The History of Presidents’ Day
Many people in the U.S. are enjoying a three-day weekend—a work- and school-free Presidents’ Day. However, to many small business owners and entrepreneurs, this holiday has a different meaning: working hard at keeping their doors open in an effort to grow their business.
Presidents’ Day originated as a holiday to honor our country’s greatest leaders and the values they reflected. Presidents' Day was officially declared a federal holiday by an act of Congress in 1879. Originally falling on George Washington’s actual birthday (February 22), Presidents’ Day was moved to the third Monday in February as part of the 1971 Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which was established to create more three-day weekends for federal workers.
Your Small Business and the Economy
Many of the Founding Fathers were entrepreneurs: operating their own private farms and businesses. They were people with skill and know-how, guts and grit, and they put their heart and soul into building next generation businesses that kept our country moving forward. It doesn’t matter what type of business someone owns, or what industry they are in, they all embody an entrepreneurial spirit and independence that this country has benefited from since 1776.
Does this sound familiar? It could seem like a bit of a stretch to compare yourself with someone whose face is on our dollar bill, however, your small business plays a critical role in the entire country’s economy. Today, that entrepreneurial spirit still drives the success of the American dream. No one seems to embody the American dream more than our small business owners. Thanks to people like George Washington, we can enjoy the freedom to chase our dreams by starting our very own business.
How to Celebrate Presidents’ Day This Year
This three-day holiday weekend, kick off 2019 by positioning yourself as an industry leader and break through the noise by marketing your business. You can hold events, give away promotional products, donate your time to a charity or your local community, create a campaign with a sense of urgency, set up sales and incentive programs to clear inventory. Several manufacturers and dealership that are coming off their end of year/beginning of year lull are expected to be offering holiday-related discounts. Today, furniture and automotive dealership sales events have become nearly synonymous with President’s Day. This holiday weekend marks the first big sales event since the holiday retail season ended. And for some, it’s a warmup for the bigger sales still to come later in the year. If you’re on the market for a new car or new furniture, personally or professionally, you’ll have your choice of stores that would be happy to help you.
As many Americans enjoy a relaxing weekend, small business owners will be busy running their businesses. Every time a business owner flips their sign to “Open,” you continue to carry out an important tradition of helping to build a stronger economy, and chase the American dream. So, this President’s Day, take a minute to reflect on why we celebrate this holiday, and connect with your customers, community and country.
