BELLEVUE, Ky. — The Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce is partnering with various organizations in an effort to celebrate small businesses and promote shopping local.
Located at the corner of Fairfield and O Fallon avenues, Ape Made It Boutique is a one-of-a-kind store, from beautiful beaded jewelry to trendy clothes. Owner April Fleming is working overtime to make the season special.
“It’s my best time of the year,” Fleming said. “I love knowing that when people come through the door, they’re looking for a gift, and I love that they’re coming to me to find that special gift for their special loved one.”
Fleming said the holidays are one of her shop’s busiest times, and like many small business owners, she relies on them to keep her doors open.
“The months that began with the letter ‘J’ are a lot,” she said. “Unless you’re a vacation town, those are months that are a little harder for people. I definitely have noticed a big decline in sales. I do think that’s about to pick back up … so I’m super thankful for that.”
To support business just like Ape Made It, the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce is partnering with various organizations such as Aviatra Accelerators, Blue North, incubator Kitchen Collective and the Kentucky Small Business Development Center to highlight the area’s unique small businesses.
Nancy Spivey, the Chamber of Commerce’s vice president of talent strategies, said supporting small businesses is crucial during the holidays.
“Most of us are out thinking about shopping and preparing for the holidays, so it’s easy these days to go out to big retailers or shop online and forget that we have some wonderful opportunities to support our local community and also buy unique gifts for the people we care about,” Spivey said.
American Express created Small Business Saturday in 2010 to encourage consumers to support local businesses. Saturday Consumer Insights Survey estimated that U.S. consumers spent $17 billion in 2010 at small businesses on Small Business Saturday while the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said small businesses contributed 55% of the total net job creation from 2013 to 2023.
Fleming said she couldn’t be more grateful for her business.
“Small business owners — this is our life,” Fleming said. “We’re married to our business. We’re married to the building that it’s in, pretty much.”
“But the highlight? The things that keep me going are my customers.”