There is no question that the holidays are uncertain as COVID numbers continue to rise, which leaves our small business owners wondering how the next few months will play out for them. This is a crucial time, as they rely heavily on holiday shopping and entertaining to continue to remain profitable, and they need our support.
There are a number of different ways that you can help small businesses now, and in the coming months, and many don’t even require you to spend money. And if you ARE spending money, the more of it that you can spend locally, the more you can help our community to not only survive, but thrive. With plenty of free parking and a unique assortment of stores, restaurants, and professional services for you to take advantage of, set a goal to do as much as you can without ever leaving town.
- Plan your holiday meals and have them catered by our local restaurants (or, if you’re doing the cooking, buy as many of the ingredients as you can at our stores like Dash of Thyme, Grassroots, Sergios, Denville Seafood and more)
- Recommend our small businesses on social media when you see people asking for referrals, and include links to their websites or social media channels
- Set aside one day a week for takeout from your favorite restaurant, or to discover a new one
- Take advantage of the personal shopping parties and private after hours appointments that stores are offering (Write On Gifts, Sisters, and Surprises in Store are a few examples)
- Write online reviews for your favorite businesses on Google, Yelp, and Facebook. This helps their social media pages grow, and helps others discover them
- Focusing on health? Sign up for livestream options of your favorite fitness classes, or use this opportunity to try something new (Pure Barre and Prana Yoga are some places to start)
- Follow your favorite small businesses on Facebook and Instagram, and like, comment and share their posts. Follow Downtown Denville on Facebook and Instagram too, and keep up with news, events, promos and more
- If you have a discount card for a local shop, consider keeping it in your wallet and skipping the extra discount for now. Let the store have every penny
- Give the gift of an experience and buy online classes from the businesses that are offering them (Art Classes with Mary Shadbolt, Uptown Art, Gateway to the Arts, Let’s Create, and Sweet Expressions by Geri are a few)
- Take photos of our beautiful downtown and share on your social media (tag us on Facebook and Instagram and #DowntownDenville and we’ll share them as well)
- Buy gift cards for holiday gift giving (but also, if you have old gift cards, hold off on using them now, if you can. The businesses need every extra penny in their till that they can gather)
- Invite your friends to like our Facebook and Instagram pages – the more people we can reach, the more people we can share our downtown businesses with
- See something you need online? Check our downtown businesses and see if they have it before ordering from a big online retailer. Many will do special orders if they don’t have it
- Feeling uncomfortable being out and about? Call in your order to the local store or check their web site for online ordering. Many offer free local delivery and curbside pick up.
