Running a small business isn’t for the faint of heart, especially in the wake of staffing and economic challenges post-pandemic. Despite the hurdles, entrepreneurship is on the rise: The U.S. is averaging 430,000 new business applications per month in 2024 — 50% more than in 2019.
The busy holiday shopping season, wherein November and December purchases average 19% of total retail sales for the year, is underway, and a particularly important event for small business owners will take place on November 30: American Express’s 15th annual Small Business Saturday.
“American Express founded Small Business Saturday in 2010, coming out of the U.S. financial crisis, to help drive consumer spending at small businesses when they needed it most,” Elizabeth Rutledge, chief marketing officer at American Express, says. “Since then, the day has sparked a movement and truly made an impact, with consumers reporting spending over $200 billion at small businesses.”
Related: 21 Simple Ideas for a Successful Small Business Saturday
The commitment to supporting small businesses coincides with an increasing desire to shop small: 85% of consumers, including 88% of millennials and Gen Z, say they are likely to shop small this holiday season, according to the 2024 American Express Shop Small® Impact Study. Additionally, among those millennials and Gen Z consumers who plan to shop on Small Business Saturday, 52% say they plan to spend more this year than last year.
This year, American Express will celebrate Small Business Saturday with a special performance by multi-platinum singer-songwriter Noah Kahan and a holiday pop-up market in Charleston, South Carolina, which boasts a vibrant small business community.
American Express will also donate $1 to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation every time an Amex card user shops small on November 30 to aid in the recovery of small businesses impacted by Hurricanes Helene and Milton.
What’s more, every time an Amex® Card Member shops with their eligible Card at a U.S. small business on the Shop Small® Map on November 30, American Express will donate $1 to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation to aid in the recovery of small businesses impacted by Hurricanes Helene and Milton.
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Entrepreneur sat down with Daneen and Pascal Lewis, the married co-founders of Harlem Wine Gallery in New York City, to learn about their business — and how Small Business Saturday helps it grow.
Image Credit: Courtesy of Harlem Wine Gallery
The Lewises were inspired to start their own business because they frequently had to travel downtown to purchase the wine they liked to drink: organic, natural wines from small producers. The couple opened Harlem Wine Gallery in December 2016. Neither co-founder had entrepreneurial training, but their fashion backgrounds (Pascal’s as a makeup artist and Daneen’s as a fashion stylist) had prepared them to adapt to new environments and work with many different types of people.
“We believe in the type of wine that we want to sell.”
Harlem Wine Gallery’s commitment to carrying wines from small producers served as the foundation for the entire shop, but remaining true to that vision also presented one of the business’s biggest challenges, Daneen says.
“Five times a day, [people might] ask for a particular brand that we don’t carry,” she explains, “and then if that day, your numbers aren’t so good, you say to yourself, Oh, am I doing the right thing? Should I be carrying this brand? But we don’t believe in that. We believe in supporting the small producers. We believe in wines that don’t have flavor additives. We believe in the type of wine that we want to sell.”
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Today, Harlem Wine Gallery carries the largest selection of wines made by Black winemakers and Black-owned wine companies in the New York City metropolitan area, in addition to a large selection of local wines from New York State and natural wines, per the shop’s website.
Harlem Wine Gallery has continued to grow as it honors its original intention. “Every year, our revenue goes up,” Daneen says, “by anything from 17% to 21%.” Pascal built a tasting room in the back where the business hosts visiting winemakers and private events, and the shop also holds free tastings on Friday in the front of the store.
“We all have a social media campaign going on.”
The co-founders are also gearing up for their third year participating in Small Business Saturday. Seven other businesses in the area will join Harlem Wine Gallery in offering 15% discounts to mark Small Business Saturday’s 15-year milestone. For example, consumers can expect 15% off a case of wine from the Lewises’ store or 15% off at Sottocasa — then be entered into a raffle to win an item from the business, like a bottle of wine or fresh pasta.
“We’re super excited about that because in years past, maybe just two of us have partnered, but now it’s seven or eight businesses,” Daneen says. “We’re all going to have uniform posters in the windows, and we all have a social media campaign going on.”
Image Credit: Courtesy of Harlem Wine Gallery
“[We want] to continually be this entity that is dynamic and very much considered trustworthy and knowledgeable.”
As the Lewises look to Harlem Wine Gallery’s future, they’re excited to see the business continue to build on its initial vision — and attract new customers along the way.
“[We want] to continually be this entity that is dynamic and very much considered trustworthy and knowledgeable, and all of the things that give people that assurance when they step in the door that, They respect me, and I’m going to get something maybe that I don’t know about, but they are genuine folk, and I would support that business and their recommendations,'” Pascal says.
Harlem Wine Gallery launched its wine club a couple of months ago, which offers subscriptions in three-month intervals and has already seen most customers renew their memberships.
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The Lewises also attribute much of their business’s success to a hands-on approach that’s never wavered since the shop’s early days.
“We are successful because Pascal and I are present,” Daneen says. “We are here. We are running the day-to-day. We’re sweeping the sidewalk outside, selling the wine inside, dealing with customers. We are talking to customers about anything, not just about wine. It’s a community hub, and being present in your business is super important for a small business, [and for] any type of business.”
