Derby's small businesses enjoyed a boost of publicity when the Small Business Saturday campaign roadshow pulled in to the city this week.

The Small Business Saturday’s tour bus stopped at Osnabruck Square outside Derby Market Hall on Friday 14 November to shine a spotlight on small and independent businesses across Derby and marks the official countdown to Small Business Saturday on Saturday 6 December. 

The tour visited independent business owners across the city to highlight their stories on social media. The visits included Critical Hit in Albion Street, Eagle Books in East Street, and Spa Diamond on Babbington Lane. 

The tour then went on to visit Glamberry in The Strand, Threadz in the Cathedral Quarter, and Cheeky Pancakes at Derby Market Hall.

Supported by BT Skills for tomorrow, the tour kicked off in Lossiemouth on Monday 3 November and will visit 23 towns and cities, visiting small businesses, going behind the scenes and meeting the people running them to shine a light on their contribution to local communities and the wider UK economy. 

Alongside the physical roadshow, small businesses can take part in a wider online programme of free business support until Wednesday 3 December. This includes webinars that are designed to help businesses thrive, covering essential topics such as marketing on a budget, time management, finance, and new digital tools such as AI. 

A Small Business Happy Hour on Instagram will also take place each day with giveaways from local businesses all over the country that everyone can enter.

Councillor Nadine Peatfield, Leader of Derby City Council and Cabinet Member for City Centre, Strategy, Regeneration and Policy said:

Derby's independent businesses are the heart and soul of our city, bringing unique character, creativity, and vitality to our high streets.

I’m thrilled that the Small Business Saturday tour has shone a light on our incredible variety of small businesses who do brilliant things.

Shopping locally creates a real sense of community and supports someone’s dream. I would urge everyone to support our fabulous small businesses.

To encourage as many people as possible to shop locally and support small businesses on Saturday 6 December, the Council will be offering a discounted all-day parking rate of £2.50 at its on-street pay and display and car park locations when using MiPermit to pay. This includes Abbey Street car park and Little City Car Park.

The Small Business Saturday permit can be found by logging onto MiPermit, selecting ‘Event Parking Permits’ from the ‘Buy Digital Permits’ menu, and then selecting ‘Small Business Saturday’ from the drop-down menu on the purchase screen. 

With a focus on sustainability and energy saving, the tour bus is an electric van to limit emission and reflect the sustainability switches that many small business owners are making as part of their role in the race to reach net zero.