By RYN HERRMANN
Director
Los Alamos Chamber of Commerce
The holiday shopping season is critical to our local small businesses. This year’s Small Business Saturday is Nov. 27 and there is a lot planned!
More than ever the Chamber, MainStreet and the Creative District will promote small businesses for Small Business Saturday and how shoppers can safely make purchases.
The Chamber, MainStreet and Creative District are trying to spread the shopping period out to capture and incentivize the early shoppers. Businesses can participate in as much, or as little, of Small Business Saturday as they like, but please plan ahead to be included in the marketing effort!
Plan EARLY this Year
Plan a promotion, feature a new product/service or create a Small Business Saturday special for the menu. Is there a unique item for the Chamber, MainStreet and Creative District to put in the Los Alamos Holiday Gift Guide? Let them know what is planned and the Chamber, MainStreet and Creative District will help promote it! But please let them know ASAP!
FREE Advertising in the Los Alamos Daily Post
Thanks to Enterprise Bank & Trust, businesses that participate in the Blue Bucks Raffle will each be promoted through the Los Alamos Daily Post with a special online piece about each business, for FREE! These Small Business Saturday Highlights also will be included in the special Small Business Saturday print edition of the Los Alamos Daily Post that comes out the day before Thanksgiving on Wednesday, Nov. 24. Chamber members may register online see the online version of this article for the link. Non-members may register by emailing Ufemia Bernal Rios ufemia@losalamos.org. All must register by Monday, Nov. 8 to be included for FREE! If a business does not register by this date, it will not be in the print edition.
Blue Bucks Raffle
Enterprise Bank & Trust will again sponsor the award-winning Blue Bucks Raffle, which will run from Saturday, Nov. 20 through Saturday, Dec. 11.
An update to the program this year: each minimum purchase of $10 will receive just one ticket, instead of one ticket for every $25 spent. The hope is this will level the playing field and allow smaller businesses to be competitive for a chance to win the big cash prize. So now when a customer makes a purchase of at least $10 at a business, it will give them one Enterprise Bank & Trust ‘Blue Bucks Raffle’ ticket to fill out with their name, phone number & the businesses’ name, which the business will collect. Businesses can fill out the raffle tickets for online shoppers or to-go diners. As in the past, purchases made in person or online on the actual Small Business Saturday, Nov. 27, will be worth double tickets.
Customers will have a chance to win these great cash and gift card prizes, courtesy of Enterprise Bank & Trust:
(1) $1,000 cash prize;
(1) $500 cash prize;
(2) $250 cash prizes and many gift certificates or merchandise from participating businesses!
And of course, the business that gives out the $1,000 winning ticket will also receive $1,000! A Chamber representative will visit every participating business to purchase a gift card or merchandise to be included as prizes.
So sign up now to be a part of Los Alamos Small Business Saturday. Again, Chamber members may register online see the online version of this article for the link. Non-members may register by emailing Ufemia Bernal Rios ufemia@losalamos.org. All must register by Monday, Nov. 8 to participate. Please email Ufemia Bernal Rios ufemia@losalamos.org with questions or for help signing up to participate.
Holiday Shopping Guide
Los Alamos Creative District, MainStreet and the Chamber will again produce the Los Alamos Holiday Shopping Guide, made possible by Del Norte Credit Union. Businesses should let the Creative District, MainStreet and Chamber know what unique product or service they would like to highlight this year by emailing Jeremy Smith at Jeremy@losalamos.org with a brief description and jpg image of the item. For examples, look at previous guides on the bottom of the MainStreet website, https://www.losalamosmainstreet.com/.
The shopping guide will be digital and also published in the Los Alamos Daily Post special Small Business Saturday section that comes out Wednesday, Nov. 24. Please note that the shopping guide will publish earlier than ever this year to best capture shoppers. Please submit items to be considered by Monday, Nov. 8. Items submitted after this date will not be in the printed Holiday Shopping Guide, the print edition of the Los Alamos Daily Post or the digital online version but will be promoted through social media and featured on the Chamber webpage.
Small Business Saturday Tax Holiday
Don’t forget that Saturday, Nov. 27, 2021 is also once again a New Mexico Gross Receipts Tax Holiday! For this one day, the state suspends collection of gross receipts tax on sales of qualifying items at certain small businesses. Find more information at https://www.tax.newmexico.gov/news-alerts/small-business-saturday-tax-holiday/.
Give to a Charity
A Small Business Saturday tradition in Los Alamos and White Rock is for the participating businesses to donate a portion of their Small Business Saturday proceeds to a nonprofit of their choice. This has always set Los Alamos County apart from all other communities that observe American Express’ Small Business Saturday. The businesses each select what percentage, or flat dollar amount, they want to donate to a local, statewide, national or international charity. Anything goes, including choosing not to participate in the tradition. If a charity is chosen, please let Los Alamos Creative District, MainStreet and the Chamber know so they can promote this in a separate article.
Los Alamos Businesses that sell Gift Cards
Also as part of Small Business Saturday, the Chamber, along with Los Alamos MainStreet and the Creative District, will again produce a list of the businesses in town that sell gift cards. Gift cards make great gifts and are an easy way to show your support for small businesses. Send the list to out of town relatives to make their holiday shopping easy! To be included on the Los Alamos Businesses Gift Card List, please email Ufemia Bernal Rios by Monday, Nov. 8.
Questions?
Email ryn@losalamos.org or ufemia@losalamos.org at the Los Alamos Chamber, or call 505.661.4816. Happy Small Business Saturday! And remember, Shop Small to Win Big!
