Bailey Ahles couldn’t give you a start date for when she began working at Caravan Gift Shop. What started as helping out after school has evolved into managing one of Ann Arbor’s oldest stores.
It’s a story of history repeating. The Caravan Gift Shop was a first job for Ahles’ mother, Rhonda Gilpin, who bought the iconic store 30 years ago. They’ve continued the 95-year legacy of the artisan shop selling hand painted Polish ornaments, German Christmas pyramids and Russian nesting dolls.
Leading up to the holiday season its all hands on deck — mom, dad, brother, sister and grandma.
“It would be weird not to come in,” Ahles said. “It’s not just our customers holiday tradition. It’s also our holiday tradition.”
This year more holiday shoppers said they planned to participate in Small Business Saturday than Black Friday, according to a national Bankrate survey.
Last year, 51 million shoppers took to Main Street to buy their gifts, according to the National Retail Federation. This year a projected 60.4 million shoppers will go on Saturday.
While high demand remains a positive for small businesses still recovering from pandemic losses, it’s also a nonstop grind for owners who are struggling to fill out their staff, said Andrea Bitley, Vice President of Michigan Retail Association.
“If you wander into any shops on Small Business Saturday, you’ll probably see the owner of the shop working the cash register, because they’re just not getting job applications,” she said.
Being at the store throughout the season is just part of the gig for Sarah Porebski.
Porebski’s family has owned and operated the Holland Peanut Store for five generations, since 1902. She shares ownership with her uncle, Tom Fabiano.
The family has a long-standing tradition of having a Sunday meal together at the store when its closed to the public. But aside from the Sunday breaks, family members know they need to shop early because the days leading up to Thanksgiving and Christmas are spent roasting peanuts, hand dipping them in chocolate and building holiday gift tins.
“Our holiday time is pretty much defined by working and being together at the store,” Porebski said.
The staff is a 50/50 split between blood relatives and longtime employees who are considered family, Porebski said.
Having that backbone of institutional knowledge helps the store run smoothly as the holidays ramp up and temporary staff is added — although most of the temporary staff are retired relatives, she said.
“Just growing up in this business and understanding the huge need this time of year everyone is almost programmed to know ‘OK, it’s time for us to go back to the store and help out,’” Porebski said.
In Flint, LaTashia Perry’s family business is scaling up. Perry started the Kids Like Mine mobile bookstore and boutique in 2021 following the success of her children’s book Hair Like Mine.
Perry’s business and book series are rooted in a mission to uplift Black children’s self-image by presenting more characters of color.
Since 2015, the ‘Like Mine’ book series has expanded with five more story and activity books. This holiday season the boutique part of the business added socks, pajamas and other apparel.
Perry, mother of six, takes inspiration from her kid’s own lives. In turn, her children, ranging from ages 1 to 20, are integral parts of the business, right down to packaging boxes and cutting shipping labels.
“I’m always reminding them that this business is what has helped us build the life that we’re living and maintaining. And so we have to pitch in and this is definitely a family affair,” Perry said.
Starting her mobile business during the pandemic wasn’t easy, nor was expanding during a record period of inflation.
“I’m so used to the numbers looking a certain way because they just have consistently for the last five years. And the economy really just kind of took a turn,” Perry said. “I think we were a little blindsided by the drop in sales, but people just aren’t purchasing a lot of things they don’t need right now.”
Perry is balancing the budget to sell gifts and buy them.
“It’s like you want people to buy from your business, but in the same breath, you understand because we’re watching the purchases that we’re making as well,” she said.
Among the national Bankrate survey respondents, 40% said inflation will change the way they shop this season.
But when asked what areas they thought small businesses provide better experiences than large businesses, shoppers answered unique inventory, better customer service and sense of community they feel from shopping small.
Additionally, 23% said they felt small businesses had better prices. Competing with Black Friday deals is a small businesses greatest challenge.
Perry’s message to holiday shoppers is to remember small businesses are often making their own product and steep discounts cut directly into their profit.
“Supporting a small business does mean paying the prices,” she said. “Just keeping in mind that a lot of people’s small businesses are their livelihood. That’s the way they take care of their families.”
More on MLive:
Wallet Watch: Don’t let the holidays put you in debt
Amazon, Walmart, Target launch pre-Black Friday deals. Michigan retailers aren’t there yet.
Old clothes, new stores: Secondhand shops pop up across Michigan
Looking for a way to be involved? Support one of these black-owned Michigan businesses
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