Does anchor text matter for a small site?

for a site that size i'd worry far more about where a link comes from than what it says. a relevant site linking with just your brand name beats an exact-match anchor from some random blog every time.

yes, but less than people think, and it depends which links you mean. Internal links are the ones you fully control, so use them properly - link to your service page with words that describe it, not "click here" or "read more". Backlinks are different. Do not go chasing exact-match anchors from other sites; a small site whose links all say the same money phrase looks manufactured, which is exactly the pattern link spam filters look for. Most natural links end up as your brand name or the bare URL, and that is fine.