Shop Small

By: Kristian Perez

It’s easy to support Henderson Nebraska’s small businesses when there are so many great places to choose from. Our downtown is full of great businesses run by amazing people. You can find many great businesses to support right in the Henderson area! Businesses like Cody Farrall Photography, Sparrows Branch Café, and even Henderson State Bank. Did you know supporting your hometown’s local shops and businesses has many great economic benefits?

When you shop locally, the money you spend is more likely to stay within your community, which in return helps your community to grow, put on events, or even plan to build on.

Cody Farrall Photography is owned and founded by Cody Farrall, being from the small town of Henderson, she’s grown to love all the businesses and everything they have to offer, “I believe shopping small is important because you are directly supporting someone’s dream.” Farrall said.

Cody, a business owner herself, knows all the hard work needed to get a business up and running: “Most small businesses have 1-5 employees and probably put in longer hours than you would expect.”

Having a personal relationship with customers is very important to Cody, she wants to give her customers the best possible service, “we also personally know and love our customers and truly want to serve them in the best way possible.”

Supporting small businesses in your community helps them grow and thrive in the best way for many years to come.

“Small businesses are usually amazing at supporting the local economy and organizations. When your dollars are spent with small businesses, it’s much more likely that the dollar will stay local. It’s also hard for us to say no to things like fundraising and sponsoring a team because our children are involved in many different activities.”

Cody loves her photography business for so many reasons, but she especially loves the customers and all the people she has met along the way, “Honestly, I started my business because I wanted a new camera! But it has grown into so much more.”

“I’ve met amazing people from all over the area and I love that I can be so active with photographing school activities and ball teams. Getting to take pretty photos is just a bonus.”

Be sure to follow Cody on all of her social media, “You can find me at www.codyfarrallphotography.com also Facebook.com/codyfarrallphotography, or even on Instagram @codyfarrall.”

Sparrows Branch Café is recently new to the town of Henderson but it’s thriving! Operators Brooke and Terry McBride saw a vision and brought it to life to share with the town of Henderson Nebraska! How lucky are we?!

Shopping small and supporting your community is very important for Brooke, anyone who enjoys shopping within their community knows all the great things they can find!

“I believe that shopping small is very important for a few reasons, not only do small, local businesses give you top-notch customer service and access to goods and products that may not otherwise be available at a larger retailer/restaurant but they also help to ensure the continued growth and prosperity of the town and community it serves.”

A town thrives when you build on to what already is, it attracts more people to want to visit and enjoy our town. “When you shop small that money can be re-spent locally, helping to pay salaries and to help repair and replace when the town needs it.”

Brooke and her grandmother have always wanted to run a business of their own, they’ve talked about it for hours, and now Brooke has finally allowed that dream to become reality, “I opened Sparrows Branch Café to fulfill a lifelong dream of mine and my late grandmothers, finally bringing to life the ideas and thoughts that we spent hours talking about.”

Be sure to follow Sparrows Branch Café on Facebook for any updates on last-minute closing times or special menu updates. “We do have a Facebook page: Sparrow’s Branch Café we also have our hours and phone number on Google.”

Jami Schmidt, CFO at Henderson State Bank started out as a stay-at-home mother, but with her children growing up she was eager to get back into the workforce, “I had been a stay-at-home mom but as my last child reached Kindergarten, I was ready to join the workforce again.” Schmidt said.

The job came at the perfect time, and Jami was so excited to support the community of Henderson through the banking industry, “Kevin Positer actually came to me to ask if I was interested in becoming CFO of Henderson State Bank, following the retirement of Steve Michaels.”

Throughout Jami’s years in Henderson, she has seen a great amount of respect and support in the town. “We have a great community with a lot of great businesses, I believe if we want our town to thrive for our future kids and grandkids, we need to support them now.”

“By shopping small, you are allowing the businesses to continue for years to come, spreading the word to other towns and people about the businesses we have here will naturally draw more people to Henderson,” Schmidt said.

“Henderson State Bank strives to support the community of Henderson for years to come, we love to give to the businesses of our town, it’s a great community to be a part of and a great community to support.”

We all live in a great community full of great people and amazing businesses that have been running for years. Continue to do your part and support them so we can continue to enjoy them for many more years.