The 5th of December represents an important date for startups and small businesses in the UK; it’s Small Business Saturday (SBS). Below, Claire Mulry from SBS gives an outline of what it’s all about:
What is Small Business Saturday?
It’s a day of discovery and a day to celebrate the UK’s fantastic small businesses. The scheme is a grassroots, national campaign that exists to inspire, promote and support enterprise in the UK. It’s about putting the country’s hard-working small businesses at the forefront of consumers’ minds at one of the most lucrative times of year commercially.
The campaign is now in its third year and we’d like 2015 to be even better with as many people and organisations as possible getting involved.
What’s available?
Small Business Saturday offers a number of incentives and benefits to the enterprises who choose to sign up. Some or indeed all of the following could be of use:
- Marketing packs: These are free to download and enable you to show your support and encourage customers on Small Business Saturday.
- Small Business Finder: Whatever kind of small business you are: trades, food, services, retail, online...you’re a small business we want to support. Why not sign up to this online tool? Small businesses enter their details and offers for Small Business Saturday - customers can search using their postcodes to see all the great businesses near them.
- The Small Biz 100: Each year prior to Small Business Saturday we profile 100 ventures in 100 days running up to the event. It’s a great and free opportunity for any kind of small business. Keep your eyes peeled for the Small Biz 100 each day on our Instagram pages. The applications for 2015 are now closed, but check back with us in June on how to apply.
All of the above can be found on the Small Business Saturday website.
Why get involved?
Small Business Saturday offers a great opportunity to have your business in the spotlight and, ultimately, attract more customers. The stats speak for themselves:
- Over 16 million people shopped with small businesses on the day last year, an increase of 20% on the previous year.
- It was a top trend on Twitter on the day of Small Business Saturday in 2014
- The event is supported by over half the UK’s local authorities and many MPs.
Ultimately whether you’re selling shoes in Sheffield or manufacturing microchips in Manchester, Small Business Saturday could really benefit you, so why not check it out?