Local entrepreneur selected to help ‘market’ Derby’s small businesses
Derby-based Essential Print Services’ owner, Yvonne Gorman, has been chosen as one of only a handful of Entrepreneurs from around the UK to be a Small Business Saturday UK Champion, for a third year running.
Yvonne’s passion and dedication to all things print as well as her on-going support to small, local business, made her the ideal candidate for the role. She also claims the accolade of being one of the first ‘Top 100’ who was invited to visit Downing Street in back in 2013.
The purpose of the campaign is to raise awareness and the profiles of smaller businesses and the necessity of local support. The campaign also highlights the substantial contribution that these small businesses make to the UK economy.
Saturday 2nd December sees the spotlight firmly placed on the small businesses of the UK. It’s Yvonne’s mission to unite the small businesses of Derby and Derbyshire in a show of strength and solidarity, to demonstrate the diverse range of products and services available in and around the region and indeed the East Midlands.
“Small Business Saturday plays a valuable role in focusing the minds of consumers and fellow business owners on what small businesses can offer in terms of the range of products and services”, explains Yvonne. “Most people in this country either own a small business, work for a small business or know somebody who does so, I am delighted to have been asked to champion Small Business Saturday UK”.
Councillor Martin Rawson, Cabinet Member for Regeneration and the Economy said, “we’re delighted to once again promote the Small Business Saturday event. We have a thriving small business community and we’ve pledged to showcase the wide variety of support that’s available to local companies and entrepreneurs to help them create and grow sustainable enterprises.”
Small Business Saturday is the UK’s most successful small business campaign and is this year celebrating its 5th birthday year. Last year saw £717m spent with small businesses across the UK on Small Business Saturday, up 15% on the previous year. The campaign trended at number one in the UK on Twitter on the day with more than 130,000 campaign-related tweets being sent, reaching over 140 million people globally. Over 80% of local councils supported the campaign, meaning wherever you were on Small Business Saturday, there was something going on nearby.
In the run-up to the main event on Saturday 2nd December, there will be a series of free to attend workshops held up and down the country, led by small business owners and Entrepreneurs. These workshops will be broadcast via the Small Business Saturday YouTube Channel.
Not to be outdone by the rest of the UK, Derby’s historic Market Hall, in conjunction with Derby City Council and Essential Print Services, will be hosting its own event on the day; ‘Derby’s Festival of Small Businesses’ – details and free tickets can be found at www.smallbusinessderby.co.uk, which includes free city centre parking for all attendees.
The Market Hall event will offer free business workshops, inspiring talks from local business owners, a business-to-business exhibition area and even the chance to be a Trader for the day. There will be plenty of opportunities to talk to like-minded, local business owners for help and advice.
Small Business Saturday, which is a grassroots, not-for-profit campaign, was originally founded by American Express in the U.S. in 2010 and it remains the principal supporter of the campaign in the UK, as part of its on-going commitment to encourage consumers to shop small. The campaign also benefits from the backing of leading business organisations including the Federation of Small Businesses and Enterprise Nation. The campaign is also supported by Facebook, Dropbox and Mercedes Benz Vans
To find out more about “Small Business Saturday UK” in Derby and how to get involved, please visit www.smallbusinessderby.co.uk or contact Yvonne directly via email at von@essentialprintservices.co.uk
