Small Business first appeared in the Spring of 1976. The first edition features a welcome message from the Leader of the Party, Margaret Thatcher: 'I wish Small Business good luck and the support it deserves. Small firms are under attack as never before. The Socialist government has introduced measure after measure whose effect has been punitive to the small business. We in the Conservative Party have fought these measures one after another - the Capital Transfer Tax, the multi rates of VAT, the unfair increases last year on the Self-Employed etc etc. Unfortunately even these are not the end of the road. The plain fact is that private enterprise and small businesses are in mortal peril from the programme of the Socialist Party. Small firms need to ensure that the Conservative Party is kept "in the picture" so that it can defend them in Parliament and take good account of their interests when preparing its policies. For this reason we have set up the Small Business Bureau at Conservative Central Office. It will keep in touch with small firms and through future issues of this newsletter will report back on the work which is being done for them in Parliament.'

Small Business began as a 4-sided A-4 publication, produced quarterly. From issue no. 3 (Autumn 1976) it moved to a tabloid format, and by 1978 had also adopted a more-or-less monthly production schedule.