By Lucas Willard
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wamc/local-wamc-995239.mp3
Pittsfield, MA – The Berkshires has an economy that relies heavily on small business. Events like Black Friday may draw shoppers away from Main Street to the Big Box stores to get their Holiday shopping done. For the second year in a row, American Express sponsored Small Business Saturday, which took place over the weekend in businesses across the country. Participating proprietors received window decals and signs to help promote the event, and rewards were given to shoppers at participating stores.
Pittsfield is in the middle of its revival, and Small Business Saturday gave the city a chance to give a boost to its "mom and pop"s. Christine Hurley of Downtown Pittsfield Inc. says that her organization helped gather area merchants in support of the event. She says the center to a thriving downtown is the helpfulness of a small business.
Steve Valenti owns Steven Valenti Clothing for Men, located in downtown Pittsfield. And while nobody camped outside overnight for a jacket and tie, shoppers increased as the day went on. He says that American Express's promotion of Small Business Saturday drew customers using all kinds of payment methods.
The event was popular around the country, and drew so much support from American Express users registering for discounts, that its website was overloaded and blocked out by 7am. Still Valenti stated that his neighbors on also had further success as the weekend went on, and hopes the trend will continue throughout the month of December.
This was the second annual Small Business Saturday. 2010's debut of the event only drew support from one business in Pittsfield, Bisque, Beads & Beyond.