Partnering with Small Businesses in Michigan

With Michigan’s Small Business Saturday just around the corner, it’s a perfect time to reflect on the value of supporting and partnering with small businesses in your area to achieve shared community goals. Our related article explores why small businesses often exceed customer expectations when compared to larger corporate organizations. Here, we’ll explore how small businesses improve local economies, strengthen communities, catalyze job creation, and offer a customer-first approach that fosters long-term trust and connection. 

Partnering with Small Businesses in Michigan

Enlivening the Local Economy

When members of a community buy locally or support a local business, the dollars they spend remain in the community and support local growth. This is particularly true when local businesses (from sole proprietorships to firms and companies) maintain ongoing business with each other: each taking advantage of the skills, services, or products available within their own community to keep a whole “constellation” of businesses thriving.

Partnering with local businesses also creates an ecosystem where entrepreneurship and the development of small brands is encouraged and much more likely to thrive. Especially in the midst of economic or public health challenges, small businesses and their customer bases can support each other fiscally and communally, demonstrating a shared investment in supporting the enterprises and livelihoods of those in their own neighborhoods.

Defining the Community and Stimulating Job Growth

It’s not uncommon for small businesses to become some of the most recognizable “landmarks” within a community, whether it’s a brick-and-mortar location on Main Street or a primarily online business that has earned the trust of a local customer base. These businesses inevitably become a part of a community’s identity and not only create a sense of local pride, but also boost opportunities for increased consumer activity, tourism, and a heightened reputation as an entrepreneurial hub.

When small businesses are genuinely interwoven into a community’s social life, they are also more likely to give back to their own community through special events, fundraisers, and other philanthropic functions. Along the way, these same businesses create local jobs and opportunities for people of all ages to find employment, enjoy job training/career development, or launch entrepreneurial ventures in their home community.

Prioritizing Quality Customer Support

Compared to large businesses that rely on high-volume transactions to sustain operations, small businesses prioritize customer engagement, knowing that local support and connection with each individual client keeps their business successful. Small businesses are generally much more invested in responding to customer questions, concerns, special requests, or service needs, because so much of their business promotion occurs through organic, word-of-mouth recommendations. 

Additionally, small businesses are held to a higher standard for their products and services, particularly because their client base is situated in the community where they live and operate. As a result of this heightened accountability, customer service through small businesses is often friendlier and more conscientious in terms of fulfilling customer requests. Most small business owners are willing to exceed baseline expectations and show a deeper investment in making their customers feel appreciated, respected, and heard. 

Michigan’s Small Business Saturday

Whether you’re in Ann Arbor, Detroit, or Southwest Michigan, mark your calendar for November 26th, when you have the opportunity to “support your neighbors, family, friends, and local economy,” as part of a nationwide campaign to celebrate the important role of small businesses across the United States. If you’re a small business owner in Michigan, consider holding a special event or sale to mark the occasion, or reach out to fellow businesses in your area to organize a collaborative or charitable event.

How Workforce PayHub Supports Small Businesses

At Workforce PayHub, community is one of our core values. We recognize that supporting small businesses helps communities develop and sustain vibrant local ecosystems, keeping businesses, entrepreneurial opportunities, and economic prosperity within the communities we serve. We work with a number of small and mid-sized businesses in Michigan and throughout the Great Lakes, providing workforce management solutions that support operational success and employer and employee well-being.

If you’re a small business in Michigan looking for a workforce management solution that integrates payroll, timekeeping, HCM, HR, benefits administration, and more, please contact us today for access to the tools, customer support, and expertise you deserve.

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Eric Jones
Process Payroll In-House or Outsource? – 5 Factors to Consider Michigan Small Business Grants
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