2020 has been a challenging year, to say the least. COVID-19 has put all businesses in uncharted waters.

As I write this, our state of Pennsylvania is still under many restrictions that make operating a business of any kind, stressful. We are seeing small and local businesses of all kinds close their doors for good, and the ones still open are more surviving than thriving.

As a business that mainly specializes and works in the business-to-business field (B2B), we at J. Smucker Contracting see it every single day. We’ve seen:

• Estimates that were ready to pull the trigger be put on hold indefinitely.
•  The phones go silent for weeks at a time.
•  Businesses switch gears and try to repair things rather than replace them as everyone is tightening their belts in this difficult time.

And while we all need to do what it takes to make it through this, I think we need to have a sense of “we are all in this together” now more than ever.

What does this mean? What does “community now more than ever” mean here at J. Smucker Contracting?

To us, it means supporting our local businesses as much as we can. While the larger chain stores are often more convenient, and sometimes even a little cheaper, supporting your local small business community will go a long way to helping your community make it through this tough time.

Some of the local companies we make it a point to support are Gideon King Hardware, A.B. Martin Roofing Supply, Service Wholesale Inc., A.J. Blosenski, White Horse Machine Shop, and many other locally owned, small businesses.

Take a look at where you and your company buy your supplies or services. Is there any way you can switch to a local small business for those?

Don’t stop there!

In our personal lives, what can we change to support more local, small businesses? Let’s be mindful of where we buy our groceries, where we choose to dine out, where we buy our gas, home and auto insurance, and other goods and services. Keep “buy local” first in mind in your professional and personal lives.

At the end of the day, we may have to go out of our way a little, maybe even pay a couple of bucks more here or there, but we just might be saving the jobs of people who work and live in our communities. Your impact on the local community could be invaluable.

Another way to support our local business community: Referrals! Referring customers is the lifeblood for any business, large or small.

In tough economic times, smaller local companies aren’t going to have very large marketing budgets. So, we should the word about your satisfaction with their services. It costs us nothing but could mean everything to the business we are referring. Offer a positive review online, share a recommendation through social media, and use word-of-mouth to prop up small businesses in your area.

Let’s all do our part. Let’s look for ways to use local businesses as much as we can. Let’s spread the word about local businesses as often as possible and let’s look for ways to build each other and our communities up as much as we can!

• Word of Mouth
• Online Reviews
• Social Media
• Gift Card Purchases
• Seek Out Local
• Seek Out Family-Owned

We ARE in this together. Our community will be a lot stronger if we come through this pandemic together.