Council Buys into Small Business Saturday with Pop-up Market

IF you want to give your local economy a boost, the answer’s simple – shop small. For every £1 spent at a small business, at least 50p circulates back into the local economy. That’s why Tameside Council is backing Small Business Saturday on 7 December.

And to mark the event, the Build a Business team from Tameside Libraries is partnering Ashton Market in hosting a pop-up market in Fletcher Square (10am to 3pm) to enable some new small businesses from the borough to sell their produce and showcase their services.

It’s an event that’s a real gift for Christmas. New entrepreneur Nathan said: “This is a fantastic opportunity to promote our businesses.”

Small Business Saturday highlights the nearly five million small and medium-sized companies around the country which provide a personalised alternative to the mass-produced offerings of anonymous national retailers.

Reasons for shopping local include great customer service. In many cases the owner of the business will be on site and they have a personal interest in making sure customers are satisfied. They are happy to chat, listening to what customers want.

Small businesses generally have great product knowledge and may stock products unique to them in their town and beyond. This uniqueness builds the character of the town and makes it a more interesting place in which to spend time.

Additionally, small businesses are generally owned by local people and many of their employees will come from the surrounding area, meaning even more money stays in the local economy.

Cllr Andrew McLaren, Tameside Council’s deputy leader and executive member for growth, said: “Shopping locally supports traders, their suppliers and the people on whom they depend to run their businesses. It helps our local economy by restoring confidence in the community, which in turn enables businesses to prosper.

“Our borough has many, wonderful small businesses across its town centres and Small Business Saturday has the full support of Tameside Council.

“We always encourage residents to shop locally and to look out for the many bargains on offer, but we especially ask them to do so on Saturday 7 December, and to make sure they take a look at our pop-up market.”

Are you thinking of setting up your own business? Have you recently done so, or perhaps you have a brilliant idea? The Greater Manchester Build a Business scheme, available through Tameside Libraries, could help you by providing the information, skills and confidence you need to succeed.

On 7 December, come and meet support organisations to help get your business started. For full details call Ashton Library on 0161 342 4000 #1 email information.direct@tameside.gov.uk or check out the Build A Business website.

Build a Business brings together Greater Manchester’s libraries who work locally with Tameside Employment and Skills, Enterprising You by the Business Growth Hub, Action Together, Tameside Creatives Network and Tameside College Innovations Team to support local small business owners and the self-employed.

www.smallbusinesssaturdayuk.com