Free business support and skills workshops
The European Regional Development Fund, local authorities and Devon County Council have made funding available to support businesses across Devon through a variety of support programmes. As a result, there are a range of free business skills workshops as well as one-to-one support on offer.
Whether you’ve recently started your first business or are looking to grow and expand an existing company, local enterprise agency Business Information Point (BIP) is holding a wide variety of workshop topics throughout the year run by highly experienced business advisors or outside experts. Whatever your business goals, the workshops provide practical advice including the latest information on topics to help you and your business. Many attendees also comment that the workshops are an excellent place to network and connect with like-minded people. Topics include:
Marketing Made Easy
Bookkeeping for Self-Assessment
Social Media Basics: Instagram & Pinterest
Setting the Right Price for Your Products or Services
Business Website Essentials
Digital Marketing Basics
Making Tax Digital
If you have recently started your own business and have registered with HMRC or Companies House within the last year then you may also be interested in BIP’s regular free, two-day start-up courses which provide 12 hours of support, taking you through the complete business planning process to give your new business the best chance of success. A recent attendee to the start-up course commented: “This was an excellent and thorough workshop! It makes me feel more equipped with the essential information to get my business started.”
Many businesses also choose to take advantage of the free one-to-one support that is on offer to talk through specific issues, and benefit from an independent outside view of your business from an experienced advisor. Additional support has also been made available specifically for adult social care businesses through the Creative Innovation & Growth (CIAG) programme funded by Devon County Council. This provides for up to 30 hours of business support including access to capital and revenue grants, as well as leadership training and development opportunities. The support provides for assistance with accessing the grant funding, preparing applications and expressions of interest.
BIP has been delivering expert business support for over 20 years and is very knowledgeable in all aspects of starting and growing a successful business across all sectors. You can find more information about the support and workshops available at www.businessinfopoint.co.uk. You can also call 0800 592 872 or email team@businessinfopoint.co.uk.