We can probably all agree that 2020 wasn’t the best year on record and as for 2021? Well, we might be used to snap lockdowns, working from home and wearing a mask when we venture out for a takeaway coffee but that hasn’t made it any easier.

For the first time in possibly ever, we have found ourselves with endless time to sit and think, and while it can start to feel helpless watching the world struggle through this pandemic and not being able to comfort our loved ones in another state or even another LGA, there are positives to come out of this time.

A few years ago most of us probably didn’t put too much thought into where we spent our money. Our decisions were based on cost and convenience but now have watched our favourite cafes close, our favourite boutique store shut down, our long-term hairdresser close up shop and some of us have lost working hours or our jobs entirely.

It’s because of this reason we are now starting to pay more attention to where our dollars go.

Purchasing from a small business means you are investing in somebody’s passion. 

A person who through a world-wide pandemic has kept their dream alive and still wants to share what they love with you.

Every purchase is noticed, and every purchase means another Aussie is making it happen.

So besides feeling slightly smug and treating yourself, what’s in buying from a small business for you, the customer?.

Customer Service

When handing your cash over (or paypal details online) to a small business, you are most likely in direct contact with the founder of that business. A passionate determined person who has invested endless time, money and sleepless nights into their products.

The smile is genuine because they believe in what they are doing and to keep going, they have to love it and believe in what they are selling.

Quality

When your order from that department store or high street brand arrives, there is nothing worse than finding a fault. 

The long drawn-out process of returning the item is usually tricky and uneventful as a cashier simply plonks that faulty item under the counter and offers you store credit, with the possibility it will happen again, and again with no real resolution in sight.

When you have an issue with an item purchased from a small business you can bet the owner wants to know every detail and fix it for you so you can return with a smile. 

Small business owners want to get to the bottom of the problem and discover if it’s a one off or if changes need to be made to how they operate, so firsthand feedback from customers is like gold.

Unique Products

Small businesses are run by big dreamers and creative thinkers.

When shopping for a unique gift or to solve a problem that nobody else has managed to, small business can usually be the answer.

Clarissa from J&M 1956 saw a gap in the market to fix a problem everyone with eyelash extensions has experienced and knew she could solve it.

Many tests and trial products came and went until the perfect product was created – The Eyelash Extension Sleeping Mask.

It’s a product you won’t find anywhere else and most importantly, it works.

Protecting your expensive eyelash extensions is now simple and comfortable thanks to a one woman with a big dream, who turned it into a small business.