Sure, it’s a bit gimmicky, but apparently Small Business Saturday made a not-so-small impact at the cash registers of small businesses in 2010 and is geared up to do the same this year.  As a salon owner, we encourage you to get on board.

The 2nd annual Small Business Saturday is a day dedicated to supporting small businesses on one of the busiest shopping weekends of the year. On November 26, the movement is asking millions of people to shop small at their favorite local stores and help fuel the economy. “Last year, we saw a 28% rise in sales volumes for our small business merchants versus the same day in 2009,” said Mary Ann Fitzmaurice Reilly, senior vice president, American Express OPEN (American Express is the movement’s founder, but you don’t have to accept Amex at your salon to participate).

Go to http://www.facebook.com/shopsmall to get your free business owner toolkit. Most of the toolkit offerings were created to be relevant to business owners even beyond Small Business Saturday.

The toolkit includes: Google tools to create professional-quality videos; Twitter follow button, YourBuzz to help drive social media engagement, Go Social to promote coupon-less offers, downloadable point-of-purchase displays to let customers know you’re involved in the initiative, and more.

--Sree