5 Easy Ways to Support Small Biz Over the Holidays (During a Pandemic)

This is a picture of a person's in bed. You only see a hand peeking out from behind the comforter. The Words o top say "Stay In Bed. It's Saturday. There's a Pandemic." On the bottom, it reads "Shop Online."

As disjointed as you may feel while working from home, ordering groceries delivery , and being siloed indoors with the onset of winter, THIS is how we as a community can step up and truly save one another during the Coronavirus Pandemic.

In NYS, we watched the first wave of COVID-19 State closures flip the salon and restaurant industries upside down. Individual people lost their jobs, staff shuffled to new employers like it was musical chairs, and in general many small businesses ended up closing their doors for good. Like Parlour, small businesses across the map will be greatly affected as various Zipcodes continue to go into a state of “on-again-off-again” government shutdowns.

So, I compiled a short list to help you 🙂

Here are 5 SIMPLE WAYS to save your favorite local shops this holiday season:

1. Treat yourself or a loved one to a Gift Card .

A purchase today is a promise for tomorrow.

2. Donate a gift to your stylist directly. (Or any other commission/tip based worker.)

Income & tips will be nonexistent if the doors remain closed for service industry workers. To deepen the wound, in-person businesses slow considerably during a pandemic. Salon/Spa workers, servers, and sales reps have children to support, home mortgages, and industry rents to pay. Many of these positions are not unionized and often these individuals do not carry the best health insurance (since it is all out of pocket).

(If you would like to contribute to Parlour Stylist’s directly, links are below.)

Andrea

Haley

3. Keep buying your retail products (or takeout) through the business’s online shop .

Many small shops and restaurant have their own online shop listed on their site so that you can support them directly. If you are able to pick up takeout, the restaurants lose less on the transaction. Why? Bc Grub Hub, Instacart, Uber Eats, Doordash and the like, all charge ridiculous fees for shop participation. (read more)

4. Share the love on social media.

Be a person who plants ideas.
When we see things on our feeds, it reminds us which local shops are active and offering goods, even if they are closed for in-person services (like hair styling).
Share this Blog Post! Talk about your experience and encourage others to try these places.
Instagram
Facebook

5. Leave a review.

You may not be able to afford shopping with a business right now, but you can invest through word-of-mouth recommendations.
Tell your community how you have witnessed local shops excelling at business practices during a Pandemic.
Most importantly, tell your neighbors how it felt the last time you in our businesses getting a service. Were you relieved? Joyful? Relaxed?
People need to feel safe before they can even contemplate indulging themselves. Best places to leave reviews:
Google
Yelp
Facebook
Vagaro (Parlour’s booking software. You will use your email address to sign in.)