Businesses and stores across the country are celebrating Small Business Saturday. This marks one of the biggest shopping days of the year. According to Bankrate, 59% of shoppers planned to shop at small businesses. That's 3% more than those who shopped on Black Friday.Birmingham business owners are grateful for the support, and they're happy to serve their communities. They use Small Business Saturday to build personal connections with customers that last.Following a dream can be scary for anyone. Bizarre: the Coffee Bar owner Will Harvill said opening a business months before a pandemic hit was almost a nightmare.“We were able to survive, and a lot of people didn’t,” Harvill said. “But we look at it like if we can survive the pandemic, we can survive anything.”Bridge & Root owner Aisha Taylor said those challenges never go away.“Capital is always a challenge,” Taylor said. “Having that money that you can use to operate that’s always a challenge.”Harvill said business owners look for support from their own communities, but that's not always the case. He's noticed most customers are strangers.“You don’t go to McDonald's because you know the owner of it or you know the head cook,” Harvill said. “You go because it's convenient and you can get in and you can get out.”That's why Small Business Saturday is important. Daniel Sanders is a small business owner himself. He understands how hard it is to own a business. “It draws attention to the issue,” Sanders said. “I'm thinking in that direction, and hopefully by beginning to think in that direction--being exposed to small minority businesses--that you'll continue to patronize them.”Taylor is using Small Business Saturday to build relationships with returning customers. Customers are essential to business. It’s an opportunity to get people in the door. Once they get in the door, though, she hopes they’ll return.“If everyone came to see us four times a year, that would be great and it would be helpful,” Taylor said. “Owning a small business is hard but small businesses are the heartbeat of the city.”Marc Shaddow just moved to Birmingham a couple of weeks ago. For him, it's the personal connection to Bizarre: the Coffee Bar that keeps him coming back.“This was the first place I was brought to in Alabama,” Shaddow said, and I proposed to my fiancé right here last week.”Harvill partners with other small business owners. He says helping other entrepreneurs is a win for everyone.“We've watched chefs turn into food trucks,” Harvill said. “We've watched cooks turn into restaurants. We've watched brands launch far beyond our little space, and we hope to continue to do that."Both business owners say there are good days and bad days. Taylor said Birmingham is growing fast and she's grateful to be a part of that economic boom.