Support Is a Verb

I published a children’s activity book this week.

I also have Quoteiac and another ecommerce business that was around for years. I have spent months writing, designing, building websites, checking details, fixing mistakes, learning new platforms, and doing all the invisible work that happens before something finally becomes real enough for another person to click Buy.

And this week I learned something I wasn’t expecting.

Some of the people closest to me did nothing.

No purchase. No social post. No share. No follow. No “Hey, someone I know did this.” Nothing.

Meanwhile, several friends and acquaintances bought the t-shirt or the book or both.

One has an adult child. One's kids are older, but no grandkids yet.

One has kids in high school, well beyond the book’s intended age range.

So why did they buy?

Because they understood something simple.

They were supporting me.

They weren’t necessarily buying a sweatshirt or a children’s activity book because they desperately needed them. They were saying, in the clearest way possible, I see what you made. I know this mattered to you. I want to support it.

That landed harder than I expected, mostly because of the contrast.

It Isn’t Really About the Money

I’ll be fine if my friends, acquaintances or family members never buy a mug or copy of my book.

This isn’t about needing their money.

It’s about what support communicates.

When someone you care about starts a business of any kind, writes a book, opens a shop, makes art, records music, launches a podcast, creates a product, or takes some other scary little piece of themselves and puts it in front of the world, they are doing something vulnerable.

They have made something that can be ignored.

And silence from the people closest to them can be surprisingly loud.

A purchase says something.

But so does a share.

So does a follow.

So does a comment that helps an algorithm notice their work.

So does telling a friend, “You might like this.”

So does sending the link to someone who actually needs what they sell.

Support does not require a large bank account.

It requires participation.

We Support Strangers All the Time

This may be the part I find hardest to understand.

People will line up to buy whatever a celebrity just launched.

A famous person wears a sweatshirt and suddenly everyone wants the sweatshirt.

An influencer mentions a skin cream and it sells out.

Someone with millions of followers puts their name on a product and people race to order it, despite having absolutely no relationship with that person.

Yet someone they actually know starts or creates something?

Crickets.

The celebrity will never know you bought the thing.

Your friend will.

Your sister will.

Your neighbor will.

Your former coworker will.

The person who spent six months creating something and nervously hit Publish will absolutely notice when someone says, “I’m in your corner.”

That matters.

You Don’t Have to Want What They Sell

This is where people get hung up.

“My kids are too old for that book.”

“I don’t wear T-shirts.”

“I don’t need a mug.”

“I’m not the target customer.”

Fine.

You still have a social account.

You still know people.

You can follow their business page.

You can like a post.

You can share a launch.

You can forward a link.

You can mention the business when the right conversation comes up.

And yes, sometimes you can buy the book anyway.

Give it to a niece. Put it in a Little Free Library. Donate it to a classroom. Save it for a birthday. Buy the mug and give it to somebody else.

The friends who bought my children’s book despite not having age-appropriate children understood that perfectly.

The product wasn’t really the point.

The gesture was.

And I’m deeply grateful for the friends who did show up, whether by buying, sharing, following, or simply paying attention.

Not one of them shares my DNA, which made me think of something one of those special friends said:

Sometimes the people we choose as family are the ones who show up most clearly.

Small Businesses Are Built on Tiny Acts

We tend to imagine business success in giant numbers.

Thousands of followers. Viral posts. Big launches. Huge orders.

But independent businesses are often built very differently.

One person tells another person.

Someone shares a post.

A customer comes back.

A friend remembers your business six months later when someone asks for exactly what you sell.

A person buys something they could easily have bought from a gigantic company because they would rather see the money land with someone who is actually building something.

Tiny acts accumulate.

So does silence.

Don’t Be the Person Who “Meant To”

If someone you care about creates or begins something, you do not need to become their unpaid marketing department.

You do not need to praise something you don’t like.

You do not need to buy things you truly cannot afford.

But do something.

Follow the account.

Like the page.

Share the announcement.

Buy the book.

Order the product.

Send the link.

Leave the review.

Mention their work.

Tell them you’re proud of what they've done or made.

There are a hundred ways to support someone, and most of them take less than a minute.

We spend so much time giving our attention, money, clicks, and enthusiasm to people we will never meet.

Maybe a little more of it should go to the people whose phone numbers are already in our contacts.

Support isn’t a feeling.

Support is a verb.

About the Author

Vickie MacFadden has been building ecommerce businesses since the early days of the web. Her current projects include Quoteiac, PROMOrx, and Find the Ocean, a children’s activity book published under Rains Magic Press.

Written by Vickie MacFadden