Enterprise M3 Growth Hub

The Enterprise M3 Growth Hub is an expert advice and resource network which helps businesses achieve results quickly through a free personal, tailored service focused on business start-up, growth and innovation.  For further information click here.

Incuhive

IncuHive offer free business support to all of its resident members.  Prices for space start from £49 plus VAT.  For further information click here.

Enterprise First Business South

If you are looking for support to either start a business or grow an existing one, they can help in the following ways:

• free start up courses
• one to one advice
• finance

For further information visit here.

Business Bulletin

Businesses should sign up to our free business bulletin to make sure that they receive the latest information on business support, funding, training and events.  Sign up here.

Winchester City Council is continuing its support of independent shops and businesses across the district by signing up to the online shopping and ordering platform, ShopAppy.com. Businesses are being invited to register to the website for free, which will provide them with further opportunities to promote their services and sell products to local customers from the comfort of their own home.

The council and ShopAppy is offering free membership to all businesses and community organisations in the district for the first 12 months, enabling them to reach a wider pool of customers and extending their online visibility. 

Funding from the Reopening High Streets Safely Fund, which was launched by the Government and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) last year, has enabled the council to cover the first six months membership for all independent organisations in the district and ShopAppy have matched that, extending the offer to the full 12 months.

 

In as little as an hour, you could change the course of a young person’s life just by sharing your story or helping them to understand more about the world of work.  

The Enterprise M3 Give an hour campaign invites you to make a difference to the young people in your area by giving as little as one hour of your time. They would particularly like to hear from you if you own or work in a small or medium sized business. Hear from some of the employers who are already engaging with young people in their local areas https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUR8GmX2BCQ

It might feel like an hour is too short to have a real impact, but they know from experience that an hour can create new perspectives and inspire new ideas. Just to hear someone’s career story or be able to speak to someone who can listen and give advice. Could you be that someone?  

Register today at https://www.giveanhour.co.uk/register-your-interest to give an hour and change a life.  

The Hampshire Chamber of Commerce is a membership organisation, owned and managed by local businesses whose goal it is to protect and promote business interests. They help to make businesses become more successful by providing networking opportunities, business support and advice.

To speak to someone directly, call  01329 242 420 or email info@hampshirechamber.co.uk

Hampshire County Council (HCC) and Winchester City Council (WCC) are working together to ensure that as many residents and businesses as possible have access to superfast broadband.

Wave 2 of Hampshire County Council’s Superfast Broadband project will involve upgrading 550 roadside broadband cabinets, by September 2018, connecting an additional 34,000 premises across the county. This will make Superfast Broadband available to 96% of premises in Hampshire. 

Broadband cabinets have been updated in some postcodes in the following areas across the Winchester District. For a full list of cabinets and postcodes that have recently been upgraded visit: www.hampshiresuperfastbroadband.com/about-the-project/live-cabinets/. 

The two councils also want to ensure that people are registered on the Hampshire Superfast Broadband website, www.hampshiresuperfastbroadband.com. This is so that Hampshire County Council can keep them updated with project announcements regarding additional funding and upgrades to cabinets. 

To find out when Superfast Broadband is coming to your area or to join the campaign visit: www.hampshiresuperfastbroadband.com

Sparsholt College provides training to business, industry and employers, offering professional accreditation courses as well as one-day workshops and training courses.

SMEs who don't have enough staff to warrant a specialist course can benefit from workshops and courses with individuals from different sectors and industries, where they can share ideas and best practice with colleagues and bring that back to the workplace. For larger groups, courses can also be run in the workplace.

Professional qualifications are delivered in small groups by experienced trainers, working to industry body accreditation standards, which are externally verified for quality assurance. A wide range of courses cover a variety of industries.

To find out more and view the current training calendar go to www.sparsholt.ac.uk/employers/

To get in touch email:business@sparsholt.ac.uk 

Social enterprise means generating your own income through selling your services and or expertise. The income derived is reinvested in your charitable or social purposes. Action Hampshire gives information and support to social enterprises and also run the Hampshire School for Social Entrepreneurs.

Action Hampshire understand that the business development needs of social entrepreneurs are very similar to those of private entrepreneurs but there are also key differences such as legal structures available.

For further information, please contact Action Hampshire.

Face to face networking is one of the most productive ways of developing new business relationships and turning them into high quality leads to drive business growth and return on investment.

Many people may be competent using social media but do not have the face to face skills and confidence to network effectively at business events.

Enterprise M3 Growth Hub can help you grow your business and return on investment through effective business networking.

• Call 0300 456 3565 for more information
• Stay in touch via Twitter @EM3GrowthHub or
• Visit https://www.enterprisem3growthhub.co.uk/bn 

The Entrepreneur Handbook is a UK information website providing expert advice and guides on every aspect of starting and growing a business including sales, finance, marketing and much more.

Go to the website for more information: http://entrepreneurhandbook.co.uk/

A peer-to-business lending platform connecting businesses and investors, where businesses get fast business loans and investors earn great returns on their investments. Funding Circle has funded over £570m in business loans so far.

For more information you can visit their website

• Find out about writing a business plan with Start Ups UK or Discover Business
• Work on your time management
• Find out about Planning Guidance for Rural Businesses
• HMRC have a range of short e-learning courses such as Working for Yourself

For local Trading Standards approved traders, go to the Buy With Confidence web pages available in the column on the right.

The local branch of the Hampshire Chambers of Commerce holds a member directory.

Regional business leaders are being urged to sign up to a new executive development programme accredited by the Small Business Charter. The University of Winchester is one of the first business schools in the UK to deliver the Government's Help to Grow: Management Scheme.

The Scheme, which is part of the UK Government's Plan for Jobs, aims to support senior managers of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to scale up as the country recovers from the Covid-19 pandemic and to hone existing and develop new skills to thrive in the post-pandemic world. Courses should cost £7,500 each, but the 90 per cent UK Government subsidy means employers will pay just £750.

Professor Martin Broad, Director of the University of Winchester Business School and Dean of the Faculty of Business, Law and Digital Technologies, said: "It is vitally important that SMEs are supported to bounce back from the pandemic and explore new opportunities. We are delighted to have been chosen by the government to deliver this new management programme. Our team of academics are committed to providing SMEs with the knowledge and skills to help them drive growth, innovate and realise their potential."

The new 12-week executive-level programme combines one-to-one mentoring with a practical curriculum taught by the University's team of business experts and experienced practitioners. It will also provide businesses with the opportunity to learn from each other, as well as providing access to an extensive network of alumni.

Designed to be manageable alongside full-time work, modules cover financial management, strategies for growth and innovation, leading a high-performance workplace and digital adoption. By the end of the programme, business leaders will develop a tailored business growth plan to help their business achieve its next stage of success.

Kathy Slack OBE, Chief Executive Enterprise M3 LEP, which works to support regional economic growth, said: "I am delighted the University of Winchester's highly-regarded Business School is offering the Help to Grow: Management Scheme. Businesses are facing unique new challenges as the economy recovers from the Covid-19 pandemic and we know how important innovation, diversification and the adoption of new digital technologies are in ensuring businesses can begin to grow again.

"Enterprise M3 LEP is committed to sustained economic growth and getting people the help they need. Through services like our Growth Programme alongside courses such as Help to Grow, businesses in our region can look forward to a bright future."

Small Business Minister Paul Scully said: "Seizing opportunity is what being a business leader is all about, and our Help to Grow: Management Scheme gives entrepreneurs the chance to access the very best advice on how to innovate, reach new customers and boost profits.

"The practical training scheme is 90 per cent funded by the government and designed around busy business owners' schedules, so I would encourage entrepreneurs across the UK to get involved and maximise the potential of their business."

A member of the Chartered Association of Business Schools, the University of Winchester Business School enjoys an enviable reputation in the teaching of business-related programmes. An early adopter in 2008 of the United Nations-backed Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME), its mission is to develop a new generation of business leaders capable of managing the complex challenges faced by business and society in the twenty-first century.

In June, the Business School was awarded the Small Business Charter Award in recognition of its support for small businesses, student entrepreneurship, and its commitment to the local economy.

The next Help to Grow: Management Scheme at the University of Winchester starts on Tuesday 11 January 2022.

Other start dates are: Tuesday 1 February 2022 and Tuesday 1 March 2022. 

You can book your place with the University of Winchester Business School for any of these start dates at: https://smallbusinesscharter.org/help-to-grow-management/

Employers and persons in control of a premises have a duty to ensure that a fire risk assessment is carried out.  Hampshire fire and rescue have produced some guidance to help businesses, including how to carry out a fire risk assessment.  It is also important to ensure that your employees have suitable training in what to do in the event of a fire.

A publication called "Do you have Paying Guests?" has been issued by the Department for Communities and Local Government and seeks to address difficulties that the hospitality industry, specifically bed and breakfasts, guest houses and self catering properties, have faced in understanding the new rules. It explains the risk assessment process, sets out sources of further advice and guidance and offers some practical information for owners on what may represent appropriate and proportionate fire safety measures in these types of premises.

For more information, click here.