DOTHAN, Ala. (WDHN) — Shop Small Saturday along with riding the heels of Black Friday marks the busiest time of the year for small businesses.

Not only is it a time when they generate up to 40 percent of their revenue, but it’s a reminder from the community they are loved.

“Small Business Saturday brings to everybody’s mind hey lets hit those local stores and show them how much we support them and get us ready for Christmas season,” Dove’s Christian Supply Owner Donna McCollough said.

The Christmas season is off to a great start after McCollough says customers took advantage of the deals which put them over and beyond the expectations they set out for this year.

She says it’s rewarding after battling economic challenges the past two years like supply chain issues, worker shortages, and for customers inflation.

“We were a little more prepared than we have been in years past, we hit social media really heavy leading into the weekend and then we had a catalog that got our top customers interested, and then we had some amazing prices,” She said.

For another smaller business, the Craft Closet saw a decline in holiday shopping this year.

Owner Megan Harrell says they held a Christmas Open House the weekend before Black Friday to try to compete with big box stores and get a jump on holiday sales revenue which could have played a factor along with the iron bowl.

“Black Friday was down about 16 percent from last year and small business Saturday was down 24 percent but I think it goes back to the weekend before where they got the sales,” Harrell said.

Harrell said they are putting the weekend loss in the rearview mirror and will start working to have a successful Christmas shopping holiday.

“We’ll start daily deals tomorrow actually every day there will be a different special it can be one brand, one vinyl one product and it will be deeply discounted for the day,” She said.