SUPPORT SMALL UK
Virtual Spring Fair: Friday 9th - Sunday 11th April, 2021
After a year of the world dealing with the pandemic, everyone has had to adjust to the new normal. Small businesses especially, have had to get creative to keep their businesses going. At the end of last Summer there was still hope that things would return to normal for Christmas. I remember tentatively talking to small business friends about preparing for Christmas and the hope that we would be able to do some events and markets. 3 lockdowns later, in person events have been few and far between due to constant last minute changes to regulations.
Social media had become a life line for many small businesses to reach customers and virtual markets have become the norm. I’ve been fascinated with the inventive ways products have been showcased. I’ve signed up for my first virtual event with Support Small UK in April. I reached out to Natasha, the founder of Support Small UK, to get some insight:
Natasha, tell us a bit about yourself.
I’m 31, I live Cheltenham and I’m a married mum of one (a two and a half year old girl). Although born In Cheltenham, I spent 8 years in Sweden and my mother is Irish and my father Iranian, so I have a bit of a mixed background.
What motivated you to start Support Small UK?
My sister started a business called @byroxanaearrings last spring, and I supported her with that. I then found myself shopping a lot from small businesses and knew how much sharing a purchase meant for a small business, so set up this page to share my purchases and it grew from there.
How do virtual markets work?
Each business has a virtual stall, this is a grid post on Instagram featuring three of their items, with details about the items and how to see their full range and shop, as well as any special market discounts or offers.
What advice do you have for businesses taking part in their first virtual market?
Engagement is key so make sure to engage with all the market posts and feature posts - this helps them get seen and brings people to the page to view all the posts. Also don’t think about just the sales from the event, but also the network connections, the engagement and traffic on your page and new followers. They might not buy today but may in the future.
What's your current favourite small business purchase?
This is really hard I have so many! If I had to choose I would say a macrame wall art piece I had made by Nomad Macrame. I designed it myself using ideas some of Ashley’s exciting pieces and she brought my vision to life - it’s even lovelier than I could have imagined. Also a coat and some dresses by Hunter Brown Bear.
I’m very excited to be taking part in my first virtual market and to be working with Natasha who is so passionate about supporting small businesses.
Have a sneak peek at some of the small businesses taking part in the Support Small UK Virtual Spring Fair. (Click image for website and caption for Instagram.)
There will be 15% off everything in my shop during the market, so make sure you’re following me on Instagram to get the discount code! Click here to browse my shop.
