Happy #smallbusinesssaturday to all our SME’s in MK and beyond. Founded by American Express in 2010 and officially cosponsored by SBA since 2011, Small Business Saturday has become an important part of small businesses’ busiest shopping season.
Today we celebrate all of our members in Ask GoTo – Beds, Bucks, Northants Business Directories and our Incubation Nation CIC founders!
Small Business Saturday is an annual event that was created to encourage consumers to shop locally in person and online at small businesses. This event takes place every November and represents a significant opportunity to increase sales for small businesses during the holiday shopping season. Over the time the campaign has been running in the UK it has engaged millions and seen billions spent with small businesses on Small Business Saturday. Small Business Saturday draws high engagement on social media, with #SmallBizSatUK and #SmallBusinessSaturday trending throughout the day.
Many politicians, including the Prime Minister, the leader of the opposition and the London Mayor, have publicly supported Small Business Saturday, and the number of people sharing their small business stories on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter has soared on Small Business Saturday.
On Thursday night we hosted our first meet the makers event to celebrate our Incubation Nation small businesses. 17 local businesses had stands, supported each other and made plans for 2023.
Our host venue was the amazing MK:U Innovation Hub, a central location for the Milton Keynes business community, providing the ideal space for business leaders and trailblazers to meet and collaborate. It showcases new and interesting innovations – in particular, those related to smart cities. Through regular events and demonstrations, innovators will discover new ways to utilise emerging technologies in their businesses.
Thanks to the recent funding from Milton Keynes City Council we can showcase, mentor, develop and nurture these amazing small businesses to ensure more than 20% succeed rather than fail in their first 12 months. In fact 80% of our Business Bootcamp members are still in business, scaling, sustaining and still learning.
Our next Business Bootcamp course starts on the 12th of January and we have 4 spaces left for Female Founders with businesses under 2 years old or if over 2 years old they must have a turnover under £85,000.
BUSINESS BOOTCAMP 2022 GRADUATE – Andrea Burdett
Having worked in the commercial environment for the last 30 years, I wasn’t sure what to expect when I signed up for Boot Camp in February. In no time at all, Sam put everyone at ease with her friendly enthusiasm and provided some great advice and encouragement. During the 12 weeks, I had the chance to experiment with different products, get advice from experts, and develop a business plan I regularly refer to. In addition, I now have a new network of friends to call upon. As well as boosting my confidence, the 12 weeks also helped me develop a clearer vision of the future.
Contact us to join.
Samantha Poole – Incubation Nation CIC