The Pink Candle Friday, March 24, 2023, in downtown Longview. The business is owned by a Chapel Hill mother-daughter duo.

For more than 50 years, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has celebrated National Small Business Week, which recognizes the critical contributions of America’s entrepreneurs and small business owners.

In 1963, after the proclamation from President John F. Kennedy, the first National Small Business Week was celebrated to honor the top entrepreneurs in every state with awards and special recognition. After this inaugural celebration, the week became an annual practice to encourage other small business owners and enable them to learn from the success stories of the top performers. After learning about how the top performers achieved their success, newer business owners can emulate the same practices to ensure their own success, according to National Today.

This year the week of recognition runs from April 30 to May 6.

The Tyler Paper spoke to five small business owners across East Texas to get a closer look at how supporting small businesses can make a big community impact.

Yosemite Roofing LLC

Business: Yosemite Roofing LLC, opened in 2019

Owner: Josiah Rosebury

What the business offers: Yosemite Roofing is a locally owned and operated roofing company in East Texas. Experience in roofing has allowed the company to become experts in all types of roofs, including tile, metal, stone coated steel, asphalt shingle, TPO, Modified Bitumen, and coating roof systems.

The business also offers a Yosemite Club membership, which provides a complete roof maintenance program that helps homeowners stay protected. Yosemite Club members have peace of mind knowing they receive priority service and extraordinary discounts.

Take on the East Texas small business market: Small businesses can confidently be blamed for the success and growth in the last several years for the Texas economy. As a small business owner, we do a great job at listening to our customers and we can pivot more quickly than larger organizations. When you listen and pivot quickly you’re able to take care of your client base the way they want to be taken care of and protect your employees in almost any economy. We hire local, we spend local, and we take care of our local community.

Why shopping local is important: Shopping local puts the money back into your community, through paychecks and taxes. Local businesses employ your neighbors and give back to your children’s schools. Small businesses make up the majority of the US economy as a whole. Every time you support a local business you are supporting America.

National Small Business Week special: 30% off The Yosemite Club membership for the first 30 customers to sign up

The Little Bag House

Business: The Little Bag House, opened in 2015

Owner: Melva Gordon

What the business offers: Custom-made bags, pillow, blankets, car seat covers, nap mats for kids, and several other personalized items.

Take on the East Texas small business market: Small businesses are important, because it’s independence. You are your own boss and you also are supporting your local community.

Why shopping local is important: When you shop for a small business, you help your family or friends; you cycle money back in the community. As a small business, we take pride in our work.

Northern Lights Coffee LLC

Name of business: Northern Lights Coffee LLC, opened in 2022

Owner: Sherry Quates

What the business offers: Specialty espresso lattes, mocha, Lotus Energy (a natural plant based energy drink), Red Bull smoothies, and more. Breakfast grab-and-go including croissants, biscuits and gravy, and muffins and with lunch items being added soon.

Take on the East Texas small business market: Small business owners are our neighbors, our friends and family. They bring new ideas to our community, support our schools and bring revenue into our counties.

Why shopping local is important: You get to watch people’s real life hustle, the good, the bad and the ugly. You get to help a business owner’s child play those sports and instruments and in turn that business usually ends up donating the schools. Going to locally owned business, you’re putting money back into our community and not into a corporate company.

The Pink Candle

Name of business: The Pink Candle, opened in 2023

Owner: Kara Pinkerton (daughter) and Roxi Pinkerton (mother)

What the business offers: At The Pink Candle, customers are able to make their own candle, body wash, fabric spray, car spray, pet shampoo and conditioner, and much more. Ready-made products are also available. The company has 75 fragrances to choose from and from those the customer is able to completely customize their products scent. There are roughly just under 100,000 different scent combinations because the customer is able to mix up to three scents, blended into one, according to Pinkerton.

Take on the East Texas small business market: Small businesses make the world go around, especially in East Texas. For us, small businesses are business owner’s blood, sweat, and tears poured into their product. Small businesses are our country’s foundation.

Why shopping local is important: Shopping local is incredibly important because it is giving back to the local economy and promoting that same community.

Circle Café

Name of business: Circle Café, purchased from previous owner in 2022

Owner: Verenice Ordorica

What the business offers: Breakfast and southern comfort food; voted best breakfast and best chicken fried steak by readers choice award.

Take on the East Texas small business market: Small businesses are important because it’s the basis to the larger economic flow.

Why shopping local is important: Locally it helps put money back into our community. It helps create a small, happy, family-oriented culture, where your neighbor is like your family. It also helps create a chance for person to fulfill their dream job.

National Small Business Week special: Circle Café will hand out $5 gift cards for every transaction over $25 dollars.

There are several ways to support National Small Business Week such as buying something from a small local business in the community or sharing a story about the great service received from a small business on social media.

1. 99% of businesses fall into this category

Small businesses constitute 99% of all the businesses in the U.S.

2. Youngsters are more likely to be entrepreneurs

Millennials and Generation Z are 188% more likely to start their own businesses than baby boomers.

3. Half of all small businesses fail

More than 50% of all small businesses fail during the first year.

4. Lack of market demand causes business failures

42% of the businesses that fail do so because there is no demand in the market for their product or service.

5. Pandemics are deadly for small businesses

Since the start of the pandemic, 31% of all small businesses have become non-operational.

Source: National Today