Let’s celebrate small businesses

This Small Business Saturday, I urge everyone to get out there and support the millions of ingenious and downright brilliant British small businesses that are vital not only to our economy, but to our national character.?

We’ve got the family-run businesses that have been at the heart of communities for generations. The new start-ups. The sole traders. The companies with multiple employees. And the local shops, cafes and restaurants that people depend on, and which provide vibrant hubs of life-affirming gossip and human contact.

And behind them all are incredible people, go-getters and do-ers, who work hard and put themselves on the line – and hats off to them, because it really does take courage to get out there and turn your idea into a business.

This week we’ve been doing our bit in Downing Street to support British businesses, with a festive food and drink showcase, celebrating the amazing produce found in every part of our country. From Scotland’s Clootie McToot dumplings, Ma Baker’s bread based in Wales, Ballylisk Dairies cheese from Northern Ireland to Perky Blenders’ coffee roasted in the heart of East London, England.

All of them not only finding appreciative customers here, but around the world – with the Isle of Harris Distillery exporting to over 20 countries, and Cradocs Savoury Biscuits finding favour in South Korea.

We want more businesses to make the most of international markets, so we’ve launched a new export strategy to help businesses sell overseas, and we are setting up trade and investments teams in all parts of the UK. This week we also announced plans to station food and drink specialists in embassies around the world to help exporters unlock key export markets and showcase brilliant British produce to the world.

Of course, Covid has meant businesses have had a challenging time. And because we know just how vital all our businesses are, no matter what their size, we put in place one of the most comprehensive packages of support in the world, spending over ￡400 billion to protect our economy.

Thanks to the resilience and determination of British businesses everywhere, our economy is now rebounding strongly, and we are going to build back better than before. So we are backing small businesses with even greater support, and alongside our Start Up Loans, we launched a new Help to Grow scheme earlier this year for small and growing businesses. Help to Grow Management delivers essential leadership and management training, while Help to Grow Digital provides advice on how digital technology can boost performance and productivity.

Our mission is nothing short of making the UK the best place in the world to start, scale-up and grow a business. So this weekend, let’s bring a little early festive cheer to our country’s strivers and entrepreneurs by getting out there and supporting them. Let’s celebrate small businesses – not just this Saturday, but every day.