MINNEAPOLIS — Shopping small has a big impact on local businesses every year, but there's a good chance it will mean even more during this holiday season.
"Every dollar counts," said Mikaela Harrod, co-owner of Les Sol, in the Linden Hills neighborhood of Minneapolis. "We're a clothing and lifestyle boutique and we focus on sustainably and ethically made products."
Mikaela and her sister, Megan, had dreamed of opening their own boutique, and not even a global pandemic could deter them.
Mikaela: "We started planning for it in July 2019, and then everything kind of happened when we were supposed to open in April 2020. We had to kind of pivot."
Kent Erdahl: "April 2020? Not a great time to try to open a business."
Mikaela: "Yeah, so we opened September 2020. Still not a great time to open a business, but we did it."
Mikaela says they pulled it off by starting even smaller. The sisters worked to build customers by launching their online store first. They also partnered with a lot of local makers.
A year after opening their doors, she says it's still a big challenge.
"I knew it was going to be hard and I knew it was going to be a big ordeal to get through and try to be patient," Mikaela said. "But it was harder than I've ever imagined and each day you kind of have to talk yourself back into kind of doing everything."
Mikaela says the challenges helped bring the local business community closer together, which is why, on Small Business Saturday, they'll be hosting two local makers inside their shop: Makwa Studio and Al's Tailoring.
Mikaela: "It is a great community and we all try to support each other as much as we can. We try to lift each other up because we're all going through the same thing and it's all so stressful. We're all trying to remember why we're doing this in the first place."
Kent: "Is it fair to say it's kind of make-it-or-break-it time?"
Mikaela: "Yes, I can't even express how important it is because usually for small businesses November and December gets us through January and February. Those are the slowest months of the year, so it pays our rent and pays our employees, and — because COVID is still surging — it's still kind of slow and people are still uncomfortable going out. So everyone who can shop small, we hope will."
If you are concerned about shopping in stores during the holiday weekend, Les Sol is offering the same sales in-person and online. That means 20% off of everything throughout Thanksgiving weekend.
Check out the Instagram pages of several of the local makers featured in the store: @manthrastudio, @double.slice.studio, @addiiiissss, @madebymiku.
They also carry products by local businesses Romi Appothecary, Larissa Loden and Poppyseed Pottery.