Case Studies

Burton’s small business owners celebrated Small Business Saturday on 5th December with a kick and a shimmy through the busy shopping areas, led by the Burton Small Business partnership, who came up with the idea to form a flash Conga!

The fun idea was created to celebrate the diverse range of small businesses in Burton and with the intention to surprise Burton’s Christmas shoppers – which it did! The Conga was a great success kicking off at the Octagon Centre, shimmying through Coopers Square and cavorting into the Christmas Market in the Market Hall.Karen McElroy from FCM Associates spoke about the immediate buzz in the town and on social media: “The atmosphere in the three main shopping areas was fantastic as the Conga music started, the public were indeed surprised and were very happy to receive a free fabric shopping bag from the team! During the afternoon a frenzy of Twitter posts were sent via @SmallBizSatUK with retweets across the UK including The Guardian!”Successful local business man Mike Cherry, the National Policy Director from the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) welcomed the group at the end, he said: “I was absolutely delighted to be asked to meet the Burton Small Business partners Conga group to celebrate Small Business Saturday UK and offer some words of encouragement.

“The FSB’s mission is to help smaller businesses achieve their ambitions and to protect the interests of its members. Small Business Saturday UK is a perfect opportunity to recognise all the unsung successful small businesses across the UK who support their local communities and generate income for the local economy. Well done to the Burton Small Business partners for organising such a fun event!”Burton Small Business partners, established in 2014, are passionate about local businesses coming together to celebrate the diversity of what the town has to offer on Small Business Saturday UK – whether you are a retailer or professional services company.They have shared their expertise for the second year running in a FREE downloadable guide via their website wwwburtonsmallbusiness.co.uk - to help local companies put Burton firmly on the map as part of this increasingly popular national event.The four businesses behind the Burton Small Business initiative are freelance writing business Caittom Publishing, freelance PR and communications agency FCM Associates, film company Red Door Studios and human resources specialists HR Protected.Elaine Pritchard owner of Caittom Publishing, and listed in the Small Biz 100 for 2015, spoke about the Conga: “We wanted to do something fun to celebrate Small Business Saturday UK this year that would unite all the diverse businesses that are thriving in the town. Both local retailers and professional services were seen as shining examples in the region, using the campaign to promote their businesses, and to shop local too!

“The Burton Small Business partnership wants to help put our town's small businesses on the map on Small Business Saturday which is gaining real momentum in the UK each year."Small Business Saturday UK is a growing campaign which highlights small business success and encourages consumers to ‘shop local’ and support small businesses in their communities – with 64% of UK consumers being aware of the day in 2014.Special thanks to the Federation of Small Businesses, Burton & District Chamber of Commerce, Love Burton, East Staffordshire Borough Council, the Octagon Centre and the Coopers Square management teams for their support!Councillor Patricia Ackroyd, East Staffordshire Borough Council’s Deputy Leader for Enterprise and Environment, said: “It was great to see small businesses from across the Borough coming together to mark Small Business Saturday on the 5th December.“East Staffordshire is a great environment for SMEs to do business, with a fantastic network of support for businesses of all shapes and sizes! The event planned on Small Business Saturday demonstrates this, and we hope to see lots of businesses getting involved, promoting themselves, and inspiring others.”NOTES TO EDITORS:Burton Small Business offer a FREE guide for people to download, containing essential tips about promoting a business through persuasive writing, public relations, video and strong visual brands as well as advice about personnel issues that are essential to the growth of a small business.In preparation for Small Business Saturday 2015 an extended FREE guide has been offered, with even more free advice from local experts – with new contributions from:Sherwin Insurance Services LimitedElse Solicitors LLPThe Chartwell PracticeThe Growth Hub – Chamber of CommerceAny small businesses in the area or anyone thinking of starting a new business are invited to download the extended guide for FREE to get advice on growing their business.The Burton Small Business partners have a Pinterest account and will be asking local businesses to contribute images that promote their business, the products and services they offer before, during and after 5th December. You can also follow the team on Twitter at @BurtonSmallBiz in the weeks ahead, to keep up with the latest news about Small Business Saturday UK.Burton Small Business contacts:E: [email protected] W: www.BurtonSmallBusiness.co.uk T: @BurtonSmallBiz