In my opinion EVERY Saturday should be Small Business Saturday! But this Saturday, 7th December is a little bit special. It has become an event!
The idea for Small Business Saturday is a wonderful concept imported from the USA where it has successfully run for the last 4 years. The main supporter who has really made this initiative happen is Amex, but please don’t let the thought of corporate America cloud your view!
It is an entirely un-commercial venture with no sponsors, partners or donors and with absolutely zero budget. Despite this, last year saw a hefty $5.5bn spent at small businesses on THE DAY across the US and there are hopes to emulate that success here in the UK.
The campaign is an exceptional example of collaboration and cooperation with over a third of all Local Authorities committing support, with many local authorities even suspending parking charges for the day. So get on to your local authority to see what they are doing to support your local small businesses!
There has been huge wave of support coming from social media. Thousands of people across the world from all walks of life are getting involved and voicing their support. The groundswell of international chatter talking about the need to support small businesses and independent retailers is so encouraging.
There are fascinating sound bites coming in on a daily basis from Australia, USA and Canada. The world is finally waking up to the fact that there is a growing need to #shoplocal and independent local retail IS the way forward.
To see real evidence of this ground swell you will need to start using Twitter and or Facebook! On Twitter try typing in the following words: independent retailer,shop local,buy local. Prefix all of these with the hashtag symbol #. You will be amazed by the amount of support there is out there.
My message is simple, embrace the world of social media. It is not going to go away and believe me if you are the type of person who really drives their business – You need it NOW!
Have a great day on Saturday and let me know how you get on by tweeting me @retailmentoring
GOOD LUCK.
We know that Small Business Saturday is important and so does HMRC. Check out what they say here.
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