Small business patronage encouraged

The Roosevelt County Chamber of Commerce plans to boost its new “shop local” program during today’s Business Saturday.

The chamber created a Portales Pride Card, which residents can purchase for $5. Cardholders are granted access to sales and deals provided by local participating businesses.

Chamber Director Karl Terry said $3 of the card cost goes to local charities such as United Way of Eastern New Mexico or the local children’s homes. Terry said the remainder of the funds purchases the cards and advertising for the program.

The card has a QR code, which when scanned with a smartphone, will direct users to the chamber’s website where the deals will be displayed.

“This program goes hand-in-hand with shop local and Small Business Saturday,” Terry said. “We need to keep thinking about shopping local. The thing that’s important is the people that own and operate businesses in Portales are those who support what’s going on in town. It’s important not to forget that they support our community and we should support them.”

Terry’s intent for this program is to encourage residents to shop locally.

“That leakage also creates another problem and when (business) goes away, we don’t benefit from those sales taxes,” he said. “That’s the primary way our local governments function is through gross receipts tax. Small business is the backbone of our economy.”

Store owners in Clovis and Portales said Friday they were wrapping up Black Friday sales and gearing up for Small Business Saturday.

Connie Carnes, owner of 2 Shabby Divas, said she expects traffic to be steady today as people continue to look for Christmas gifts.

Buz Goodson of Bar G Western and Casual Wear said his Small Business Saturday deals we’ll be the same as what he offered on Friday.

U.S. Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M., showed his support for Small Business Saturday in a press release he issued earlier this week.

“Small businesses have been the economic foundation of communities across America since our nation’s beginning, and they remain a driving force behind our economy,” Udall said. “Today, small businesses in New Mexico are almost 96 percent of our state’s employers and employ over half of our private-sector workforce.”

As a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Udall said he’s working to implement policies that create opportunities for small businesses to grow, get access to capital and hire new workers.