Small Business SHAPING THE BIG SOCIETY Summit opens

Summit opens today, Monday 14 November with a focus on growth

The Business Secretary, Vince Cable MP opens the first virtual summit in the UK to be aimed at small businesses. The Small Business SHAPING THE BIG SOCIETY summit runs from Monday 14 November - Friday 18 November to coincide with Global Entrepreneurship Week. The free virtual summit brings together small business owners and social entrepreneurs via social media to discuss how small business can contribute to, and benefit from, Big Society activities.

Participation in the Summit is free and recognises that small businesses do not have the time or money to attend face to face conferences and summits but do make use of social media. Keynote interviews will be broadcast as podcasts and discussions will take place using social media sites, LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.

·      The Summit is run by small business for small business. Wilson Sherriff Ltd, who financed and organised the Summit are a small business specialising in events and meetings that make a difference.

·     Summit themes are growth and sustainability, entrepreneurship and society, health and well-being, growth with a purpose and getting started. Each day will focus on a different theme.

·      National speakers include the Business Secretary, Vince Cable, Andrew Cave from the Federation of Small Businesses, Professor Dame Carol Black the UK National Director of Health and Well-being

·     Small Business speakers include Carol Sherriff and Simon Wilson, Directors of Wilson Sherriff the Summit hosts, Jim Dinnage from Seacourt one of the top three environmental printers worldwide, Carry Somers founding Director of Pachacuti Panama Hats a company focused on sustainable growth, Iqbal Wahhab of Roast Restaurants Ltd who put Big Society activities into all their business plans, Martyn Smith Head of the Humanitarian Division of new business Pro Bono Bio.

·     The Summit's target is the 1,173,400 small and micro firms in the UK.  Participants can register for free at www.bigsocietysmallbusiness.co.uk

Today 14 November, the Business Secretary, Vince Cable MP, discussing with Carol Sherriff, director of Wilson Sherriff, the small business that has organised and financed the Summit, the government's policy initiatives to support the growth of small businesses. The interview will be broadcast as a podcast, available for business owners and social entrepreneurs to listen to when and where they want. Carol Sherriff and Simon Wilson, the Summit hosts, discussing what strategies successful small business are using to grow in challenging times.

Carol Sherriff, says:

"Small businesses make up over 90% of private enterprises in the UK. The difference they can make to the Big Society and growth in the economy is enormous. Even more exciting, there is growing evidence that those small businesses who take a strategic approach to involvement in the Big Society are able to grow even in the current economic climate. Their involvement with Big Society activities gives them passion and energy in difficult times. It helps motivate staff and is attractive to customers. The advice that we are getting from business owners is that small businesses need to take a strategic approach: to integrate their Big Society activities into their business plans and cashflow forecasts."

Contact for further details

Carol Sherriff, Wilson Sherriff 07734 908 431 carol.sherriff@wilsonsherriff.com

Simon Wilson, Wilson Sherriff 07768 444 616 simon.wilson@wilsonsherriff.com