The Business Exchange Bath & Somerset Issue 5: Autumn 2017 | Page 25

INVEST IN BATH
Coaching grants and intensive support -
Enterprising West of England
The Enterprising West of England programme brings together three of the region’s
most experienced business support providers along with the four local councils (see
the service offered by B&NES Council above) to provide expert business advice and
support for small and medium sized businesses throughout the West of England.
Scale Up coaching grants are on offer through this
programme. These grants contribute towards the cost of
intensive coaching support for SMEs.
Mark Fanning, owner of AFC Teambuilding and Events,
was looking to develop a strategy to secure future growth
and stability for the business. Working closely with the
Enterprising West of England team at Business West, Mark
had a consultation on the needs of his business and how
a grant could help the business scale up sustainably. Mark
was awarded a grant of £1,320.
“The grant application process was very
straightforward and the Enterprising
West of England team was with me
every step of the way. The grant funding
has allowed my business to work with a
fantastic business consultant to develop
strategies to ensure that we have a bright
future ahead of us.”
The team at AFC Teambuilding and Events
Intensive supp ort is also on offer through the
programme. Experienced business advisory service YTKO
is providing intensive support to help businesses get
investment-ready. This assistance helps business owners
apply for and secure the money needed to develop their
business. The Prince’s Trust is also providing intensive
assistance to those aged 18-30 looking to start a new
business.
For more info:
www.businesswest.co.uk/ewoe
For social enterprises - The Social
Enterprise Innovation Programme
The University of Bath’s Innovation Centre
is working with a number of expert
partners to support the growth of social
enterprise activity in the Bath area.
The Social Enterprise Innovation programme offers start-
up and existing social enterprises free bootcamp-style
mentoring. Those with the most potential are then offered
incubation support – ongoing mentoring, particularly with
a view to becoming investment-ready.
Since the launch in March this year, delivery partners
have already run skills workshops for 41 new social
entrepreneurs and supported a further 35 social enterprise
companies with strategies for growth and investment.
Participants have included social projects such Food
Drop, which connects cafes and food retailers with local
charities who can make use of food waste; and Urban Car
Spa, a car wash which supports ex-army veterans back into
employment within a familiar team environment.
Food Drop’s co-founders Miranda Kharmis and Everest
Ekong took part in the programme as part of their efforts
to expand their venture beyond Bath:
“The support we received from the start-up bootcamp
was unparalleled. It helped us reconsider our ideas and
strategic planning from the bottom-up. We were able
to reprioritise our plans, be creative and share our newly
formed ideas with experts.”
For more info:
http://ubic.org.uk/seip/
The Food Drop co-founders Miranda Kharmis
and Everest Ekong
Get help tackling red tape
The Council’s Public Protection Service includes food
safety and standards, and trading standards teams.
Some businesses avoid discussing plans with public
protection officers, believing that this will attract
unwanted attention and cost.
But working together with Council officers can help
businesses to avoid unnecessary costs and reputational
damage. Businesses can work with officers to ensure they
have the proper licenses, safety standards and processes
in place.
The Bath Soft Cheese Company, an award-winning
family-owned company, worked with Council officers
to understand and comply with hygiene standards as
the business was going through a period of expansion.
An environmental health officer explained what kind of
hygiene testing was required, how to carry out testing to
get useful results – and importantly, how to act on those
For more info:
www.investinbath.co.uk/business/support/regulations
To find out more about
any of the above projects
contact Bath and North East
Somerset Council’s Business
Growth team.
results. “They [the EHOs] were realistic about what needed
to be done and what would be good to do, but wasn’t
immediately necessary.” Hugh Padfield, Managing Director
of The Bath Soft Cheese Company.
01225 394285
@investinbath
THE BUSINESS EXCHANGE 2017
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