Small business owners share perspectives on their stores for Small Business Saturday

WACO, Texas (KWTX) -Small Business Saturday is a day designated to recognize businesses who rely on their community for support.

From family restaurants to boutiques, small businesses can be found all over any city.

Robert Lim, who owns the Cotton Jones’ children’s boutique in Waco, shares how the quality of a store can be an eye-opener for new customers.

“They are pleasantly surprised of how open it is, how welcoming it is. Actually, we get a lot of comments about the smell and our air fresheners that we use, the Christian music that we play... they just feel very welcome.”

Small business owners oversee everything from inventory to customer care, and as Kimberly Nielsen shares, as the owner of the lanes on Austin home decor store, she plays a lot of different roles every day to make sure her store runs smoothly.

“I am a coach, I am a cheerleader, I am a gift wrapper, I’m a team player. I am anything that my team needs me to be to make a great experience for our customer.”

Lim notes that small businesses can be more expensive, but each purchase impacts the store and its staff.

“The dollars that you spend go directly back to the families. A lot of times may be a little bit higher than a big box store, but you get better service and better products in general.”

Nielsen shares that while big stores can offer more, smaller businesses can personalize their business for the community

“The uniqueness that we offer our customer helps sell Waco and helps makes us a unique and really special community.”