Why support small business in your community?

The answer is simple, it brings our local communities’ emotional investment that connects us to our friends and neighbors. For 40 years, Tijeras Hair Co., a unique hair salon in Albuquerque, New Mexico has created a circle of clients, friends, and neighbors supporting this family-owned business run by a mother, Jacqueline and her daughter Elizabeth Asher. In 1980 they designed and built their dream salon. Over the past five years, they’ve received awards from “Albuquerque the Magazine” Best of the City Awards.

Tijeras Hair Co. is known as an institution which stands for quality, creativity and personal interaction with every individual.

Small businesses connect not only with their customers base that needs their services; they also reach out beyond their own demographics. The importance of small companies also brings economic benefits by shopping locally, more diverse inventory or specialized service in providing personalized customer experiences.

For example, “Our passion has always been to help others who have fallen on hard times. Tijeras has contributed products, cuts, and services to those in our community who are less fortunate or donated to non-profit organizations assisting those in need,” says Jacqueline.

What makes a small business successful? A good reputation that is shared from customer to friends and beyond such as the web, FB, etc. Currently, when everyone searches for reviews on the web before deciding where to shop, a good reputation is vital to every small business.

Small businesses present new employment opportunities and serve as the building block for larger corporations. Small businesses tend to attract talent who invent new products or implement new solutions for existing ideas.

Tijeras has been one of those inventors, creating and manufacturing an organic line of their own hair care product line Tijeras Naturals sold in the Natural Health Food Industry. When Amazon came into the market, the writing was on the wall and the smaller manufacturer just could not compete. The journey was amazing; we created jobs, connected to a wide variety of manufacturers, artisans, and vendors who all are small businesses sharing a dream that anything is possible in this great country.

“The key to our sucess is our tenacity to ride the waves of the hard times and enjoy the good times, ” say Jacqueline.