Sip & Sunday: Supporting Small Businesses Starts with Showing Up

One of my commitments this year was to become more involved in the small business community.This weekend, I participated in another small market at a local coffee shop. If you’ve followed my journey for a while, you know that most of my larger events are 10x10 booth spaces filled with products, displays, and lots of foot traffic. This market was much smaller—a cozy 5x5 setup—but it reminded me of something important.

Of course, every small business owner hopes for sales when they attend an event. But I’ve learned that showing up isn’t always about what you sell that day. Sometimes it’s about building relationships, getting out of your comfort zone, and becoming part of something bigger than yourself.

As I walked around the market, I took photos of the other vendors and shared them on Instagram. I tagged their businesses and encouraged people to stop by and support them. My thinking was simple: if someone comes out to support me, maybe they’ll discover another amazing small business while they’re there.

What happened next surprised me.

My average social media post might receive 75 to 100 views. Within less than a day, this post surpassed 1,000 views and continued growing even after the market ended.

Why?

Because community works.

By tagging other businesses, their followers discovered my page. I discovered new businesses to follow and support. New connections were made. More importantly, people learned about local makers, creators, and entrepreneurs they may never have known existed.

It was a reminder that supporting other small businesses doesn’t take away from your success—it often creates more opportunities for everyone.

In a world where it’s easy to focus only on our own goals, sometimes the best thing we can do is shine a light on someone else’s work. You never know where that connection might lead.

So this week’s Sip & Sunday is simple:

Support the small business down the street. Share a post. Leave a review. Tell a friend. Follow a local creator. Celebrate someone’s success.

Community isn’t built by competition. It’s built by people showing up for one another.

And that’s a lesson worth carrying into the week ahead.

See ya!

Jecca