September 14, 2023 – Small business owners recognize what our community needs, and they take action to fulfill those needs.
Just one recent example of this would be Clovis’ own Prolific Cuts offering free haircuts to kids before the new school year started.
There are a few things that differentiate small businesses from big businesses. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the majority of U.S. businesses have fewer than five employees.
“Small businesses tend to have fewer human resources and less up-front capital to dedicate to quality initiatives. Upper management commitment and accessibility, however, can be stronger in a smaller business, and internal communications can be more straightforward.
The values perceived by small business personnel tend to become common factors in the personnel’s behavior and can become important factors that generate good long-term performance,” states the American Society for Quality.
“Upper management can contribute significantly to small business culture development if they can express values and ideas to help guide the efforts of personnel.
Ideas that describe part of the culture are typically known as organizational values and are expressed by concepts such as values, mission, vision, policies, and objectives.
Typically, these concepts are established by the leadership and adopted by the personnel.”
Clovis has a vast array of small businesses: restaurants, photographers, electricians, hair stylists, accountants, day cares, carpenters, nail technicians, IT services, developers, coffee shops, screenprinting, bakeries, caterers, landscapers, mechanics, clothing boutiques, auto detailers, nonprofits, and much more.
“Small business is the foundation of any community, be it a big community [or] small community. And the importance to our community is the job creation,” said Chamber of Commerce President, Greg Newman.
“For our youth coming up, maybe that’s their first opportunity to work somewhere. When we develop those jobs, and have those jobs in our community—that money stays here longer. It circulates.”
There is something to be said about walking into a small business and being greeted by a familiar face. So much of our lives are composed of transactions, and there isn’t much we can do about that. What we can do is decide where and with whom we will make these transactions.
Cora Shipley is a long time business leader in Old Town Clovis, having owned multiple businesses throughout the years and President of the Business Organization of Old Town. She had this to say about the importance of small business in Clovis:
“Clovis is all about small business. The small business owners are a huge part of the Clovis Way of Life. We offer our customers experiences that cannot be duplicated at major department stores; personal service and attention. We welcome them when they come through the door—often by their name—and thank them when they leave,”
“We are very lucky to have city officials that recognize the importance of small business to our great community and help whenever they can to keep our business surviving in difficult times.”
If you can, please utilize our small businesses instead of going to a big business. In doing so, you’ll support our community—our people.
There is a level of quality and meaning behind small businesses, a level that big businesses can only attempt to imitate.
For patrons and customers, using a small business is just a tiny part of our life.
For a small business owner, their business is often everything to them and their livelihood.
For both small business and customer, commerce is mutually beneficial and indispensable to our community.
For more information on small businesses, especially for current and prospective business owners, the U.S. Small Business Administration (sba.org) is a great resource.