Support small businesses this Mother’s Day

This Mother’s Day, why not support small businesses (including yours) while celebrating the incredible women who are making a difference in their communities? Gift cards are a fantastic way to do just that–you can support local SMB owners who are mothers by purchasing gift cards from them, and offering gift cards in your small business can help increase your customer loyalty.

We also want to spotlight SMB owners we’ve interviewed for our Meet the Merchant series, who were inspired by their mothers, are mothers themselves, or sell items perfect for your Mother’s Day gift list.

Gift cards: A great option for gift givers and merchants alike

Sometimes gift cards can be even more thoughtful than choosing a gift. They show your mom that you pay attention to what she cares about, while they offer the freedom for her to choose exactly what she wants. eGift cards, or digital gift cards, are super easy to deliver, and they can also broaden the scope of a local business.

As a small business owner, it’s wise to offer gift cards. Consider that in 2021 47% of Mother’s Day shoppers purchased a gift card. Gift cards boost sales when customers spend more than the value of their gift card. And they can step up your foot traffic, attracting more customers and deepening loyalty with existing ones. Clover merchants in particular love all the ways gift cards improve business.

It’s easy for Clover merchants to set up a gift card program and start offering physical and digital gift cards to customers right away!

We hope you enjoy reading about some of our featured merchants and the mothers in their lives. Let’s celebrate the incredible women who raised us and the ones who are making a difference in their communities by supporting their businesses!

Neron Cakes and Decor

Imaria Fakinlede of Neron Cakes & Decor left her corporate 9 to 5 job in order to do what she loves and spend more time with her family. She says, “I might be making good money in those jobs, but I never choose money before my family. I also realized that I was quite negative at my job because I had a large workload. I was losing touch with my kids because of it.”

Being a mother also informs Fakinlede’s approach to her business. She says, “Many customers walk in with ideas to surprise their children. It helps that I can relate as a mother. I put myself in their shoes because I’d want my daughter to feel the same way; to feel like Mommy cares and pays attention.” But it isn’t just being a mom that has helped Fakinlede in her new business, it was also having her own mother nearby. “My mom helps me out and my husband is very supportive, but there’s nothing like having your mother there.”

The Hidden Gem

As parents, Brandy Tipper and her husband found themselves in a difficult situation when the pandemic struck in early 2020. Their 17-year-old son was finishing up his first year at carpentry school when everything was shut down. His classes were cut short and many of the opportunities he was looking forward to after getting his diploma were no longer available. The renovations company Tipper and her husband had owned for the last decade was also out of work. “So we asked, what can we do to support him and still make money?”

The Tippers decided to combine their skills and started making and refurbishing furniture. After early success, their business transformed into an 80-vendor marketplace, The Hidden Gem, plus a second store in a nearby town. Now, their daughter is opening a record store in the front room of one of their shops, while their son is spending more time building and refurbishing furniture with his parents. Talk about turning lemons into the family lemonade business.

Terri Does Desserts

Motherhood is at the foundation of Terri Rhodes Littleton’s Terri Does Desserts. She inherited her passion for baking from her mother. And after baking as a side hustle, she decided to open her own store after her kids were grown. But then tragedy struck–her daughter passed away suddenly in 2013 from an untreated blood clot from sickle cell anemia. Terri says, “When she passed away, that was the worst of the worst things that ever happened. I still opened my shop the day after she died, because we had orders to fill.”

Littleton’s heart wasn’t in her business anymore, so she transitioned to pop-up shops where she could sell full cakes and cakes by the slice. Miraculously, the pandemic increased her sales and helped her emotionally recover. She says, “I am a woman of faith. I pray a lot. My faith, absolutely, is number one.” But in addition, she says, “I do think that working has really saved me, along with the support of a very loyal customer base. A lot of them have become friends and they keep me lifted up. I can’t speak enough about how wonderful people have been.”

ABC Fitness (Waldorf, MD)

Tammy L.S. Wright owns ABC Fitness along with her husband, John Wright. They are both ex-military, and work to share their knowledge of health and well-being with their diverse clientele. For the Wrights, having a business also meant having the flexibility to care for their children the way they wanted to. Tammy still maintains a full-time job outside of ABC, and John works exclusively in their fitness center. That means he has the flexibility to get their kids to and from school while still running the business. They both take their fitness knowledge into schools, too, helping the next generation grow up with good habits.

Big Mama’s Kitchen & Catering (Omaha, NE)

Gladys Harrison currently runs Big Mama’s Kitchen & Catering, started by her late mother, Patricia Barron. Barron asked her grandkids to call her “Big Mama,” which she preferred to grandma, and the name stuck as she launched her business late in life. Their signature soul food is incredibly popular, and even in the darkest times of the pandemic they sold meal kits to bring a little bit of light to a family’s dinner table. If you’re nearby, be sure to check them out.

Magnolia Emporium (Charlotte, NC)

Randolph James owns Magnolia Emporium. He may not be a mom himself, but his mother, Thelma, played an important role in his store’s creation. His family has long been involved in diverse fields including the music industry, design, fashion, and modeling. When Randolph was coping with the economic downturn in 2008, he turned to his mother for inspiration, and Magnolia Emporium emerged. Because of the unique nature of their products, they favor the in-person shopping experience and don’t sell online. But if you’re anywhere near Charlotte, it might be worth popping in to find the perfect gift for a mom in your life.

We hope you find a special way to let moms know you see their hard work. Special thanks to all of our wonderful merchants who mentioned their kids and/or moms in the interview! We are sure there are more than we know, but here are the moms or mom shout-outs we’ve knowingly written about:

3B’s Flowers (Stony Plain, Alberta, CA)

ABC Fitness (Waldorf, MD)

AK Cycle Chic (Anchorage, AK)

The Batty Lady (Orange, CA)

Big Mama’s Kitchen & Catering (Omaha, NE)

Broken Spoke Boutique (Valentine, NB)

The Cosmetology Institute (New Orleans, LA)

Country Friends of Ohio (West Liberty, OH)

The Hidden Gem (Okotoks, Alberta, CA)

Holy Rolly Charleston (Charleston, SC)

Icy Mountain Water (Medicine Hat, Alberta, CA)k

Neron Cakes & Decor (Brunswick, NJ)