These first-year Louisville shops making it to Small Business Saturday 'has been the dream'

As November ushers in the official start of the holiday shopping season and consumerism run rampant, small businesses have more to celebrate than just the upcoming holiday gatherings.

This year, some businesses across the Metro area are celebrating their first Small Business Saturday, a nationwide holiday to encourage consumers to shop small and buy local. Small Business Saturday was first celebrated in 2010 in an effort to help small businesses at the height of the Great Recession. This year the shopping holiday falls on Nov. 26.

In Louisville, small businesses account for "approximately two-thirds of the jobs in our workforce," according to Metro Government. For 18.4% of small businesses across the country, they will fail within their first year, according to a LendingTree analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data. In Kentucky, that failure rate is slightly higher at 19.7%.

"It can just be overwhelming, especially at the beginning," David Oetken, the center director at Greater Louisville Small Business Development Center, said of starting a business. Despite the struggles, small businesses may face in the first year, there are more than 360,000 small businesses across the Commonwealth as of 2021, according to the U.S Small Business Administration.

"That's a lot of businesses that try something or can't make it and that's intimidating," said Justin Cooper, the co-owner of Jughead and Bean's, a toy store in Norton Commons. "Even if you fail, you had the chance to try something, to live a dream, to put something into action, to put something out there into the universe that was yours. And, and that's a win."

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Jughead and Beans owners, Justin and his wife, Kelly Cooper, said making it to their first Small Business Saturday at their brick-and-mortar Norton Commons location, "has been the dream."

The Coopers see their toy shop as more than just a place to grab the next Hasbro or Lego item, but a place where families can spend the formative years of their children's lives encouraging curiosity and playing with products that are fun and made in the U.S. The shop, which has been open since March, offers a more hands-on approach to selecting a toy than what is offered at big box stores, something that is available not only during the holiday season but all year.

“We're very excited about it and thrilled to see ... what are we going to be able to share with the community," Justin told the Courier Journal.

Monica De La Torre, a Louisville transplant from Los Angeles, opened The Bodhi Tree, 6306 Meeting St., a spiritual wellness shop also located in Norton Commons in Prospect, in August. Paying homage to when the Buddha attained enlightenment while sitting under a fig tree, De La Torre's spiritual wellness shop gives customers an opportunity to explore growth and healing in a nontraditional way.

Not only has De La Torre been able to create "a shop of all of my favorite things," but she has been able to help people in the community heal.

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"People come in to talk about healing trauma," De La Torre said. "Immediately there's a comfort level (when) they come in and they start talking about ... their grief."

She's hoping Small Business Saturday drives more people to her shop. Currently, she is the only open retail shop on her block in the North Village at Norton Commons and making people aware of her business is an ongoing challenge.

"Right now, I'm the lone wolf on my block," De La Torre said. "That's been a challenge for me for just to let just to let people know … we're open."

How small business create a sense of place, culture in Louisville

Spaces like these new businesses in Norton Commons offer the community something different than what could be found in a big box chain, and that’s valuable.

"Small businesses, especially local businesses, provide a ton of benefits to the community," Oetken said. "The smaller businesses, the locally owned businesses, most of them are unique in what they provide."

Across town at the Logan Street Market, Joshua Gonzalez, co-owner of La Pana Bakery y Café, said he hopes Small Business Saturday brings more people to the public market, and in turn, his bakery.

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Gonzalez is a first-generation Mexican American, and his two co-owners and chef at La Pana Bakery y Café are Mexican. Initially, the trio of owners started baking bread to pass time during the pandemic and realized their bread could fill a need as grocery stores around the city were struggling to stay stocked. This eventually spurred them to open a storefront.

Their business does more than just provide a changing selection of seasonal pastries and coffee, it allows Louisville locals a chance to learn about Mexican culture through food.

"We're really proud to have made it through the first year and we hope people keep supporting local businesses," Gonzalez said. "Continue celebrating that because you're not just helping the business, you're helping the people that work there and their families and their lives. So we just hope that the celebration continues."

'Small businesses are important every day of the year'

For many, a bad show of profits during the holiday shopping season could be a make-or-break moment for a small business

At Greater Louisville Small Business Development Center, Oetken helps local businesses secure funding for startups and growth, financial advising, and more. He says most businesses fail because of four main reasons: failing to plan, poor books and recordkeeping, lack of capital, and lack of marketing savvy.

"The more you can plan and be prepared, the better off you are," Oetken said. "Business owners are good at what they do, making something," but that doesn't mean they're good at other "business" things, like bookkeeping.

He went on to say that "not having adequate capital hinders the company's growth opportunities and may prevent the company from acquiring the assets needed to effectively compete in the marketplace."

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Adriana Susso, the CEO and founder of vegan skincare company BaeVibez Skincare knows the feeling of failure. Four years before starting BaeVibez, Susso founded an e-commerce retail clothing store.

"At that time, I didn't realize what all it took to run a business. And so, it failed," Susso said.

After taking some time to learn from her previous mistakes, Susso launched her skincare company in November 2021. The biggest challenge Susso faced in the first year was securing capital but managed to overcome that by constantly networking and gaining mentorship through programs such as the Amazon Accelerator Program, which provides financial resources, business education and advertising support.

Recently, BaeVibez signed a contract with Envision Radio for a podcast and is working with the Louisville Urban League to secure a warehouse for product space. She is also trying to raise $1 million and hire a 13-person team to run her warehouse and production once she expands.

Susso also sees BaeVibez as a way to give back to her community. "I want BaeVibez to not only be something that Louisville is proud of, but I want it to be a mass retail chain," Susso said of her business goals.

On top of that, Susso plans to use her business to provide felons and people without homes with job opportunities once she secures a warehouse space in Louisville.

“To be a woman-owned, minority-owned business ... giving back to (my) hometown, that's definitely important to me," Susso said.

Gonzalez said a challenge his business has faced since opening in Logan Street Market in December 2021 is learning about the different components of running a successful business. Like Susso, Gonzalez and his co-owners took advantage of some local resources and turned to the Greater Louisville Small Business Development Center to take a 12-week course on restaurant revitalization to help their artisanal, Mexican fusion bakery thrive.

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"We've learned so much about the resources that are available for us to learn and manage the operation a little bit better," Gonzalez said.

This winter, La Pana Bakery y Café will expand with a food truck to traverse the city and local events.

For many in Louisville, the Saturday after Thanksgiving might just be another shopping day, but for locally-owned shops, it's full of hopes and dreams about another year in business.

"I think small businesses are important every day of the year, but Small Business Saturday is a day, especially as we start the holiday season, to remember to buy local first,” Oetken said.

Contact reporter Olivia Evans at oevans@courier-journal.com or on Twitter at @oliviamevans_

How to support these four businesses on Small Business Saturday

La Pana Bakery y Café

WHAT: A Mexican fusion artisanal bakery

WHERE: Logan Street Market, 1001 Logan St.

WHEN: Nov. 26, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

SMALL BUSINESS SATURDAY DEAL: La Pana will be selling Oaxacan tamales and atole (a corn-based sweet drink)

BaeVibez

WHAT: An online-based small business creates vegan skincare products.

WHERE: MELANaire Marketplace at Mall St. Matthews, 5000 Shelbyville Road, or online at baevibez.com

WHEN: Nov. 25-27

SMALL BUSINESS SATURDAY DEAL: Product sales and will be selling a limited edition gingerbread BaeButter

The Bodhi Tree

WHAT: A spiritual wellness shop

WHERE: 6306 Meeting St., Prospect

WHEN: Nov. 26, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

SMALL BUSINESS SATURDAY DEAL: Offering discounts on many products, two-for-one bundles, gift sets, and buy one get one free on bath bombs, bath salts, and loose-leaf tea

Jughead and Bean's

WHAT: A toy store

WHERE: 10503 Meeting St., Prospect

WHEN: Nov. 26, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

SMALL BUSINESS SATURDAY DEAL: Christmas carnival-themed with a scratch-off savings tree with tickets for 10-50% off. Storytime with Mrs. Claus and Christmas-themed drinks and treats.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: 4 first-year Louisville business prepare for Small Business Saturday