A-Star Media was one of fewer than 100 small businesses from around the country invited to Downing Street to mark the second Small Business Saturday, when small, independent businesses in communities across the country were put in the national spotlight.

Award-winning A-Star Media specialise in corporate film production for customers across the UK. Directors Katrina Atherton and John Starkie attend a Small Business Saturday Christmas fair inside Downing Street attended by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne.

Small businesses around the UK planned events, promotions and other activities to attract clients and customers to them both on December 6th but also as a way of creating a mindset for people to more readily think of doing business with small, local companies. More than 30,000 small businesses around the UK have engaged with the campaign.

“The first Small Business Saturday last year was an exceptional example of collaboration and co-operation with small businesses teaming up in communities around the UK,” explains National Campaign Director Michelle Ovens.

Michelle goes onto say that, with 5.2 million small businesses in the UK, the chances are that if you don’t own one, then you work for one or know somebody who does.

Katrina said: “We were proud to be selected to not only represent small businesses from across the UK, but also Mansfield. Huge amounts of the focus of small businesses are on retail, and there are some great independent retailers in Mansfield, but there’s also a really strong service sector of businesses like ours so it’s fantastic we are being promoted too.”

Speaking about Small Business Saturday 2014, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, commented:

“Britain’s small business owners deserve our support. They are the ones who take the risks to create new opportunities and new jobs, that show off British ingenuity and innovation and I am glad that once again they will be able to be the focus of all our attention and support.”

Small Business Saturday UK has attracted the support of leading business organisations including Federation of Small Businesses, the Association of City and Town Management, Association of Convenience Stores, Northern Ireland Independent Retail Trade Association, as well as corporates like American Express, O2, Lloyds Bank and NatWest and prominent entrepreneurs Theo Paphitis, Karren Brady and Martha Lane Fox.