SimCity Social: Let your Sims 'shop small' with this new branded business

While most shoppers spend their time in major departments stores on the weekend of Black Friday, the "Shop Small" initiative encourages shoppers to look at the smaller, local businesses in their towns as well, with one day - Small Business Saturday - being placed aside for shopping in these smaller, independent stores. EA / Playfish is getting in on the fun of Small Business Saturday, as players can now claim a free, branded Small Business for their towns in SimCity Social.

The Small Business is available via American Express's Facebook fan page, as they support the Shop Small cause. Once you get it into your game, you can place it from your inventory. The business offers 190 Simoleons every 11 minutes, and it can be upgraded to a full three stars, just as you would upgrade any other business. For instance, the 1-Star upgrade requires three clicks at 40 Materials each to upgrade, increasing the building's productivity by 20%. The second upgrade requires four clicks at 60 Materials each, while the third requires five clicks at 110 Materials each. This final upgrade boosts your income by 50% into the future.

The Small Business likely won't be available forever, so make sure to claim yours as soon as you can, while you know you still can.

Click here to claim your free Small Business in honor of Small Business Saturday >

What do you think of this new Small Business in SimCity Social? Did you already claim and fully upgrade yours? Sound off in the comments!