I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving, full of loved ones and delicious food. Once the turkey coma wears off people often turn their focus to finding the perfect gifts for the holidays. While it’s certainly easy to run down to your nearby chain store, it’s there is another option out there! Today is Small Business Saturday, a day of celebration for all that small businesses do. It’s also a great reminder of just how much they impact our lives.  Take a look at these at numbers—it might surprise you!

In my daily life, as well as when I travel for business, I try to support small establishments whenever I can.  One of my favorite ways is by finding a local restaurant to eat.  I usually just ask the front desk at my hotel for a few local recommendations. I’ll then use my Yelp or Urbanspoon app to check reviews and make a final decision that way.  A couple of other easy ways I support small businesses when I travel is to look for small Christmas gifts (or birthday) from local stores and  go to local coffee shops.

I also really like to support small business travel products as well.  When I found out about the EMME travel toiletry bag I was excited to try it out—not only because it’s a great idea, but also because it’s coming from a small business. Emily, the owner and creator of the EMME bag, has a very compelling story, and something that a lot of business travelers can relate to. She knew what she wanted in a toiletry bag, couldn’t find it anywhere, so set off to design her own (kind of like me with this blog!). Highly functional, with lots of pockets? That part sounds great. But when I heard it was a folding toiletry bag, I was skeptical. Emily sent me an EMME bag to use on my trips, and after the first time I used it I was a convert. I’ve been using the bag for the past six months on every single trip—probably close to 20 trips—and it is holding up great.

EMME is giving away two of these toiletry bags to Road Warriorette readers, and there’s just one more day left to enter.  If you end up not being one of the lucky two winners you still have a chance to save! EMME is doing an awesome thing by providing 20% off your purchase using the code ROAD (in addition to the holiday discount already offered!).  So thank you to EMME and all small businesses for what y’all do. Try to find a way to support small businesses whenever and wherever you can!

Readers, how do you support small businesses when you travel? How about at home?

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