I was amazed and delighted earlier this month to be selected as part of Small Business Saturday’s #SmallBiz100 list of the hundred most impressive small businesses in the UK.
I’m a big fan of Small Britain Saturday and their campaign to get more of us to shop local and shop small. Each business chosen is showcased on one day between the announcement and Small Business Saturday itself on 7th December 2024. My day is on 6th December so you can be sure I’ll be all over social media on that day.
Running in the UK for over a decade, Small Business Saturday is the UK’s most successful small business campaign, which takes place each year on the first weekend in December, celebrating small businesses and encouraging consumers to ‘shop local’ and to support businesses in their communities. That’s something we can all get behind, right?
Anyway I was really chuffed to be selected. It felt like a vindication of all the hard work I’ve put into starting and growing The Gently Used Book Club from a germ of an idea that floated into my head during lockdown, to the fantastic successful business it is today.
I’ve had lots of help along the way. The Black Country Growth Hub gave me a grant for the website development, and Wolverhampton Council also gave me a grant for new IT equipment (Much needed as my old Mac was on its last legs). Pete has been hugely supportive of me totally filling the house with books, and Finn has supervised me carefully from the sofa. I know when he’s watching me because he momentarily stops snoring.
But the most important part of all of this has been you. My wonderful customers – there have been hundreds of you over the three and a half years since we started. Those who like classics, those who like the latest TikTok reads. People who live alone and for whom a gifted book box every month is an absolute treat. People who have TBR piles to rival mine – but want more books anyway. I feel as though you are all my friends, though we’ve never met. And when I go out to search for books in secondhand shops and charity shops, you all come with me in my head. (It does get a bit crowded in there sometimes!)
Best of all, between us we’ve saved over 6000 books from potentially ending up in landfill. That’s roughly 16200kgs of CO2 equivalent. That’s equivalent to the climate impact of heating 2314 homes or flying from London to New York 18 times. (figures from clevercarbon.io)
So anyway this is just a way of saying a great big thank you to all of you. To everyone who has bought a subscription for themselves, or gifted one to someone else. To those who’ve bought gift boxes for all their family and keep coming back to buy more. To everyone who has bought a gift card. To everyone who has signed up to the email list and read the Monthly(ish) Newsletter. To those who follow us on social media and like or share the odd post. Thank you. We couldn’t do this without you!
