When business owner Jason Wood finished transactions with customers during the Small Business Saturday Shop RI event over the past two years, he told each person, “Thank you and enjoy.”
That’s standard interaction for most small-business proprietors, but for Wood, it was a step outside his comfort level.
Wood, 31, has fragile X syndrome, a condition that puts him on the autism spectrum and limits his verbal and cognitive abilities.
The small-business event requires sales abilities, though, and Wood, who owns We Be Jammin’, a specialty jam, sauce and condiments company, rose to the challenge.
“You meet new people, you gain new customers, you have the opportunity to make new business connections,” said Debbie Wood, Wood’s mother and business coordinator. “It offers his small business a platform like no other, to be able to showcase his products and use and develop the skills that he has to be a successful businessperson.”
Heading into its third year, Small Business Saturday Shop RI has proven successful on multiple fronts. Created by the Rhode Island Developmental Disabilities Council in partnership with the Center for Women & Enterprise, Veterans Business Outreach Center and the state’s Small Business Administration, the event is a chance for businesses owned by people with developmental disabilities, women and other minorities to gain exposure.
“We wanted to put together an integrated event to show that people with disabilities are part of the business community just like other people. We didn’t want to have a separate event,” said Susan Babin, co-chair of the event and special projects coordinator for the Rhode Island Developmental Disabilities Council. “You can walk through there and you don’t see people with disabilities, you see businesses. You’re seeing what the marketplace has to offer you as a shopper.”
‘I’ve had some of the vendors tell me it’s their best business day of the year.’
SUSAN BABIN, Small Business Saturday Shop RI co-chair
Held at the Crowne Plaza Providence-Warwick on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, the event has become a popular pop-up that has attracted thousands of shoppers since its creation.
Although the marketplace is part of the Small Business Saturday initiative launched by American Express about a decade ago, Warwick’s event is one of the only ones to cluster businesses together for the day.
“We thought, what if we identified one central location and had people come. … What a cool idea to get people to be a little more knowledgeable about [local businesses],” Babin said.
The event has grown from 94 businesses in 2017 to a sellout crowd of roughly 130 this year. Of that number, 21 business owners are people with disabilities. Eight are veterans, and many more are women, Babin said.
For some small businesses, especially ones in rural areas, just getting a spot in the market, which drew 2,000 shoppers last year, is a boost.
“To be able to have the exposure is huge,” said Jody Esposito, owner of Chepachet Farms in Glocester. “It’s harder for a small business to get out there in such a large venue with such a large crowd.”
Esposito has sold maple syrup and other maple products at the pop-up since its inception.
“My vehicle is chock full when I go and I pretty much have empty boxes when I go home,” she said.
Bringing small businesses together during the holiday shopping season also benefits business owners by introducing new customers at a time when sales are high.
Keith and Jennifer Wahl of Made From Rhode Island, an online store based in South Kingstown, do between 75% and 88% of their sales around Christmastime, Keith Wahl said.
The store sells a variety of gifts and other products made by Rhode Island artisans and manufacturers. Its participation in the market for the past two years has netted a number of regular customers. Without a brick-and-mortar site, Made From Rhode Island didn’t have a large presence in the local market until the Wahls set up shop at the pop-up.
“We have customers who wait for us to go there and they do all of their Christmas shopping in one shot,” Keith Wahl said. “This gives us a local exposure point. For us, it also gives us a means of exposing our vendors. Most of our vendors are so busy creating their own thing, they don’t necessarily have marketing opportunities.”
Participation in the market comes with educational opportunities for small-business owners, particularly those with developmental disabilities.
Entrepreneurs have access to a series of classes in preparation for the Small Business Saturday event, in which they focus on pinpointing a target market, refining products and services, and creating marketing materials.
Those who complete the courses are eligible for more education through the Small Business Administration and other agencies.
The market’s juried approach – products are varied, and of good quality – ensures that businesses are polished and ready for a big break, Babin said.
“It gives the owner the opportunity to sell their products to a wide range of people that they probably wouldn’t have come into contact with,” she said. “I’ve had some of the vendors tell me it’s their best business day of the year.”
Elizabeth Graham is a PBN staff writer. Contact her at Graham@PBN.com.
