Happy National Mom and Pop Business Owners Day to all husband-wife teams and family owned businesses out there.
March 29th marks the annual observance of National Mom and Pop Business Owners Day to recognize family owned and operated businesses across the country.
The observance of a National Mom and Pop Business Owners Day was the brainchild of a Florida man named Rick Segel, in honor of a women’s hat shop called Ruth’s that his parents opened on March 29, 1939, in Everett, Massachusetts. The business moved to Medford, Massachusetts and grew into a women’s specialty clothing store of 10,000 square feet and $2 million dollars in sales before it closed in 1997.
The purpose of this holiday, according to the Holiday Insights Web site:
“National Mom and Pop Business Owners Day celebrates small business owners. These individuals spend countless hours nurturing and growing their young enterprises. The workload demands, and lack of a hired staff, often translates into long and late hours, and many missed family and personal events. But, all in all, they love what they do. After all, they are their own boss.
New businesses have always been a vital, yet not fully appreciated, part of the U.S. economy. On they retail side, they bring different and unique products to the marketplace. They provide stellar and personal service support. When you call, you are more likely to get a real, live person. And unlike big national chains, they know their products. They are outstanding performers in niche markets. In manufacturing, they create many new concepts and ideas, making them creators of new products.”
A couple other ‘mom and pop’ business stories were written to celebrate this holiday.
The Athens, Georgia News Courier even published a special section today devoted to small business and the National Mom and Pop Business Owners Day.
And in Roane County, West Virginia, a mom and pop business received special recognition in their local newspaper article for preserving a local landmark business in “Couple revives Mom-and-Pop store - Roane County store offers a little bit of everything:”
“The Walton Thriftway is an old-time country general store. Morgan sells groceries - meat, dairy, vegetables, and so on. You can also buy hand-carved Amish furniture and wood, pellet and gas stoves. Want to rent a movie? He’s got those. In the back, a deli serves everything from sliced meats and cheeses to fast-food style hamburgers, tacos, pizzas, and ice cream. He provides tables and chairs for in-store dining and there’s a self-serve “coffee bar” at the front.
In a connected building off the back, a complete hardware store offers a variety of tools and equipment, paint, plumbing and electrical items as well as a full line of livestock feeds along with hay and propane. If he doesn’t have it, he’ll order it. In the spring, you can get a bunny.
Upstairs, you’ll find a large antique and consignment store and a quilt shop, Sew Many Things, run by Morgan’s wife, Elonda. The quilt shop offers quilt kits, classes, and fabric supplies.
Business is booming in the store, located in a town small enough to count its population in the hundreds.
“We’re not feeling the recession,” he said. “People don’t want to spend the gas to drive to the big stores. They want to shop close to home.”
Hopefully you can celebrate National Mom and Pop Business Owners Day everyday by shopping mom and pop businesses in your town all year round.
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