helping small firms prosper and grow
July 2011
Welcome to the fourth edition of our newsletter about changes to the way the Government provides support to people who want to start and grow a business. Last month we saw, again, a significant increase in the number of subscribers to the newsletter. If you would like to subscribe or would like to see past issues, please click here. If you would like to forward this to someone else, please click here.
Mentoring web portal launched 4th July
British businesses will now have access to more knowledge and support through a brand new web portal, www.mentorsme.co.uk . The new web portal will help people starting and growing a business, or thinking about doing so, by enabling them to access the mentoring help they need. Set up by the UK’s five largest high street banks, the portal will offer support on a range of issues faced by businesses, from finance to marketing to HR.
The web portal provides a single point of access for those seeking mentoring and those seeking to be mentors. The press release can be found here and you can find out more about the benefits of mentoring here.
StartUp Britain supports and supplies mentoring
StartUp Britain is a national campaign to encourage more people to start a business and support existing businesses to grow. Launched on 28th March by the Prime Minister, Chancellor and Business Minister, the campaign has effected a 25% increase in the number of people searching for the term ‘start up’ [source: Experian], inspired new projects to launch such as StartUp Saturday and StartUp Summer, encouraged over 3,000 StartUp Guides to be downloaded and thousands of corporate offers activated.
One of the most well received aspects of the campaign is the mentor matching facilitated by The Supper Club. Members of The Supper Club are proven and successful entrepreneurs and they have pledged over 1,500 hours to help mentor young start ups. The response has been incredibly positive with mentee testimonials speaking for themselves:
‘My mentor was very candid and inspirational. He gave me thoughts from his personal experiences that I could relate into my business.’
‘I got on great with the successful entrepreneur that I was partnered with and we're meeting up again in a few weeks. I really enjoyed hearing his stories and the experiences he's been through.’
‘It’s been great for us to talk to someone who has been through it all and come out the other side!’
As more people start businesses, they are going in search of those who have already trodden the entrepreneurial path. Having a mentor who can guide, offer advice and possibly facilitate introductions is becoming an essential part of every small business owner’s journey and efforts to introduce more mentors to the market and then match with mentees are warmly welcomed by the small business community.
User testing the Start Up Hub
We are looking for volunteers to test online learning content for the new 'Start Up Hub' , the dedicated area within businesslink.gov.uk which will offer access to the help and guidance needed to start a business or become self-employed. We require 24 people, ideally those new to business, from a cross range of business areas. The testing will take place in the week commencing 11th July at three locations in London and Scotland.
Each volunteer will spend a maximum of 2 hours testing plus travel time. Epic and Thomson Reuters, who are co-ordinating this process, will reward participants with £50 in vouchers/charitable donation and reasonable travel expenses will also be paid. If you are considering or have recently started a business and would like to be involved, please contact Kat Hennessey at BIS before Friday 11th July on tel. 0207 215 1766 or by e-mail at Kathryn.Hennessey@bis.gsi.gov.uk.
Business Coaching for Growth
We received 42 Pre Qualification Questionnaires for contracts to deliver the Business Coaching for Growth (BCG) service across England. We have now evaluated these and shortlisted 13 to take forward to the next procurement stage of issuing an Invitation to Submit an Outline Proposal. We received a good range of high quality bids, and we are confident that the market will deliver an innovative, flexible and cost effective solution to delivering BCG across England. We will be assessing the outline proposals and further refining our requirements during July so that we can then further narrow down the list of bidders.
Finding opportunities to do business with Government
Contracts Finder is a new service developed to help businesses find contract opportunities in government. You can use the service to find new opportunities, view awarded contracts and register to receive email alerts free of charge. In the first 3 months following the launch of Contracts Finder there have been over a million page views. Contracts Finder currently issues around 5000 daily email alerts to businesses and individuals, so if you have not yet used Contracts Finder, take a look and remember that you can search the site and receive emails alerts free of charge.
Free online course to help smaller firms bid for government contracts
“Winning the Contract” is a nationally available, free, on-line public procurement course which details how government buys goods and services, explains the bidding process, and where to search for Government contracts. The course, designed to help smaller firms bid for the £236 billion of public sector contracts is available at: www.businesslink.gov.uk/winningthecontract
Department for Business Outreach Programme
The Department for Business is introducing a programme to increase understanding and strengthen relationships between the Department and its stakeholders. We would like to invite you to take part in the programme. BIS staff will visit your organisation for one to two days to learn about how you operate, the challenges you face and your views on government policy. You can agree with the civil servant in advance about how you want the placement to run. You can find out more about this here
Get the proof that your business is best
UK businesses that are amongst the best in their field are being encouraged to gain recognition for their excellence by applying for The Queen’s Awards for Enterprise – the most prestigious business awards in the UK.
The Awards are bestowed by Her Majesty The Queen in three categories: Innovation, International Trade and Sustainable Development. Entry to the Awards is now open and it is free to enter – all UK based companies employing more than two people can apply.
The Awards provide global recognition that a company is amongst the best in its field. Winning can boost staff morale and lead to an increase in sales. All winners can display the Awards emblem for five years and will meet Her Majesty The Queen at a reception at Buckingham Palace. Winners also receive a Grant of Appointment certificate and a crystal chalice.
There is also an award for individuals – the Queen’s Award for Enterprise Promotion – for which people are free to nominate others who they believe are worthy of recognition for promoting enterprise.
Entry is now open for the 2012 awards – and the closing date is 31st October 2011. If your company deserves the ultimate recognition, start your application today. For an application form and more information, click here
Recent activity
A new drive to identify those regulations that most get in the way of business and holding back growth has been launched.
Retail consultant Mary Portas made her first town centre visit, as part of her independent review into the High Street.
A new law came into force that provides small businesses with easier access to justice in protecting their patent and design rights.
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Useful links
Local Enterprise Partnerships - led by local authorities and businesses across natural economic areas. They provide the vision, knowledge and strategic leadership needed to drive sustainable private sector growth and job creation in their area.
Solutions for Business – find out more about the range of publicly funded products and services designed to help Businesses to identify and overcome key challenges as they grow, providing the assistance they need to improve when they need it most.
Enterprise Directorate – find out more about our work across Government and the regions to develop and influence policies to boost enterprise, start ups and small business growth
Connect with BIS
we publish this newsletter to keep you up to date with progress on delivering the Business Improvement Programme to transform the way that people receive the information, advice and guidance they need to start and grow a business, the BIS Bulletin sets out the wider work of BIS to build a dynamic and competitive economy. Click here if you would also like to subscribe to that.
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