The City of Salem, Virginia, has declared November 25, 2023, as Small Business Saturday in recognition of the valuable contributions that local small businesses make to the local economy and community. Small businesses represent 99.7% of firms with paid employees in the United States and are responsible for creating 62.7% of net new jobs since 1995. Additionally, every dollar spent at small businesses creates an additional 48 cents in local business activity due to employees and local businesses purchasing local goods and services.

The City of Salem supports small businesses that create jobs, boost the local economy, and preserve communities. The U.S. Small Business Administration has endorsed Small Business Saturday as a way to encourage consumers to support independent retailers and restaurants on the Saturday after Thanksgiving.

Consumers reported that Small Business Saturday 2022 made them want to shop and dine at small, independently-owned retailers and restaurants all year long. By choosing to shop locally on Small Business Saturday and throughout the year, residents can help keep money in their communities while also supporting entrepreneurship and innovation.

I urge everyone to support small businesses on Small Business Saturday and throughout the year by shopping locally whenever possible. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the City of Salem to be affixed this the twenty-fifth day of November in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-three and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-seventh. COUNCIL MEMBERS: Renée Ferris Turk, Jim Wallace, H. Hunter Holliday, Bill Jones, Randy Foley. ATTEST: H. Robert Light, Clerk of Council City of Salem, Virginia