Small Business Saturday returns this Saturday 5th December 2015, and as Northern Ireland consumers are encouraged to shop local, Ballymena businessman, Ian Aiken from TaxAssist Accountants says it’s important that local people support small businesses in order to keep their money in the community.

Ian Aiken, of Tax Assist Accountants, comments, “Small Business Saturday is an opportunity for each of us to support our community, it is vitally important for us to prioritise local small businesses and traders when it comes to our needs and wants, if we are to ensure the community remains prosperous.

Ian Aiken of Tax Assist Accountants supports Small Business Saturday

“Many people in Ballymena own a small business or work for a small business or know somebody who does, so supporting a small business on Small Business Saturday can be exceptionally personal and means you are supporting somebody you know.

“SMEs have never been more important to the Northern Ireland economy. According to the recent Octopus 2015 report, small businesses were responsible for over half of Northern Ireland’s value-added growth last year. With a 25% increase of small firms in 2014, which in turn increased the economic output by £122m, therefore the value of smaller firms should certainly not be understated.”

TaxAssist Accountants is a national network of accountants who are committed to helping small businesses, with two franchisees in Northern Ireland, located in Belfast and Ballymena.

The Small Business Saturday campaign plays a valuable role in focusing the minds of consumers and business people on what small businesses in any sector or line of business can offer in terms of range of products and services, and levels of customer service.

There are over 118,000 businesses in the SME sector (defined as from sole operators up to 249 employees) in Northern Ireland – most of whom are defined as sole operator businesses. However, over 30,000 of them have employees.

“We’re delighted to be supporting Small Business Saturday and the local business community and we’ll be aiming to offer practical, jargon-free advice if someone wants to call in for a chat during our opening hours. We’ve been well supported by businesses in Ballymena over the past seven years, so it is great to be able to give something back.”

The campaign last year saw 16.5 million people shop in a small business on Small Business Saturday, which resulted in an increase of 20% on the previous year’s event. While it is a one-day event, the campaign aims to have a lasting impact on the UK’s five million businesses.