On a Friday in November, some of Smyrna’s small-business owners will do something that might sound a little unusual: They’ll encourage customers to leave their stores.
Not to go home. Not to shop online. But to walk through the door of another locally owned business just down the road.
Buy the gift here. Grab lunch there. Stop for a manicure. Pick up something for the dog. Find the perfect hostess gift, a new outfit or a little something you never knew you needed.
Because for the businesses behind Smyrna’s first Pink Friday, the goal isn’t simply to ring their own registers.
It’s to help Smyrna ring all of them.
Pink Friday began nationally during the pandemic as an effort by The Boutique Hub to encourage shoppers to “Support Small First” before Black Friday. When Kym Bailey, owner of Kimberly Jane Market, shared the idea locally, it quickly found an enthusiastic audience. Six businesses gathered for that first meeting at Paris Baguette. Today, 13 are participating, with plans that include specials, giveaways, shopping bags, punch cards and grand-prize baskets.
But somewhere along the way, Pink Friday became about more than shopping.
The owners landed on a phrase that seemed to capture exactly what they were building: Community Over Competition.
For Kym, that means understanding that another local business succeeding doesn’t somehow diminish her own. In fact, thriving businesses give people more reasons to stay in Smyrna, explore and come back. When customers at Kimberly Jane have asked about game-day apparel she doesn’t carry, Kym has sent them to Kim Smith at Statement.
Kim sees that same philosophy in the small gestures local business owners make for one another.
When Statement opened in Smyrna Market Village, Good Kitchen provided charcuterie cups for her ribbon cutting. Nothing Bundt Cakes brought a red velvet Bundt cake. Kelsey Powell of Jonquies and the team at Common Threads sent flowers. Betsey Oei of Lickers and Whines even created a sign at her shop pointing customers toward Statement.
“When you’re opening a shop and pouring everything you have into it, having other business owners show up for you like that makes you feel supported and welcomed,” Kim says.
And that support travels in every direction.
When Naima Martin and Bella Grayson opened Common Threads Boutique, neighbors including The Gifting Tree and Lavender & Cotton helped spread the word and send customers their way. Kelsey occasionally arrives with pickle candy just to brighten the day. For Naima and Bella, it is bigger than making a sale. It is about helping one another and being good neighbors.
Sometimes community over competition looks like a referral.
Sometimes it looks like flowers, cake or candy.
And sometimes it looks like simply telling a customer, “I don’t have what you need — but I know who does.”
Anita Vreeland of Englishman’s Fine Furniture says that might mean recommending another business, suggesting a local restaurant to a customer or referring someone to a nearby service provider. It also means making the choice to shop locally themselves.
“When we work together and shop with others in our community, businesses grow and we all benefit,” Anita says.
Quinise Arnold, owner of Conceit Nail & Beauty, sees an even bigger opportunity.
A client might leave Conceit after getting her nails done, shop somewhere else for an outfit, pick up a gift at another business, grab lunch and finish the day with a cocktail.
None of those businesses has to lose for another one to win.
“Together, we created an entire experience for that customer,” Quinise says.
And that experience is exactly what Pink Friday’s organizers hope shoppers will discover.
Julie Stewart, owner of Utopia Foot & Shoulder Massage, says she would much rather be surrounded by thriving neighbors than try to succeed alone. Businesses can cheer one another on, share customers and collectively make Smyrna a place people want to spend both their time and money.
For Aisha Wallace of Big Peach Running, community over competition is about showing up for one another and recognizing that somebody else’s success is worth celebrating.
“We’re each working hard to build something meaningful,” she says, “and there’s room for all of us to thrive.”
There is something else these owners hope shoppers remember when deciding where to spend their holiday dollars: Behind every locally owned storefront is a person.
There are employees and families. Payroll and inventory. Vendors, early mornings, late nights and, very often, someone’s dream attached to that front door.
Julie points out that choosing a locally owned business supports not only the owner, but often employees who are neighbors themselves. Those purchases help businesses sponsor school events, support local causes and continue investing in the community around them.
Susan Harland of Vickery Hardware sees that ripple effect throughout Smyrna. Local dollars support jobs, schools, parks, nonprofits and neighbors who may need a helping hand.
And Kelsey says customers may not realize just how much their purchases are noticed. To a small-business owner, a sale is never entirely anonymous. It is also a little vote of confidence — a message that someone values having that business in the community.
But perhaps the most important thing Pink Friday offers can’t be tucked into a shopping bag.
Connection.
Kim hopes people leave with more than purchases. She wants them to meet the people behind the businesses, have good conversations and discover places they’ll be excited to visit again.
That personal connection is part of what makes shopping small different.
“Some days we talk about outfits,” Kim says of life at Statement, “and some days we talk about life.”
Aisha hopes someone finally walks into the business they have passed countless times. Kym hopes shoppers rediscover how much fun it can be to spend a day close to home. Naima and Bella hope people see local owners working together instead of against one another.
And Quinise hopes Pink Friday shows what can happen when small businesses stop asking how to beat one another and start asking a different question:
“How can we help each other win?”
That may be what makes Pink Friday feel especially fitting for Smyrna.
A shopper walks into one business and leaves knowing about two more. An owner celebrates another owner’s success. A purchase becomes an introduction. An introduction becomes a relationship.
And somewhere along the way, shopping small stops feeling like an obligation to support local and begins to feel like what it really is:
Neighbors showing up for neighbors.
Sidebar:
PINK FRIDAY SMYRNA
Friday & Saturday, Nov. 20–21
Make a day of shopping small during Smyrna’s first Pink Friday weekend. Participating businesses will offer their own specials, giveaways, merchandise and other surprises.
Shoppers can pick up a Pink Friday punch card and have it marked as they visit participating businesses. After visiting seven locations, they can enter for a chance to win one of five grand-prize gift baskets featuring goodies from businesses throughout the group.
Instant Imprints Smyrna is helping bring Pink Friday to life by providing the event signage, shopping bags and punch cards used throughout the weekend.
Follow @SmyrnaPinkFriday for updates as event details are announced.
Participating businesses at press time: Kimberly Jane Market, Statement, Conceit Nail & Beauty, Lavender & Cotton, Common Threads Boutique, Jonquies, The Gifting Tree and Secret Garden, Utopia Foot & Shoulder Massage, Paris Baguette, Lickers and Whines, Vickery Hardware, Englishman’s Fine Furniture and Big Peach Running.