Local business owners who managed to eke out a living through the depth of the pandemic were looking forward to fair winds and flowing seas once COVID numbers died down. They had another thing coming.

True, they’re past the mandated closings and reopenings, supply shortages, the laying of tape 6 feet apart to mark where to stand and the constant operating guideline changes. But now they face inflation, difficulty filling jobs, increasing interest rates and banking system uncertainties.

When does it end? We don’t know.

What we do know is that as we come to the close of this National Small Business Week, our neighbors, friends and other community members who are simply trying to live the American dream can use some help and encouragement.

And helping them helps us all. Spending money with a local business helps keep those dollars in the local economy. That money helps pay for the donations small businesses provide to local schools, sports teams or charities. It pays for local goods and services the businesses need and pays the wages to the workers, who will spend their money at another local business, and so on.

If we were talking about a scant business here or there, it might not amount to much, but the vast number of businesses in Ventura County are small businesses. According to the California Employment Development Department, 81% of businesses in Ventura County have fewer than 10 employees; 97% have fewer than 50.

In fact, about half of all private sector workers in the United States are employed by small businesses, which account for about 40% of the country’s gross domestic product.

National Small Business Week, which began April 30 and runs through May 6 this year, is a tradition going back to 1963, when President John Kennedy proclaimed the observance on a federal level to recognize the critical contributions of America’s entrepreneurs and small-business owners.

In honor of those mom-and-pops that keep the community going, perhaps on this Saturday night consider forgoing the golden arches for some hometown cooking at a local restaurant.

When shopping for Mother’s Day, check out local boutiques, bookstores and bakeries.

For a night on the town, consider a local wine-tasting room, microbrewery or boulevard speakeasy.

And if spending extra money isn’t something you can do at the moment, consider helping local businesses in other ways. Tag the restaurant that served up the Instagramworthy dish, review on Yelp the dry cleaner who turned your cleaning around overnight because you had a rush job and recommend the plumber who came out in the middle of the night—because that’s the kind of thing momand pops do for their community members.

We realize speeding through the drivethru or hopping onto Amazon might save a little time and can be more convenient, but by shopping locally, think of how those tax dollars will stay local, think of the better customer service you’ll get by staying in town and think about how you’ll be helping a neighbor.