First came Black Friday, then came Cyber Monday, and now, on November 27th comes Small Business Saturday, a day to support the local businesses that create jobs, boost the economy and preserve neighborhoods around the country. (News coverage of the announcement)

According to the SBA over the last decade small businesses have accounted for 60-80% of all new jobs.

American Express OPEN and dozens of other advocacy groups are driving the push to make a focus on local small business national shopping phenomenon this season that, hopefully, carries on throughout the year.

Research conducted by the 3/50 project suggests that for every $100 spent in locally-owned, independent stores, $68 returns to the community through taxes, payroll and other expenditures – far greater than national chains.

This holiday of sorts also presents a great excuse to get out into your community to discover those one of kind hidden business treasures where you may very likely meet the owner face to face.

As you may be aware, OPEN is a client of mine, but you also know my passion for the small, local business. This is a movement that I have no problem getting behind completely and hope you will too.

The initiative is multi-faceted. Here are a few of the highlights:

• Consumers are encouraged to celebrate the businesses they care about through social media sharing tools built into smallbusinesssaturday.com and facebook.com/smallbusinesssaturday;
• The first 10,000 business owners who sign up will receive $100 in free Facebook advertising;
• Business owners can download promotional materials and social tools to promote their businesses;
• For American Express card members, the first 100,000 to pre-register their card and then spend at least $25 on Small Business Saturday at a small, independently-owned small business will receive a $25 statement credit.