Hi lovelies,
This week I wanted to peel back the curtain on something we do not always talk about openly as small business owners: Black Friday, the excitement, the pressure, the sales and the reality hidden beneath it all. This year, if I am completely honest, Black Friday nearly swallowed me whole.
For big brands, Black Friday is a celebration with huge budgets, huge margins and huge teams. But for a small business like mine, the experience looks and feels very different, and it is a story that rarely gets shared.
The Small Business Pressure Behind Black Friday
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Every November, the internet becomes a giant loudspeaker shouting SALE over and over. And when you are a tiny small business, it is hard not to feel like you must participate just to stay visible, stay relevant and not disappoint your community.
So you prep. You juggle kids, stock levels, emails, late nights, website fixes and a list of details that seems to grow by the hour. You work so hard to create something that looks effortless from the outside, even when the behind the scenes is anything but effortless.
The Margins No One Sees
Here is the part no one tells you: a small business simply does not have the margins to discount like the big players. Our cost of goods, shipping, packaging, website fees, transaction fees and marketing tools all add up. Every dollar reduced in a sale has to come from somewhere.
When you sell high quality products at a fair price, offering 20 to 30 percent off is not fun. It is stressful. It is tight. It hurts. And when the sale is finally over, you are left wondering, was all that effort actually worth it? This year, for me, the answer was a gentle but firm probably not.
The Emotional Rollercoaster
There is also the emotional side of being a small business owner. The constant refreshing of Shopify. The joyful rush of each order. The disappointment when things go quiet. The comparison. The doubt. The questioning.
But the thing that kept me going was you. Every order, every message and every comment meant the world.
Why We May Not Do Black Friday Again
After reflecting and reviewing the actual numbers, I am realising that Black Friday does not make sense for Abundant Bag Co. It is not sustainable. It is not profitable. And it does not align with how I want to build this small business or this brand.
I do not want to become a discount brand. I want to be a brand that stands for quality, joy, colour, value and abundance. Not a brand that slashes prices just to keep up with the noise.
So next year, we might not do Black Friday. And honestly, that feels like relief.
What I Want You To Know
If you supported us during the sale, thank you. If you could not but you cheer us on from the sidelines, thank you as well. Being a small business is a wild emotional seesaw, and I am grateful not to ride it alone.
Moving forward, I want to build a brand that feels good all year long, not only during sale season. More connection. More colour. More community. More abundance. Less pressure.
Here is to building a business that feels aligned, not exhausting.
With love and honesty
Serena
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