Above / As Naperville’s independent business community prepares to launch its 2017 Grinch Promotion to “grow your heart three sizes” on Dec. 1, the City of Naperville will celebrate local small businesses and the contributions they make to the local economy and community during the Nov. 21, 2017, City Council meeting.
UPDATE, Nov. 22, 2017 / The following information appeared on the Naperville Mayoral Proclamation, recognizing Small Business Saturday on Nov. 25, 2017:
OFFICE OF THE MAYOR CITY OF NAPERVILLE, ILLINOIS PROCLAMATION
SMALL BUSINESS SATURDAY
NOVEMBER 25, 2017
WHEREAS, the City of Naperville celebrates our local small businesses and the contributions they make to our local economy and community; and according to the United States Small Business Administration, there are currently 28.8 million small businesses in the United States, representing 99.7 percent of all businesses with employees in the United States, and are responsible for 63 percent of net new jobs created over the past 20 years; and
WHEREAS, small businesses employ 48 percent of the employees in the private sector in the United States, and on average, 33 percent of consumers’ holiday shopping will be done at small, independently-owned retailers and restaurants; and
WHEREAS, 91 percent of all consumers believe that supporting small, independently-owned restaurants and bars is important and 76 percent of all consumers plan to go to one or more small businesses as part of their holiday shopping; and
WHEREAS, the City of Naperville supports our local businesses that create jobs, boost our local economy and preserve our neighborhoods; and
WHEREAS, advocacy groups as well as public and private organizations across the country have endorsed the Saturday after Thanksgiving as Small Business Saturday.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, Steve Chirico, Mayor of the City of Naperville, do hereby proclaim November 25, 2017, as
SMALL BUSINESS SATURDAY in the City of Naperville, and urge all residents to shop our locally owned small businesses and support the IndieBound Naperville movement by looking for those businesses that display a bright red IndieBound Naperville sign in their windows, which is a symbol of the local independent business movement and its commitment to keeping our City and local culture thriving by joining together to celebrate and uplift small and independent businesses.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the seal of the City of Naperville this twenty first day of November, 2017.
When the idea for a locally-produced independent newspaper, Positively Naperville, began to germinate in the late 1990s to welcome in the new millennium, the generous spirit of the city’s small business community was the focus.
Combined with a quest to spotlight the ever-growing number of special events, fundraising campaigns and arts organizations, way before SECA entered the scene in 2005, PN found support for its cause, one small business at a time.
Longtime readers likely know the story of our visit in late 1999 to our favorite Naperville printer, Ray Kinney, at Minuteman Press. We had great expectations of giving him the business to produce a monthly community newspaper. For many years, Kinney had been our go-to printer for 1,000 copies here and there. Bubbling with enthusiasm, I explained our plan would be at least 25,000 copies every month for a publication that I imagined would grow at least four pages at a time.
When presented with the possibility, Kinney instantly burst our bubble.
“I can’t print it,” he said. “We aren’t a web press.”
Kinney went on to explain that his presses are sheet fed. “You’ll need a web press to print a newspaper.”
Kinney then put us in touch with the owner of a web press, saying he wanted to support the new publication.
(By the way, a “web” press has nothing to do with the internet, except now electronic files can be delivered to the printer via the internet. The main difference between web presses and sheet-fed presses is that web presses feed off of very large rolls of paper.)
Long story short, the inaugural 8-page issue featuring a small group of independently-owned advertising sponsors, including North Central College, was launched during the Jaycees Last Fling on Sept. 1, 2001.
And wouldn’t you know? Some youngsters in the neighborhood distributed the paper along the parade route. When we arrived at the parade, we didn’t have our camera. Yet, forever emblazoned in my mind is the sight of spectators all along Mill Street reading that first edition. And the idea to “Catch someone reading PN” became a regular feature.
Eleven days after our first edition hit the streets, the stunning impact and devastation of the World Trade Center found us digging our heels into the ground, determined against the attacks on financial markets to showcase the can-do community spirit that has kept this community’s economy adapting and thriving since 1831.
Fast forward to October 2008
Inspired by Independent booksellers across the country who came together to unite like-minded businesses and independent thinkers, IndieBound-Naperville is a grassroots movement that’s grown since October 2008 when Becky Anderson hosted the first meeting one Sunday evening after business hours at Anderson’s Bookshop.
Today the group touts more than 150 members.
Members have the opportunity to meet monthly, though it’s not mandatory, in a relaxed setting at Kreger’s Brat and Sausage Haus, where meetings typically are run by Greg Gordon of Dog Patch Pet & Feed.
Members also exhibit bright red IndieBound Naperville signs that proclaim “Support local independent businesses.”
Their aim is to boost recognition of independent businesses and to educate residents about the value of spending dollars locally; thereby, helping to keep the city’s economy and local culture thriving. Small businesses have a long history as the driving force to create jobs in the American economy.
It’s just common sense that turning dollars around locally through re-circulation will help limit the amount of dollars flowing out of the region. Residents also will find a growing number of “bricks and clicks,” local businesses featuring bricks and mortar locations (offline) with online sales.
Shopping locally is a stabilizing influence that brings revenues for city services, police and fire protection, schools and parks, noted Mayor Steve Chirico when he presented to IndieBound Naperville members last year.
City Council proclamation will recognize Naperville’s small businesses Nov. 21
Visit the IndieBound Naperville website to find more than 150 kindred spirits co-existing right here in Naperville, connected by their love of independence and independents.
This week Naperville’s small businesses aim to make news —north, east, west and south—as they’re all preparing for a big day on Small Business Saturday, a special day set aside throughout the nation the Saturday after America’s holiday, Thanksgiving, to showcase independents during one of the busiest shopping periods of the year.
On Tues., Nov. 21, during the Naperville City Council that begins at 7PM, a mayoral proclamation will recognize all members of Naperville’s small business community as this nation looks forward to 2017 Small Business Saturday on Nov. 25.
Then throughout December participating members will host the annual Grow Your Heart Three Times campaign featuring opportunities to find the Grinch eight times for a chance to win prizes at the end of the month.
And as Dan Casey, owner of Casey’s Foods, has been known to say just about any day, “Support your local businesses and you’ll always live in a nice community.”
—Stephanie Penick, PN Publisher
