Sanford Cash mob supports local businesses

Watching our community come together puts a BIG smile on our faces, so you can imagine the size of the grin on our faces when we learned about the Sanford Cash Mob group. A group of locals coming together to support our local businesses and love on our community just when we needed it the most. I chatted with the Janelle who start the group in Sanford, read on to find out how Janelle and others are coming together to lift our community by supporting a local business a month.

Tell us a little about yourself.

Hi! I’m Janelle Woods and I am a Sanford, FL native. I was raised in Goldsboro. Although I now live in Deltona, Sanford has a special place in my heart. Most of my family still lives there and I also own a business in Sanford. (Take a peek at the delicious cakes made by Janelle. Follow J’s Cakes on Facebook or Instagram)

What exactly is Cash Mob?

Cash Mob is a community created for the sole purpose of supporting local small businesses. We do this by meeting once a month at a pre-selected featured business and spend at least $20 per person within a 2 hour window. We also aim to support the business further by contributing to shop on a regular basis going forward. The business receives the benefit of an immediate large flow of revenue on mob day, and can retain those shoppers for future ongoing revenue.

How did you choose the name?

That was easy! I heard of cash mobs in other states and just went with that! Read more about the original Cash Mob Here!

How did this all get started?

Our first mob even was in February 2020. We visited Smitty Snack Shop on 25th Street and Park. After speaking to the owner, Anekia Smith, about her newly opened candy store, I discovered that she dealt with the same problem most businesses have when trying to run a brick-and-mortar location. You have a great product, and a great location but you just seem to lack the steady flow of traffic (customers) needed to sustain and remain open. I decided to invite other like-minded individuals out to help give her business a boost! And that’s how cash mob started

What do you hope to achieve through Cash Mob?

I hope to inspire everyone to choose shopping at a small local business at every opportunity. Doing so helps to ensure that our city keeps a wide variety of establishments available to citizens, and also ensures that the money spent is circulated in our community longer.

Can anyone join? If yes, how so?

Cash Mob is available to anyone. Simply join us on Facebook and be prepared to commit to spend $20 a month.

Have you discovered new businesses while supporting local?

Yes! We’ve discovered lots of new businesses. for most members, their first time visiting the featured business is at the mob event. For instance, our last event was at Ria’s Decor & More, a small home decor store located right on 1st Street in the historic district. Although the store had been open for over a year, many of us had no clue it existed.