Small Business Saturday bus comes to Rochdale

The Rochdale 30 outside the Small Business Saturday bus

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Small Business Saturday, the nationwide campaign to support, inspire and promot small businesses, launched its national bus tour, stopping outside Rochdale Town Hall on Friday (3 November).

Small Business Saturday, which falls on the first Saturday in December, highlights business success and encourages consumers to ‘shop local’ supporting small businesses in their communities.

The bus will visit 29 different towns and cities around the UK, offering a new Small Business Saturday mentoring programme. The mentoring will see experienced business people supporting local businesses one-to-one, and will allow them to connect and share advice directly with their peers.

Promoting the campaign to both consumers and small business owners, the bus will host workshops, small business exhibitions and other activities on its tour around the UK.

Rochdale was chosen as the only stop in Greater Manchester.

Rochdale 30 is part of Rochdale Loves Small Business, the borough’s celebration of Small Business Saturday, an annual celebration of independent businesses, which highlights the important role they play in their community and encourages people to use them.

The campaign, which is headed by local accountant Ruth Pringle, began in 2016 and proved so successful, it has returned for a second year.

Ms Pringle, who founded Pringle Accountants, has over 15 years’ experience in the accountancy profession and has worked with a diverse range of businesses, from sole trader start-ups to multinational conglomerates, providing a wide range of accounting functions. She has organised various Small Business Saturday events in Rochdale in previous years, resulting in her invitation to Number 10 in 2014 as part of a delegation promoting Small Business Saturday at the highest level.

Ms Pringle said: “We’re delighted that the Small Business Saturday bus tour is coming to Rochdale, and it’s so important for our wider community that we continue to support our local businesses.

"The Small Business Saturday campaign is a great initiative to champion small businesses across the country, and raise the profile of the fantastic small businesses we have in the local area.”