Black Friday for small business: Love it or hate it?

The concept of Black Friday tends to cause mixed emotions. It's always been a fairly controversial day, but even more so this year with the double-edged sword of a cost-of-living crisis and greater emphasis on solutions to save our planet.

To better understand the views of small business, we ran a couple of polls on Twitter and LinkedIn this week and the conclusion was that the Enterprise Nation community are taking part in Black Friday three-fold:

1. To celebrate small business

Entrepreneurs are taking part in other initiatives like Colour Friday, which is an independent alternative to Black Friday from Holly Tucker.

The campaign was launched last year to kickstart a retail revolution for Christmas shoppers. So rather than taking part in the mass consumption of Black Friday, they are encouraging the nation to celebrate the colour and creativity that small businesses bring instead.

We also saw a lot of support for Small Business Saturday, which is a most-loved campaign encouraging people to 'Shop Local' and takes place in the UK on 3 December.

2. To champion mindful consumption

Green Friday is termed by the BBC as "an eco-friendly alternative to Black Friday". Green Friday encourages people to move away from excessive consumerism.

The University of Leeds shared a report in 2019 which said that up to 80% of Black Friday purchases are thrown away after one or zero uses. So, instead of frivolous buying, compulsive taking and even careless spending, the Green Friday movement is all about giving and investing in things that really matter.

Below you can see Enterprise Nation member and Sustainable Scale-up Award winner YOU Underwear taking part.

3. To access money-saving offers from big business

At Enterprise Nation, we partner with big businesses that champion small micro businesses. We understand that times are tough right now and so getting your hands on a money-saving offer could be really beneficial.

In fact, 25% of our LinkedIn poll respondents said that they would be making use of Black Friday offers.

So, what offers can small businesses enjoy from Enterprise Nation's partners?

Get six months free on Sage Accounting

Sage Accounting is easy-to-use, secure and packed with everything you need to simplify your admin, and most importantly of all, saves you time to concentrate on you and your business.

The offer of six months of Sage Accounting is a brilliant one ahead of this year’s Black Friday and Small Business Saturday, with the software containing the following features:

• Automated transactions and recurring invoices

• Connect your bank for real-time integration and streamlined processes

• State-of-the-art accuracy and security

• Receipts and bills are uploaded with a tap onto your phone

See the offer from Sage Accounting

Dell for Startups: Start Up. Scale Up.

The next offer comes from our friends at Dell, who are on hand to provide you with expertise from their many dedicated technology advisers.

Furthermore, their experts are also adept at dishing out business solutions, giving you that crucial edge to achieve extra growth.

See the offer from Dell

Vodafone Business: Get a £200 utility spend

With the cost of running a business ever-increasing, Vodafone Business is helping you manage these price rises by offering you a £200 utility spend* with every Business Management contract on an Unlimited Data tariff**.

*limited numbers available. See T&Cs

**on any handset or SIM-only product

Check out the latest business deals and offers from Vodafone Business

StartUp Show flash sale!

Last, but not least, the Enterprise Nation team couldn't resist getting involved. Whether you're celebrating Colour Friday, Green Friday or Black Friday, we're offering just 50 StartUp Show tickets at a bargain price of £5.

The event is taking place on 28 January 2023 in Central London. You can either enjoy the £5 discount (usually £10) - or bring a friend for the price of one! Your choice. The sale starts at 8am on 25 November.

These will go quickly, so we suggest you hurry!