The Small Business Saturday Bus Tour is returning again to Brighton on Thursday 22nd November 2018 to support and promote small businesses as part of the national campaign. The bus will be located in Ship Street in front of the Ivy between 10am – 2pm.
Following from the success of last year’s event same as last year, there are 20 exhibition spaces available to businesses to use to promote themselves. Anyone who is interested in taking a pitch should register on the Small Business Saturday UK website and create a My Small Business account then pre book via the Bus Tour section (see attached press release for website link) and they will send you details.
There is also a free mentoring programme available to small businesses, however these must be pre booked, again via the Bus Tour section of the My Small Business Account.
The
Small Business Saturday UK, the nationwide campaign to support and promote the UK’s 5.7 million small businesses, has announced it will tour the country to spotlight and support the nation’s top growth businesses.
Now in its sixth year, the Small Business Saturday campaign bus will travel over 3000 miles across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, visiting 30 locations over 25 days.
Launching on Thursday 25 October in Blackburn, the Small Business Saturday UK campaign team will pull into towns across the country, offering free mentoring sessions to small businesses, including mentors from bus tour supporter Xero's network of small business accountants, plus many more.
Up to 20 small businesses per stop can apply to be a ‘Business On Board’. They will be given space to exhibit their business to the passing public and will be profiled across the campaign’s social media channels. Forty lucky small businesses will also win the chance to have their logo featured on the Small Business Saturday bus, via a social media competition.
With an aim to shine a spotlight on the UK’s top small businesses, the campaign will feature its special ‘Blue Sofa’ interview series, where small businesses, entrepreneurs and leading local figures can share their stories about their business or local area, to a Facebook live audience.
Michelle Ovens MBE, Director, Small Business Saturday, said:
“From Birkenhead to Belfast, Glasgow to Carmarthen, The Small Business Saturday bus will travel the country to celebrate the UK’s fantastic growing businesses and shine a spotlight on their success. This tour is a way for us to give back to businesses at the heart of communities – celebrating them, championing them and providing a listening ear and a chance for mentoring. The tour is not just open to businesses, it’s open to everyone – every individual who can take a moment to appreciate the far-reaching impact small businesses have on their community.’
The Small Business Saturday Bus Tour is an important part of the official countdown to Small Business Saturday, taking place on 1 December 2018. It follows the recent launch of the UK’s Small Biz 100 – a daily celebration of 2018’s top small businesses from across the UK.
The bus tour will reach the following towns and cities:
· Thursday 25th October, Blackburn
· Friday 26th October, Birkenhead
· Monday 29th October, Newcastle
· Tuesday 30th October, Perth
o Inverclyde (short stop)
· Wednesday 31st October Glasgow
o Kilmarnock (short stop)
· Thursday 1st November, Armagh
· Friday 2nd November, Belfast
· Monday 5th November, Leeds
o Southwell (short stop)
· Tuesday 6th November, Bury St Edmunds
· Wednesday 7th November, Colchester
· Thursday 8th November, Northampton
o Milton Keynes (short stop)
· Friday 9th November, Burton on Trent
· Monday 12th November, Loughborough
· Tuesday 13th November, Birmingham
· Wednesday 14th November, Leominster
· Thursday 15th November, Carmarthen
o Pontypridd (short stop)
· Friday 16th November, Cardiff
· Monday 19th November, Truro
· Tuesday 20th November, Bristol
· Wednesday 21st November, Christchurch
· Thursday 22nd November, Brighton
· Friday 23rd November, Tunbridge Wells
· Monday 26th November, Slough
· Tuesday 27th November, St Albans
· Wednesday 28th November, Hammersmith
Small businesses can book mentoring sessions during the bus tour via the Small Business Saturday website.
Mentoring is an important and valued source of support for small businesses in their local communities. Recent research from peak b revealed that small businesses play a pivotal role as employers and change-makers in the local communities, with many small business owners stepping up to mentor others and 28% offering training for the wider community.
Now in its sixth year Small Business Saturday is the UK's most successful small business campaign, which last year saw an estimated £748m spent with small businesses across the UK on Small Business Saturday.
A grassroots, not-for-profit campaign, Small Business Saturday was originally founded by American Express in the U.S. in 2010. American Express remains the principal supporter of the campaign in the UK, as part of its on-going commitment to encourage consumers to shop small.