• That business could be a customer of your business or employer.
• That business could be a supplier or service provider you, your business or your employer relies on.
• The business owner and employees could be customers of your business or employer
• Business inventory sold below cost or at auction can cut into your sales or adversely affect pricing.
• With each business failure, consumer confidence is eroded which can adversely affect sales.
• Business closures can lead to personal bankruptcies, foreclosures and repossessions, which have negative affects on the markets.
• Business failures increase demands on unemployment and public assistance.
• Small businesses are often the refuge of those that lose their jobs with larger businesses due to the economy.

These people are our neighbors, friends and family.  Their children go to school with our children.  They may go to your church, or be a member of your bowling or softball team.  When they hurt, we can’t help but to feel it.

Following the path of the #followfriday twitter tradition, I’m proposing a #smbizmonday. (Small Business  Monday).  The format will be like this: #smbizmonday #(city) Business Name Business URL

For example (a friend of mine): #smbizmonday #anc Borreson Painting http://borresonpainting.com

If the business doesn’t have a web site, then link to their listing on BuyAlaska.com or even a listing in the online yellow pages.  When you receive a #smbizmonday twit, check out the link and RT it to your followers if you think it’s worthwhile to share.

Again an example from above: RT @alaskanbest #smbizmonday #anc Borreson Painting http://borresonpainting.com

In addition, each Monday I’ll post a new Small Business Monday thread like this and invite readers to submit information about locally owned and operated Alaskan small businesses.

So let’s get this thing rolling.  Share this post with your friends and social networks. Let’s put work into our Social NetWORK.