From 1 to 7 June, UK Small Business Week is calling on Britain to get behind the independent businesses keeping towns, high streets and local economies alive. More than 6,000 businesses signed up within days of the pre-launch campaign alone, with thousands more expected to join throughout the week.

It's a good excuse to shout about what you do, but it also comes at a time when small businesses need more than a pat on the back.

What's actually going on out there

Small businesses employ over 16 million people in the UK, account for 99% of all enterprises and generate more than half of all private sector turnover. That's not a footnote. That's the backbone of the economy.

And yet, as Nigel Botterill, founder of Entrepreneurs Circle and the driving force behind the week, put it: many business owners feel like they're being squeezed from every direction. Rising costs. New employment rules. Inflation that keeps threatening to tick back up.

The week is about making sure the businesses doing all of this hard work are seen.

Three things worth doing this week

Register your business. UK Small Business Week has a free business finder tool where you can put yourself on the map and be visibly recognised as part of the country's small business economy. It takes minutes and puts you in front of local customers who are actively looking to support independent businesses right now.

Tell your story. This week, people are paying attention. A post about why you started, what you do and who you serve will land differently this week than it will in three weeks' time.

Look at your finances. Not the most exciting item on the list, we know. But a quieter moment like this, when you're not in the weeds of a particularly stressful month, is a good time to check in. Do you have a cash buffer? Do you know what your borrowing options are before you need them? Small businesses that stay on the front foot financially tend to be the ones that are still standing when things get tough.

The bigger picture

UK Small Business Week isn't just a feel-good campaign. It's a reminder of something that gets lost in the day-to-day: running your own business is genuinely remarkable.

You took a risk. You keep going. You create jobs, serve customers and contribute to communities in ways that no corporate chain can replicate.

That's worth celebrating this week - and protecting.