(Jennifer Scott/Tyler Morning Telegraph)

While many shoppers camped outside big box stores at 3 a.m. for the traditional Black Friday sales, other shoppers were biding their time for the smaller, more local businesses to open their doors a little later.

“I camped out super early for Black Friday once and I won’t ever do that again,” said Katy resident Brianna Young, who traveled to her hometown of Tyler to visit family. “I got up at 8 o’clock this morning, got ready, and met my family and we’ve just been shopping.”

Young and her family made Cole & Co., located at 2467 Crow Rd #100 in Tyler, one of their stops — as they do every year.

“There’s just so many different things that you can get from here,” Young said. “It’s not just one little section of stuff… it’s so beautiful and unique as well and everyone here is so sweet. We love it here.”

Shoppers at the French Quarter Shopping Center could enhance their shopping experience with a variety of stores offering exclusive Black Friday deals, including select items at Gaudy Me.

“We always have a really good turnout,” said Misty Rohr, owner of Gaudy Me. “People are trying to go to shop for Christmas, get early Christmas shopping done, but we always have a really good turnout. We had a nice long line this morning.”

A faith-based and family-owned boutique, Gaudy Me reopened its doors three years ago to the public with Rohr and her brother, Austin as the new owners.

“It’s a women’s boutique so we cater from anywhere from early teens all the way up to what we call our Missy,” Rohr said. “We carry all ages of apparel, shoes, jewelry, (and) accessories.”

On the other side of town, for more than four decades, The Potpourri House has been a staple of Tyler. What started in the quaint space of a 1904 Victorian home on Front Street that offered tea room service and curated antiques transformed into a full-scale restaurant and boutique.

“My grandmother and my grandfather would go to Europe and bring antiques and then my grandmother used to work in the fashion industry so that’s when the clothing came in,” said Autumn Ruark, buyer and assistant manager of the boutique. “Then we kind of grew.”

This year marks the first year that The Potpourri House is offering a storewide 20 percent off special this weekend (excluding sale items). The boutique/restaurant/small event space is at 3320 Troup Hwy Ste. 300 in Tyler. It offers just what the name suggests — a little bit of everything.

“Back in the day, it wasn’t that busy,” Ruark said. “We changed our buying, we did a full-on remodel about three years ago, and then during that time we also changed the look of the clothing we were buying and all that kind of stuff. So we’re pretty busy on Black Fridays and we’re very thankful for that.”

Jennie Gregory, of Troup, brought her daughter for a day of Black Friday shopping and lunch at The Potpourri House.

“I try to hit The Potpourri House at least once every Christmas,” she said. “I feel like it’s important to keep these (smaller) businesses alive and spend money here, as opposed to bigger chains and Amazon. They have such a great selection of clothes and do a good job of decorating their store for Christmas.”

Small businesses are considered the backbone of the economy, contributing to job creation and providing goods and services to the community. According to the Small Business Administration, most businesses with fewer than 500 employees or annual revenue under $8 million to $45 million qualify as small businesses, depending on the industry. Small businesses are independently owned and operated and are organized for profit.

At the Tyler Town Centre, located at 322 E SE Loop 323, WAGS Upscale Consignment & Boutique provides a unique and luxurious shopping experience that also benefits those in need of help.

“WAGS stands for We Aid and Give Support, and we are a nonprofit for the animals of Smith County,” said Susan Gillespie, owner of the consignment shop. “We do various things as well, Meals on Wheels and give dog food there, we help with the homeless church under the bridge… we work with a lot of private sectors.”

Gillespie highlighted that WAGS stands out by specializing in furniture consignment, which she says is less common in East Texas. “Most consignment shops focus on clothing or shoes,” she said. “We are strictly upscale furniture.”

As a nonprofit, WAGS doesn’t offer Black Friday specials, but its mission resonates with the community.

“One of our biggest challenges is encouraging pet owners in Smith County to spay and neuter their animals,” Gillespie said. “Too many dogs are abandoned in rural areas, and shelters are overwhelmed.”

While boutiques are a dominant industry, there are other small business options such as bakeries, cleaning services, food trucks, art studios, hair salons, repair shops, landscaping, and more.

By supporting small businesses, consumers can enjoy unique products and personalized services while contributing to their local community and economy, something that owners and entrepreneurs are grateful for.

“The community has been amazing, especially once we made the change in our clothing and our buying,” Ruark said. “We are so thankful for that because we couldn’t do without them. It’s the community that helps keep small businesses alive and it helped keep us alive for 43 years… and we’re so thankful for our customers and for staff.”

Black Friday has long dominated the retail industry with their massive deals but consumers contributing to small businesses help the local economy thrive.

“They’re just so hard working and they deserve to prosper and become a big business,” Young said. “I love going to smaller businesses just because they work so hard. Also I do love getting unique stuff and things that people don’t really have a lot of and I just appreciate everything they do.”

Sandwiched in between Black Friday and Cyber Monday is Small Business Saturday, which encourages consumers to shop at local businesses — giving them time to shine.

“We love the community supporting small businesses,” Rohr said. “Our customers… they’ll come to us before hitting the big corporate stores. So, it’s great to have such great support for small businesses.”