Businesses are dying... please try to understand.

Small businesses are being crushed right now. They need you. I wrote this post on Small Business Saturday, but it resonates EVERY day. So, in common Andrew-style, I’m going to use an awful analogy but please bear with me. This is extremely important.

Imagine getting your high school diploma, heading to college for 4-years to get a degree in something you are super passionate about. Working your ass off for 4 years. Maybe even putting in an extra few years for that master's or doctorate. Imagine getting into the workforce and being rejected from your dream job...over and over...imagine staying strong the entire time and saying “it’s okay, I’ll work my way up! I’ll get there!” Imagine fighting your way up the ladder, earning promotions and getting to your dream job!

Then imagine the government coming in and saying “hey, you can’t do that anymore. But once we decide you can again, it’s no big deal...you can just start over! You’ll be fine.”

Imagine all of that stripped away from you and people telling you “it’s okay! You did it once, you can do it again!” Imagine having to start again...as a senior in high school...applying for schools, getting your degree(s), searching for jobs, climbing the “corporate ladder” again...

This is not a perfect analogy, but this is what small businesses are feeling right now. Businesses aren’t “overnight successes” - they are hard work, huge risk, big investment, years of work, tons of sacrifice. A person who starts a coffee shop generally doesn’t wake up that morning and say “hey I’m going to sell coffee!” then their store magically appears, their staff materializes out of thin air, their store is mysteriously stocked with everything they need, they randomly just have all their permits and documents and paid-off receipts in their magical filing cabinet... that isn’t how it works. It is usually years of planning, saving, working side jobs to pay the bills, working nights and weekends on the future business dream. It’s thousands of hours of work for years just to get to the grand opening! Then it’s years of clawing and fighting to build a revenue stream to make the bare minimum to stay afloat.

Most business owners have sacrificed friendships, family get-togethers, vacations, etc. because their business is not just their hobby...it’s not just a job...it’s literally their life. It’s everything. You take that away and most of these folks would be broken to the core...

Forcing them to start over is crippling. Could you imagine?!

2020 has been a battle. And these guys aren’t the ones out there complaining. They don’t have time for it. They’re doing everything they can to keep their customers safe, they are digging into their savings, their retirement plans, their college saving accounts for their children...just to stay alive. They are doing everything they can for YOU and for their baby...their business...and yet as we get deeper and deeper into the year they are getting pushed deeper and deeper below water by the government, the media, etc...but they ARE NOT giving up!!!

This is why I’m writing this. Because they need you.

Yes, I’m a business owner. Yes, I’m blessed to be in a position where I’m okay and my business is doing well. I appreciate everyone who has reached out. I love you all for your support! So this post isn’t for me...it’s for the thousands of my peers who are silently suffering right now. They aren’t willing to say it publicly because they are being held under water and don’t have the ability to come up and shout for help.

Please. I implore you. Support businesses today and every day. You don’t physically have to go in. They ALL respect you and your health and safety. They ALL want to serve you. Give them a call. Ask if there’s a way you can buy over the phone. Or if you could support them some other way? Share their social media pages...talk about them with friends. Shop their websites, order delivery, or stop into their stores.

It's not the right time to ask them “so what kind of discount are you giving me?!” Instead say “you know what? I’m going to give up my $4 discount today and let you keep it. Keep fighting the good fight. I have your back!”

So please. Please. Please. Please. Please. Show your support, send your love, pray, and do what you can for the business owners in your communities today.

They need you. They love you. And on behalf of all of them...they THANK YOU!