Media Information

The campaign will profile small businesses across the country throughout November, as well as providing free business support as firms tackle ongoing economic challenges.

A national roadshow to support and raise the profile of small businesses all around the country is being launched by Small Business Saturday to help firms cope with persistent economic challenges.

With an aim to spotlight and celebrate the vital contribution of the nation’s 5.5 million small businesses to the economy and local communities, The Tour will set off in Inverness, Scotland on 30 October and go on to visit over 20 towns and cities before finishing in London shortly ahead of Small Business Saturday on 2 December.

In its second decade in the UK, Small Business Saturday is a grassroots, non-profit campaign, which celebrates small business success and encourages consumers to 'shop local' and to support businesses in their communities.

Once again supported by BT Skills for Tomorrow, Small Business Saturday’s roadshow will travel the length and breadth of the country and visit 23 locations including city centres like Newcastle, Exeter, and Belfast, to coastal communities such as Whitstable, and rural towns like Wrexham in North Wales.

And with sustainability high on the agenda for small businesses, The Tour will make use of electric vehicles to reduce emissions and reflect the sustainable switches many business owners are making as part of their vital role in the race to net zero. This will include touring with a state-of-the-art eco-friendly electric bike – the Electro Ride X – from innovative London electric motorbike company, Stirling Eco.

Sarah White, founder of a photography business based in Chester, is just one of the many small business owners who will be profiled as part of the roadshow when it visits her town.

She said: “I am really excited to be holding an event in Chester for small business owners on the day that the Small Business Saturday team come to visit.

“I want everyone to know how many amazing businesses we have in this area, and I want to introduce those businesses to the fantastic support that they can get from Small Business Saturday.”

Another business The Tour will visit is Calibrated Concepts, a web design company based in Belfast, founded by Ellie McBride.

And she said: “The Small Business Saturday campaign is such a fantastic way to shine a light on the creativity and resilience of small businesses through the challenges we’ve been facing this year.

“I can't wait for The Tour to come to Belfast. I'll be offering free Simplicity Sessions – quick 20-minute check-ins to help business owners free up time and space.

“I'm also looking forward to connecting with fellow entrepreneurs and seeing what inspiring stuff they're up to.”

There will also be opportunities for business owners across the UK to take part in Small Business Saturday’s wider online programme of free business support that is being offered as part of The Tour.

Virtual workshops and webinars on a range of business topics will be offered each day, as well as free one-to-one mentoring and opportunities for entrepreneurs to tell their stories, and network on Small Business Saturday’s social media channels.

Michelle Ovens CBE, Director of Small Business Saturday UK, said: “We are thrilled to visit small businesses all across the UK on this year’s Tour as we count down to Small Business Saturday.

“With the campaign this year, we want to shine a light on the nation’s fantastic small firms and instil a real sense of optimism for next year, especially at a time when many entrepreneurs are struggling with some persistent economic challenges. I encourage everyone to support their favourite small businesses, in person and online, during the campaign and all year round.”

A Small Business Happy Hour on Instagram will also take place every week, with giveaways from local businesses all over the country.

Chris Sims, BT’s Managing Director for Small and Medium Business, said: “Small Business Saturday is a fantastic initiative that empowers entrepreneurs to tackle the biggest challenges they are facing today. This year small businesses can access specialist mentoring and support, giving them tailored guidance on issues ranging from effective marketing to cyber security.”

“As the tour enters its second decade, we are proud to be partnering with Small Business Saturday on this initiative again through our Skills for Tomorrow program, which has helped over one million entrepreneurs grow their small businesses with free digital skills training.”

To get involved in The Tour locally, or book virtual one-to-one mentoring sessions and workshops, small businesses should visit The Tour.

A major programme of online mentoring and training is being offered by Small Business Saturday to help firms tackle ongoing economic challenges, as the campaign marks its second decade in the UK.

Small business owners across the country are being encouraged to sign up for a programme of free virtual workshops and one-to-one mentoring taking place this autumn. The activity is a core part of the campaign’s nationwide roadshow—The Tour—which forms part of the official celebrations and countdown to Small Business Saturday on 2 December and is supported by BT Skills for Tomorrow.

Small businesses from anywhere in the country can sign up for over 20 workshops by leading experts on a range of useful topics, from boosting sales and becoming more sustainable, to improving confidence and resilience, including:

• Sustainability for Small Businesses
• Unlocking Grants and Investments
• Business Planning
• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion guidance

And to make this learning even more fun and motivating for small businesses, those attending at least ten workshops will be rewarded with a Christmas gift, a JustBe Botanicals bath set. Free one-to-one online coaching sessions with experienced business mentors will also be available.

The Tour will also be travelling to 23 locations across the country to profile small businesses from 30 October. It will make use of electric vehicles to limit emissions and represent the strides small businesses are making in the race to net zero.

Entrepreneurs will also have the opportunity to tell their stories and network on Small Business Saturday’s social media channels. And there will also be a weekly Small Business Happy Hour, featuring giveaways from local businesses.

“Small Business Saturday has supported the UK’s entrepreneurs for over a decade,”said Michelle Ovens CBE, director of Small Business Saturday UK. “This year’s programme will really help small businesses as they tackle huge challenges due to the cost-of-living crisis, and encourage a more optimistic look to the future.”

Small Business Saturday is a grassroots, non-commercial campaign, which celebrates small business success and encourages consumers to 'shop local' and to support businesses in their communities. The campaign, now in its 11th year, will take place on 2 December 2023, with backing from principal supporter American Express.

“Small Business Saturday is a fantastic initiative that empowers entrepreneurs to tackle the biggest challenges they are facing today. This year small businesses can access specialist mentoring and support, giving them tailored guidance on issues ranging from effective marketing to cyber security,” said Chris Sims, BT’s Managing Director for Small and Medium Business.

“As the tour enters its second decade, we are proud to be partnering with Small Business Saturday on this initiative again through our Skills for Tomorrow program, which has helped over one million entrepreneurs grow their small businesses with free digital skills training.”

To book onto the workshops, small businesses should visit smallbusinesssaturdayuk.com/the-tour or click on to the links in the schedule below.

Mentoring slots can be booked via the My Small Business section of the Small Business Saturday website, where small firms can login or create a profile, and click on "The Tour 2023" tab smallbusinesssaturdayuk.com/my-small-business.

Britain’s 100 most impressive small businesses have been announced by the Small Business Saturday campaign, as it kicks off its call for the public to support small firms in the community and shop small.

This year’s SmallBiz100 showcases the best of Britain’s vibrant small business community, highlighted as part of the 100-day countdown to Small Business Saturday.

Small Business Saturday is set to return on 2 December 2023, with a mission to support and celebrate the UK’s 5.5 million small businesses.

Portsmouth-based family-run manufacturer Chilli Mash, which works with local farmers in Rwanda to grow chillies for condiments, is one of the businesses featured in this year’s line-up, in addition to Cool Crutches & Sticks – a Harrogate company selling stylish, silent, comfortable crutches, set-up after co-founder Amelia Peckham was injured in an accident. Peckham said: “We are so excited to be one of this year’s Small Biz 100!”

“As a female founded family business that started as a result of personal experience, we know the impact community has on the survival and growth of small businesses so having support from Small Business Saturday is incredible.

“Being included in such a positive initiative that celebrates diverse entrepreneurship at its finest is absolutely fantastic for us as founders, our team but also our business too!”

This year’s list also includes:

• beau mobile - quirky beauty salon based in a caravan in North Wales.
• Cool Crutches & Sticks – Harrogate company selling stylish, silent, comfortable crutches. Set-up after co-founder was injured in an accident.
• ePay Merchant Services Ltd – disruptive payment solutions for small businesses, based in Ellesmere Port.
• Makers Department – small design studio based in Hackney supporting earlystage ideas through to design for manufacture.
• Piccolo Mondo – family-run pizzeria based in Dorset, set up over 40 years ago.
• Rumsey’s Handmade Chocolates – artisan chocolate company, making awardwinning chocolates for retail and wholesale in Buckinghamshire.
• So Good Kombucha - natural kombucha handcrafted in Derbyshire.
• Talbot Jones Ltd - Gateshead chartered insurance brokerage supporting charities, social enterprises and small businesses to manage risk.
• The Butchers & Deli Monkstown - Northern Ireland community butcher and deli
• WildStrong – Outdoor group movement classes in Fife, Scotland.

As the campaign moves into its second decade in the UK organisers are stressing the need for ongoing support from the support for small businesses, as they face serious challenges from the cost-of-living crisis, on top of prolonged challenges.

“The fantastic small businesses featured in this year’s SmallBiz100 sum up the phenomenal contribution that small firms make to our economy and local communities,” said Michelle Ovens CBE, Director of Small Business Saturday UK.

“It continues to be really tough out there in the economy for small businesses, so there is a huge need to celebrate our incredible small business economy and throw our arms around them. Small Business Saturday remains a critical and powerful way for the public to do this.”

Small Business Saturday is the UK’s most successful small business campaign, which takes place each year on the first weekend in December, celebrating small businesses and encouraging consumers to shop small and support businesses in their communities.

Natt Boarer, co-founder of Chilli Mash said: “We are absolutely over the moon to be recognised as part of Small Business Saturday’s Small Biz 100. It's wonderful to be part of a campaign that is truly championing the work of small businesses across the country.”

The grassroots non-commercial campaign was originally founded by American Express in the U.S. in 2010 and the brand remains the principal supporter of Small Business Saturday in the UK.

The most recent SME Barometer research from American Express and Small Business Saturday reported that over a third (35%) of small businesses are finding it is increasingly hard to run a small business, and 82% feel there needs to be more celebration of entrepreneurship.

Yet despite the challenging trading environment that many small businesses still face, almost two thirds (64%) are defying the odds and forecast that business performance in the final quarter of 2023 will be better than the previous two years.

On Small Business Saturday, customers across the UK go out and support all types of small businesses, from independent shops and restaurants to small service and b2b based businesses like accountants and plumbers. Many small businesses take an active role in promoting the day by hosting events and offering promotions.

Since the UK campaign started in 2013, the campaign has reached millions of people and seen billions spent with small businesses on the day itself, with an impact that lasts all year.

Last year the campaign trended at number one in the UK on X (formerly Twitter), with the Prime Minister, leader of the opposition and the Mayor of London among those publicly supporting the campaign. Over 90% of local councils also supported the campaign.

Dan Edelman, General Manager, UK Merchant Services at American Express said: “This year’s SmallBiz100 once again showcases the incredible vibrancy and vitality at the heart of the nation’s small businesses, which contribute so much to local communities across the UK.

“We’re proud to champion them and the entrepreneurs running these businesses through our ongoing support of Small Business Saturday, and by incentivising our Cardmembers to spend with them all year round. As we move into the second decade of this vital campaign, we look forward to continuing to celebrate small businesses and those running them.”

To learn more Small Business Saturday’s SmallBiz100 visit smallbusinesssaturdayuk.com/small-biz-100.

Small Business Saturday has revealed the twenty one towns and cities it will visit on its next national roadshow, as the campaign gears up to highlight the nation’s most loved independents and calls on local business owners to get involved.

Supported by BT, The Tour will kick off in Inverness on 30 October, before travelling all over the country for a month to visit and shine a light on the contribution of the UK’s vibrant small business economy, showcasing everything from pom-pom making and pulling pints, to pedicures and Pilates classes.

Destinations will include Fife, Glasgow, Belfast, Chester, Newcastle, Rydeale, York, Manchester, Wrexham, Peterborough, Birmingham, Hereford, Cardiff, Falmouth, Exeter, Bournemouth, Brighton and Whitstable, before The Tour finishes in London ahead of Small Business Saturday on 2 December.

Small Business Saturday is a grassroots, non-commercial campaign, which celebrates small business success and encourages consumers to 'shop local' and to support businesses in their communities. The campaign is now in its second decade in the UK, backed by principal supporter American Express.

Alongside the roadshow, the campaign will also offer small businesses everywhere in the UK a month of dedicated free online support, with daily workshops and mentoring covering a wide range of relevant topics, as well as insight sessions with small businesses and industry experts.

“The UK’s fantastic entrepreneurs work tirelessly to make an incredible contribution to the economy, but continue to face a really tough time,” said Michelle Ovens CBE, and director of Small Business Saturday UK.

“It is more important than ever that we support and recognise their efforts. The Tour will showcase these exceptional and innovative small businesses, and the amazing contribution they make to local areas, whilst also offering them vital support both in-person and online.”

With sustainability and energy saving high on the agenda for small firms, The Tour will make use of electric vehicles to reduce emissions and reflect the sustainable switches many small business owners are making as part of their vital role in the race to net zero. This will include touring with a state of the art eco-friendly electric bike – the Electro Ride X – from innovative London electric motorbike company, Stirling Eco.

“During this tough economic situation, it’s important that we give Britain’s entrepreneurs all the support they need to succeed. The Tour is a brilliant way for small businesses across the country to get tailored support around growing their capability for the future,” said Chris Sims, BT’s Managing Director for Small and Medium Enterprise.

“We are delighted to be supporting this effort once again, through our Skills for Tomorrow offering, which has helped over one million entrepreneurs grow their small businesses with free digital skills training.”

For more information on Small Business Saturday and to get involved in The Tour visit The Tour.