the visibility and excitement created by Small Businesses Saturday.

Started by Callie Goodwin, Sparks of Joy Co. specializes in creating cute cards for every occasion. The business opened up in the summer of 2020 and has since added custom engraved recipe cards and cutting boards, Stanley Cup topper tags, postcards, glass cups, stickers and more.

While this small business is based out of Irmo, it is pretty much a solely online business, utilizing social media to reach customers.

“It's been a simple experience to share the small business world with the world and also just to spread some joy to the world through handwritten cards,” Goodwin said.

When it comes to Small Business Saturday, Goodwin told the Chronicle that it is fun to “run with the big dogs” in the midst of Black Friday and Cyber Monday. She said for her business, people often use their sales to stock up on holiday cards along with preparing for Christmas with the personalized items the business offers.

“I'm just very grateful that people believe in not only the idea of still sending cards in a very digital world, but also supporting local businesses,” she said.

People aren’t the only ones that can be shown a little extra love during Small Business Saturday. Your pets can, too. 

Savannah Lipscomb's house-call dog grooming business covers a majority of the county, serving Chapin, Red Bank, Lexington, Irmo, Gilbert and Batesburg-Leesville.

While this will be her first time experiencing Small Business Saturday as a full-time business, Lipsocmb said the day will help her be able to reach new people and expand her clientele.

Chapin’s Modern Companion is also tailored toward animals. The store, located at 508-B Lexington Ave., provides pet owners with trendsetting products, community and events, according to owner Maddie Shutts.

She said she works with other small businesses and designers to make their prints that they hand sew themselves, with other items in the store also coming from other small businesses.

“We’re really grateful to have a community that’s passionate about supporting small businesses year-round,” Shutts said. “For us, Small Business Saturday in particular is an opportunity to work with the brands we carry to be able to offer deals we can’t typically offer at no cost to us as well as showcase our own products.”

According to Shutts, the store will be offering a variety of deals both online and in store, including mystery bags, which she said are a great opportunity to try new things within the store.

Wake and Break Bread Co., owned and operated by Alex Wells, had a sadder beginning than some businesses with Wells telling the Chronicle that she was trying to find joy again after a miscarriage during the summer.

She shared that following her tragedy she still had to manage four other children, stating that her days consisted of “cleaning my house, taking my kids to school, making lunch, making snacks, just doing all of the very mundane things.”

Wells told the Chronicle that she was no longer thriving and was just barely making it through the day before she stumbled across women making sourdough bread on TikTok and Instagram.

“I was just so inspired by these homemakers just learning this art of sourdough.,” She said.

With this being her first Small Business Saturday, Wells hopes to get her name out there and give customers a good discount on a product they’ll love.

“They're gonna come back for more because anyone who's tasted my bread comes back for more,” she said.