Small Business Saturday UK is an annual campaign that takes place on the first Saturday in December each year and aims to highlight small business success and encourage consumers to ‘shop local’ and support small businesses in their communities. Small Business Saturday is on 3^rd December this year.

A special bus tour took place in the run up to the day, to raise awareness of and offer support for small businesses up and down the country from A (first stop Aberdeen) to B (final stop Bournemouth). Local small businesses exhibited at each stop and there were workshops and 1:1 advisory sessions for small business owners on topics such as business banking and marketing. The tour began on Monday 24^th October and visited 29 stops in 5 weeks.

The Small Business Saturday UK bus passed through Oxfordshire on Monday 14^th November and we were delighted to join it at its two stops – Carterton in the morning and Thame in the afternoon.

We met a variety of small employers who are interested in employing an Apprentice to help them grow, from a web design company to a brewery. We are now following up with those employers to offer advice and support to help them get started. We also met a number of young people and parents looking for information and advice about Apprenticeships, which was a fantastic bonus! 

We really enjoyed meeting the other exhibitors, which included other business support services and some fantastic local businesses, inlcuding Racquets Fitness Centre in Thame, who were holding a fitness challenge on the day. We have since visited Sue and Simon to find out how employing Squash Coach Apprentice Ben has helped them grow and develop the business. Find out more.

See some pics of the bus on our Facebook page.

Find out more about Small Business Saturday bus tour at: https://smallbusinesssaturdayuk.com/#bus-tour.