NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Four days ago, Jessica Sweeney reluctantly posted a plea to her community: her small downtown business wouldn't survive the winter. 

 

Coming back from an unpaid maternity, Savvy Hive was "facing financial strain and at serious risk of closing," she wrote on Facebook. "I shouldn't have to choose between bringing my child into the world and keeping our community-rooted business open — yet here we are."

 

She started a thrive campaign and the community overwhelmingly answered her call, hitting her $10,000 fundraising goal by noon on Thursday. 

 

"I was hitting the iceberg, and I got really scared. To be honest, this year has been, overall, really challenging on the business because of the wider climate that we're under, but also because I was pregnant and then on maternity leave," she said. "And as much as my maternity leave was unpaid, it also meant that I had to pay staff. It was way more than it could afford. And, in particular, September was considerably down compared to year over year, and couldn't cover the costs for me to be away."

 

Savvy Hive is a clothing thrift store that also sells vintage and secondhand clothing and local artists' goods. Sweeney started as a pop-up in 2021 inside Berkshire Emporium and then moved a couple doors down to 53 Main St. a year later. 

 

With the birth of her second child, she had to rely on paid staff to keep the operation going. Sweeney said the fragility of the local small businesses has been a topic at their monthly meetings.

 

"A lot of us have been talking about like we're just one maternity leave away or we're just one illness away from closing our doors and like that is scary," Sweeney said. 

 

In fact, it was one of her small-business neighbors, Emilee Yawn at the Plant Connector, who encouraged her to consider a Thrive drive as she wrestled with the reality of closing her doors. 

 

"I did not expect this level of success with this campaign," she said, adding it won't solve all the problems, "but it is the part that I need the help with, like those other parts that I think the business will be able to solve, and it felt like a really big ask, and to receive the support back so quickly is wild to me in the best way."

 

Sweeney was shocked by the donations she's gotten from around the country. It helps to see people being so supportive of a small business, she said, especially at a time when small businesses need the help.

 

"To see people who have been customers since day one, to see my friends, my family, but also like perfect strangers — I look at this list of donors and I don't know a lot of these people — just be willing to help support a business in this way is really reaffirming and validating," she said. "That this community, and or at least a lot of people, really care about our small businesses, that is so important right now in the greater context of the world, because we need our small businesses."

 

Sweeney said small businesses are the backbone of the community and if they're not set up for success, the downtown will be dead. 

 

She estimates Savvy Hive keeps 90 percent of its dollars in the community, hires local people and keeps reams of clothing out of landfills. Beyond retail, it distributes free clothing to people in need, and provides a place for local crafters and makers to sell their work. 

 

In her post, Sweeney wrote "Closing our doors would impact much more than me, it would ripple across our community."

 

With the pressure somewhat off, she's trying at new options to ensure Savvy Hive's survival, such as doing regional markets, offering alterations, clothing rentals and establishing an online storefront. 

 

Seeing the success of her campaign, she plans to start a  North Adams Small Business Winter Fund, creating an emergency fund for other small businesses in the community who may need help.

 

"We have been hearing a lot from different businesses, not just in North Adams, but in the Northern Berkshires, about the challenges that they're facing right now," Sweeney said, adding she's already invested in community organizing and as North Adams is "sort of bailing me out," she'd like to share the wealth as it were.  

 

"If there's a way that I can extend that arm to all the people who are way too scared to admit that they're struggling, then I want to do that."

 

With her recent scare, she decided to research ways to improve policies for small-business owners since many have to find help and insure themselves.

 

"I also want to take this opportunity to work with local agencies to really talk about how we solve the unpaid work, unpaid leave, benefits, challenge of owning a small business," she said. "I think there's very real solutions that can come to the table with that through collective organizing."

 

Sweeney wants everyone to know small businesses are in need and it's OK to ask for help. She hopes more people recognize and utilize their local businesses and help in any way they can.

 

"I challenge the community to think about how they're supporting small businesses in January," she said. "I challenge the city of North Adams to think about how they're strategizing the support structures for our small businesses. And I challenge the small businesses who are struggling to say something. 

 

"We can support you before you have to close. Don't be afraid to tell someone, I'm proof that when we ask for help, we can receive it."