Small Businesses.
You Create Our Community.
Thank you.
We Appreciate You.
The ‘I am an Essential Business’ initiative is very simple. We’re here to show appreciation and gratitude for small local businesses.
During the recent Covid challenges, small business operators showed enormous courage, tenacity and resilience. They were pushed and shoved from every angle, yet they maintained their businesses. They did what was necessary to care for their staff and their community.
We’re here to acknowledge our small business owners and thank them.
Irrespective of what they do, all small businesses are essential. Why?
Small businesses are the backbone of our community’s daily interactions. They provide an enormous service that’s far beyond the value of whatever goods or services they're selling. They put food on the table for themselves and their employees. They employ our children and teach them valuable life skills. They offer personal conversation for some members of our community who may have no other human contact during their day.
Small local businesses are local places where we meet and enjoy human connection.
Connection is the antidote to isolation. Connection is essential in today’s world.
‘I am an Essential Business’ is here to acknowledge and appreciate our small businesses who facilitate our daily human connections and who are the fabric of our communities. We thank you.
Angela Bambach
Founder, Essential Business
How It Works.
Originating in my beautiful hometown of Mullumbimby, northern NSW, the ‘I am an Essential Business’ was a response to challenging lockdown circumstances. It received a fantastic response. The local business owners were so thrilled to be seen for their efforts.
Soon after, people from other towns, villages and local communities wanted to join in.
Now we invite you to be a part of ‘I am an Essential Business’. Join us! Spread our message of gratitude and acknowledgement!
Here’s how you can be involved. It’s very simple and it’s free.
Just register below and the sticker design will be customised and emailed to you. Then you can have it printed by a printer of your choice (you pay print and postage costs). If yours is an online business, simply register and we’ll send you a jpeg sticker file to upload to your website.
Download our Guide. Instructions are below.
1. Register your details. We will get back to you with customised artwork for use on your window and/or website (at no cost to you).
2. Download the artwork file of the sticker. Send it to your local printer and/or upload to your website.
3. Take 5 minutes to reflect on all the things you personally appreciate about your local businesses. Visit them and shower your business owners with gratitude. Speak from your HEART. Offer the sticker as a gift to them to show your appreciation and offer to place it onto their window for them.
4. Visit our How To Guide for sticker application tips.
5. Remember to tag us on Instagram @iamanessentialbusiness to help us spread the word.
Want a digital sticker right now?
Download our generic 'support local' sticker below for your website.
How You Can Be Involved.
From Mullumbimby with Love, Angela Bambach.
I’ve been gifted to have parents with huge hearts. A generous man, my father would always go over and beyond to help people. My mother is strong, generous and perceptive. She is always ready with encouragement and support for anyone who takes daring action to develop a new enterprise or idea. She thoroughly enjoys speaking her delight when she sees other people’s achievements.
I wish to share my parents’ legacy. It’s that simple. They taught me gratitude, often in the face of great loss, and how to ‘walk a mile in someone else’s shoes’.
Mum always said to me, ‘count your blessings’.
This is my way to count mine and share them with you.
A final word to
Mullumbimby locals.
A big thank you to everyone who's helped make this project come alive in Mullumbimby - fellow imagineers, volunteer appreciators, all those with kind words of encouragement and support, our awesome local printer and most especially all of our Small Business owners who show up every day for us!
