Small Business September

Because I put together the email campaign for SCI, who specialize in talent acquisition, I happen to take note of the monthly Department of Labor report. The latest of which (August, 2021) was released September 3, 2021, and it showed that total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 235,000, and the unemployment rate declined by 0.2 percentage point to 5.2 percent.

This isn’t a radical result, and it’s not going to receive the kind of attention July received, which is fine. We’re still experiencing a drag in employment, and labor shortages are causing all kinds of issues across multiple industries — I’m seeing it firsthand in the local restaurants, in particular.

To that end, it’s great to see initiatives like Small Business September and National Small Business Week catch on, and create a buzz for those of us who aren’t corporate-owned.

I will never not say it. For every $100 you spend locally, at least $48 goes back into the local economy! That kind of investment is a big deal for public investment in fundamentals, like education, funding our teachers and first responders at the level they deserve, repairing infrastructure, and providing robust social programs that replace outdated systems built on abuse and inequity.

But, I digress.

I felt it was super fitting, then, that Laziza Mediterranean Grill celebrated ten years during National Small Business Week. I’m forever grateful to owners Nader and Lisa Khatib to trust me with their brand, and I love being able to influence their reach and help them enjoy the experience of engaging with a vibrant and growing community of customers and followers. We were able to capture the restaurant’s story in a series of videos created by local videographer, Kyle Jones, and the ever affable Scott Russell, known in Augusta by his handle, @6bitesin. The two kindly donated their time to this series, and I adore every second of it - do go check it out here.