The Just a Card campaign is a very important part of the Indie business community. It was set up by Sarah Hamilton, an artist and designer, in 2015. Sarah was inspired to start the campaign after seeing the quote 'If everyone who'd complimented our beautiful gallery had bought 'just a card' we'd still be open' from the owners of a gallery who had recently had to close its doors.

 

The campaign aims to give independent businesses a voice and champion the fact that every little purchase, however small, makes a big difference. It also spreads the message that if you can't afford to buy something there are also other ways to help promote small businesses that are absolutely free! Things like sharing, liking or commenting on posts on social media really help the engagement of individual pages and help that business to get seen by more people. Also good old fashioned talking to people and spreading the message by word of mouth. A personal recommendation often goes a long way.

 

For Brick and Mortar shops the campaign aims to highlight the hidden costs that people often don't think of. The day to day costs of keeping shops running are huge: electricity, water, materials, wages (just to name a few!) and all of these things have to be covered before any profit is made. Running an independent shop is a real labour of love and it requires hours of thought and effort. Without sales, however small, these shops can't stay open. To quote a recent Just a Card post, it really is a case of Buy Local or Bye Bye Local. 

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