Enterprise Agency reaches out into community
02/11/2006
Bedfordshire and Luton Enterprise Agency, in conjunction with the Chamber, is reaching out into the community later this month for Enterprise Week. Enterprise Week, which takes place between 13th and 18th November, is a national event aimed at inspiring people in their teens and twenties to be enterprising. However, the remit of the Enterprise Agency is wider and advisors will be on hand to help people of all ages find their inner entrepreneur.
Business advisor Shahida Parkar will be conducting start up surgeries at community venues across Bedfordshire and Luton, where she will give advice and guidance to anyone thinking about starting a business. In addition, the Enterprise Agency is sponsoring a networking event for businesses and Bedford residents at the Queens Park Community Centre on the 14th November starting at 6pm.
Meanwhile other members of the Enterprise Agency's team of highly experienced business advisors will be on hand for in-depth, one-to-one advice sessions at a number of centres. In the last year the business advisors have seen 1206 individuals and helped 151 businesses start up, creating some 252 jobs. The advisors, all business people in their own right, offer a wealth of experience across all sectors. John Colton, with over thirty years experience in the manufacturing and retail sectors, has been a business adviser with the Enterprise Agency for five years. John explains:
'All the business advisors have direct experience of what it's like to run a business. We've had the knock backs, as well as the successes, so we're well qualified to point start up businesses in the right direction'.
The Enterprise Agency is also launching a range of courses aimed at start up and new businesses. Businesses can benefit from funded courses on issues as diverse as business planning and website design, to bookkeeping and business letter writing. For those toying with the idea of starting a business, the Business Awareness workshops can help in making the right decisions. John Colton recommends start-up businesses take advantage of the courses:
'Planning ahead is vital to business success. Getting your business plan, market research and cash flow forecast right is essential'.
Helping businesses start up and thrive doesn't end with Enterprise Week. Courses and one-to-one advice are available throughout the year and the Enterprise Agency is constantly looking at new ways to help local people become entrepreneurs. A good example is the Devices Project, which will allow individuals across Luton to link up with business start-up advice from local community centres via a web cam and PC. The project is funded by the Phoenix Fund and is being delivered by the Enterprise Agency in conjunction with the Innovation Centre at the University of Bedfordshire.
For more information on Enterprise Week and how the Bedfordshire and Luton Enterprise Agency can help you please call 01582 522303.
