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Uniting to Shop Small

Chambers of commerce from Whitefish to Polson join forces to promote Small Business Saturday on Nov. 28

By Molly Priddy
Megan Clark applies an antiquing gel to a cabinet at Bestow in downtown Kalispell on Nov. 20, 2015. Greg Lindstrom | Flathead Beacon

The holiday shopping season has finally descended upon the Flathead in full force, and the women behind the designs and décor at Bestow Heart and Home in downtown Kalispell aren’t taking any chances with their preparations.

Megan Clark, Kris Clark, and Julie Croymans shut their doors for two business days to create the perfect holiday wonderland inside their shop, which celebrated its first anniversary in September.

It’s important to take the time to show customers how much their business means, the shop owners said, because at Bestow, becoming part of the downtown small business community is as much a part of the business plan as selling furniture and décor.

“When people come in, it’s not just about shopping,” Kris Clark said.

For small business owners everywhere, holiday shopping is an integral piece of the financial year. And on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, just one day after the wildness of Black Friday, other local businesses get their turn to shine during Small Business Saturday.

In the Flathead, the area’s diverse chambers of commerce, from Whitefish to Polson, have banded together to promote one another for Small Business Saturday, in an effort to highlight the industriousness and creativity of local merchants.

The chambers also want to focus on the communities that may not first come to mind when thinking of retail centers, the hidden gems off the beaten path. In Evergreen, just a stone’s throw from Kalispell, chamber executive director Bev Ferris said the stores in her community offer excellent goods and services, but shoppers often forget they can find them there.

“People are out shopping that day anyway, but we’re trying to get them to remember there’s businesses in Evergreen,” Ferris said. “They can shop in our community, not have the congestion, and just make it a pleasant experience for them.”

Ferris said there are many businesses specifically participating in Small Business Saturday, and there will be special promotions, discounts, and drawings held at the shops. They include: The Apple Barrel & Glacier Sun Winery; Barn Door Event Rentals; Encore Gallery & Gifts; FRANZ Bakery Outlet; The Hardware Store; Hooper’s Garden Center; LaSalle Lighting/The Light House; Los Caporales; Mark Weed Auto Sales; Park Side Credit Union; Perkins; Plant Land Garden Center; Powder Horn Trading Co.; Rudy’s Autosound; Snappy Sport Senter; Complete Restoration LLC; The Hippi Hut; and more.

In Lakeside, David Fetveit said it was an easy decision for the Lakeside-Somers Chamber of Commerce to join forces with the other chambers to promote local businesses.

“We’re always looking to provide a value-added benefit to our members,” Fetveit said. “We’ve asked all the businesses wanting to participate, and it might be as many as seven or eight.”

Those businesses include: Tina Jo’s Designs, Glacier Perks Coffee House, Flathead Lutheran Bible Camp, Sliters, West Shore Community Library, Spinnaker Casino, Bar & Grill, Remedies Lakeside, Henthorn & Associates, Tamarack Brewing Co., Farmhouse, and Seven.

At the other end of the lake, the Polson Chamber of Commerce is also on board, and manager Amber Pacheco-Holm said it’s a fun promotion, since each community offers something just a little different.

“We’re trying to market this as a regional event, which is kind of cool. I think all of our communities have those little special stores that make us small town Montana,” she said. “Working together, if one of us does well, we all do well.”

Shoppers in Polson will need to keep their eyes out for the chamber’s “Cash Mob,” whose members will be roaming the streets on Nov. 28 to hand out Chamber Bucks, which are gift certificates that can be redeemed at Polson Chamber businesses.

There will be a similar promotion in downtown Kalispell, when the folks at Park Side Credit Union tip their hats to the area’s small businesses by randomly paying for parts of shoppers’ purchases.

Josh Kroll, vice president of marketing and development at Park Side, said it’s a fun way for the credit union to support local merchants while also making the day for customers.

And this year, the Park Side posse will reward random customers, not just those using the credit union’s services. Kroll said his team will update its location on Twitter and Facebook so shoppers can keep track of the free cash.

“It’s super fun,” Kroll said. “We just want to make a splash, we want to help people out and support that business at the same time.”

Downtown Kalispell is flush with small businesses, and the first 100 people to stop by the Kalispell Chamber in Depot Park on Nov. 28 will receive a Shop Small tote with promotional items and swag. Twenty-five of those totes will include a gift card to a participating chamber business.

Also, the participating businesses will each have a Small Business Saturday crown hidden in their stores; anyone who takes a picture with the crowns and posts it to social media with the hashtags #KalispellChamber and #ShopSmallFlathead will have a chance to win a $50 American Express Gift Card.

For a full list of participating businesses, visit www.kalispellchamber.com/small-business-saturday.

In Whitefish, shoppers will have the chance to win three gift cards, worth up to $100, by getting five or more stamps on their Small Business Passport, which will be available at many participating businesses.

For a list of businesses, visit www.whitefishchamber.org.

And as for the staff at Bestow, holiday shoppers will receive the kind of shopping experience at which small businesses excel: personal, friendly, and fun.

“We love being part of downtown Kalispell,” Kris Clark said. “There are a lot of unique stores.”