Small Business Saturday: Shop Local with Issuu

As the holiday season rolls around many of us have already begun purchasing thoughtful gifts for friends and loved ones. While gift shopping it is easy to look solely for the best deals and most discounted items, however Small Business Saturday reminds all of us to prioritize our own communities when hunting for the perfect gifts this holiday season. Not only does supporting small businesses help the entrepreneurs in your local community, but small businesses often sell incredibly thoughtful handmade or unique items that truly make a gift special.

At Issuu we are home to a wide array of publishers, from large global brands to small individual creators. For Small Business Saturday we want to help you support small businesses by sharing many of these businesses that use Issuu. Let’s take a look at these small businesses and how you can support them this holiday season!

Zabar’s 

If you are a New Yorker you most likely are already very familiar with the legendary Zabar’s. Founded in 1934 by Louis and Lillian Zabar, the shop made a name for itself through sticking to a few core values: “Respect the customer. Never, ever stint on quality. Offer fair value. And last but not least, keep searching for the new and wonderful.” Zabar’s now publishes their catalogs on Issuu including their most recent publication “Zabar’s Holiday Traditions Gifting Catalog 2021”. If you are spending Hanukkah away from a loved one, send them a Zabar’s  gift crate or box to help them feel a little closer to home each night.

Brilliant-Online Magazine | The Celebration Issue

Brilliant Online is a digital advertising platform, and takes supporting small businesses into their own hands. Their most recent publication features a variety of deep dives on local organizations. These feature pieces don’t just advertise the small business, but provide an in depth look at the founder’s stories. Their most recent publication, “The Celebration Issue” is truly an inspiring read, and really brings you into the individual world of each small business they highlight. Take a look below, and navigate to their business section for the small business features!

The Etsy Market

As many of you already know, Etsy is one of the best places to support small artisans and makers. The Etsy Market is Etsy’s way of highlighting incredible small business while adapting to the Covid-19 pandemic. Etsy Market’s were an entirely in-person experience prior to 2020, where local communities all across the world got to physically interact with small businesses who sold on Etsy. This valuable experience almost disappeared with Covid-19, but Etsy was able to seamlessly transition to a virtual model that allows anyone from around the world to support these small businesses, regardless of whether or not they are local. If you are looking for a beautiful handmade gift, this is an incredible publication to check out!

Small Business Collaborative 2021 Gift Guide

Small Business Collaborative is the business of Therese Ørtenblad - a sales expert in the home and gift industry who works to help creators get their product seen by retail buyers in order to support and grow these small businesses. For this upcoming holiday season Therese has published a 2021 Gift Guide where she showcases 90 small businesses in the UK that offer a range of gifts. Check out this guide when shopping for your loved ones this holiday season, and if you are a small business looking to expand, definitely take a look at the other services offered by Therese!

Small Business Ontario Holiday Gift Guide

Small Business Ontario is a group of local Ontario small businesses that provides a platform where people and businesses can learn, share, and grow together. This group is an incredible example of the power of many small businesses coming together to help support and grow their own community. Their 2021 Holiday Gift Guide showcases many of these unique Ontario small businesses and is a great resource to use when looking for an amazing gift. As they say within the publication “When you buy from a small business, an actual person does a little happy dance”

Whether you are a part of a small business yourself, or are just looking to support small businesses when doing your holiday shopping, this list provides a comprehensive list of resources. If you are looking to publish your own small business content on Issuu or sell your content using an Issuu publication, sign up for an Issuu account here!