Business owners getting ready for Small Business Saturday

The Small Business Saturday roadshow which supports business all over the UK arrived at The Scottish Parliament on Tuesday.

This is the tenth year of the campaign which is supporting local entrepreneurs such as cycle tour company A wee pedal, coaching business Top Hat Coaching and eco-friendly online fabric store Rosemary Wild.

A Small Business Happy Hour on Instagram also took place with giveaways from organic wellbeing store JustBe Botanicals.

Entrepreneurs are gearing up for Small Business Saturday on 3 December when shoppers are encouraged to shop local. The Tour which is visiting many towns and cities all over the UK this week features a fleet of environmentally friendly vehicles including an electric van and a delivery bike. Many small business owners are changing to more sustainable practices in the national race to net zero.

“It was fantastic to be visited by the Small Business Saturday Tour yesterday when it came to Edinburgh,” said Rosie Creyke, owner of Rosemary Wilde. 

“Small businesses are having such a tough time at the moment, and the Small Business Saturday campaign offered a much needed boost to local firms.”

Michelle Ovens CBE, Director of Small Business Saturday said: “We were so delighted to visit Edinburgh as part of our kick-off in Scotland, and celebrate all the fantastic businesses in the area.

“Small businesses are in the midst of an incredibly tough period so it was great to highlight the amazing contribution they make to the local area.”

Chris Sims, Managing Director Small and Medium Enterprise at BT, said: “The Tour is a fantastic initiative to reach out and support small businesses with the skills they need to scale up in key areas such as digital marketing and sustainability. We are delighted to be supporting it again this year, bringing insight from both our BT Skills for Tomorrow offering, as well as our new Digital Marketing Hub. 

“In these challenging times for businesses we hope this provides a catalyst for growth in the lead up to the festive period, which is typically a very important time of year for these types of enterprise.” 

Small businesses across Edinburgh, the rest of Scotland and the UK can get involved in The Tour online for the rest of November, by booking a place on to free workshops or one-to-one mentoring sessions via the ‘My Business Section’ on the Small Business Saturday website.