Hailing a national business bus in Winchester
Winchester High Street will be hosting a bus tour offering support to small and independent businesses. The Small Business Saturday bus tour stops off in Winchester on Tuesday 24 November from 10am to 2pm, and is open to all local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to hear from local experts in business skills.
Winchester City Council along with Hampshire Chamber of Commerce and Winchester Business Improvement District (BID), have arranged for local industry experts to be on hand. They will be giving a series of short ‘hot topic’ talks ranging from workplace pensions to effective website copy, and business rates relief to setting up a green enterprise. Local entrepreneurs are invited to take part in as many sessions as they choose, all for free, and can register for more information as the bus tour approaches.
Cllr James Byrnes, Portfolio Holder for Local Economy, said:
We are looking forward to having the bus in the High Street, and for there to be a real hive of activity around entrepreneurship. Winchester is fortunate to have plenty of independently run restaurants and coffee shops in the city centre to allow business people to mingle after the bus has departed. We would encourage anyone thinking of starting a business, or already running an independent enterprise, to come along and make new contacts with people who can offer real help and advice.
Winchester is the only Hampshire location for the Small Business Saturday bus in 2015. The bus will be in place at the top of the High Street, near the junction with St Thomas Street, between 10am and 2pm on Tuesday 24 November. Find out more at www.winchester.gov.uk/business/business-support-advice/ or register for updates at http://tinyurl.com/pks5zgp
‘Smart Little Web’, one of Small Business Saturday’s ‘Small Business 100’ featured enterprises, will also be present on the day. Chris John, co-founder of the business based near Hursley, will be speaking about how they made the grade, and the benefits of awards and accreditations in promoting your business.
The bus is touring the country during November in the build up to Small Business Saturday on 5 December. The campaign highlights small business success and encourages consumers to ‘shop local’ and support small businesses in their communities. More information is available at www.smallbusinesssaturdayuk.com. To find out about shopping local in the Winchester District visit www.winchester.gov.uk/business/market-towns-development/ or
www.winchesterbid.co.uk