business
development
27
Business Link
Business Link provides access
to the information, advice and
support you need to start a
new business or maintain and
grow an existing one.
A case in point
Among the companies that have
been helped is Folkestone-based
Internetstamps Group, where staff
have been working with Business Link
advisers for more than two years. Due
to its success and expansion, the
company, which provides high quality
limited edition first day covers to stamp
collectors and enthusiasts, moved to
new offices in 2007.
Sales Director Ellie Hopkins said:
“We have received fantastic service from
Business Link over the last couple of
years. The advisers have listened to our
needs, recommended ways to take the
business forward and provided practical
assistance with funding and contacts.
I have had help in reviewing our
management structure and processes
and was put in touch with a training
provider who has made a real difference
to the whole company; the training
has revolutionised the way in which
we approach HR and recruitment and
has also brought the management
team together.
“Some of our team members have
been on sales and marketing courses
recommended by Business Link which
have made a real difference both to
staff motivation and our bottom line.
Everyone I have spoken to at Business
Link has always provided a superb
service and offered us invaluable advice.
Whenever I phone the organisation I
speak to someone cheerful, friendly
and ready to assist.”
Case StudyCase Study Rather than providing all the advice
and help through one organisation,
Business Link puts people in touch
with a range of expertise from
across the private, public and
voluntary support sectors.
Business Link has a team of
very experienced local advisers
throughout Kent and Medway who
are available to visit your premises
or for booked appointments at
a convenient local venue. Their
role is to understand how you
wish to develop your business
and to find the best sources of
assistance from the private, public
and voluntary sectors.
The service offers additional
advisers specialising in innovation
and sustainability as well as starting
up and enterprise.
In 2007/8, Business Link in Kent
provided support to more than
4,000 people considering starting
a business and to 1,800 who actually
started. Over 20,000 businesses
were assisted with general
information and advice with over
2,500 utilising the services of
a Business Link Adviser.
National research has shown that
small and medium sized companies
that make use of business advice
generally achieve double the profits
of those that fail to do so. ≥
The language of business
Fluent in Spanish, French and
German and having taught English
as a foreign language abroad, multilingual
Olga D’Silva of Zen
Languages decided to go it alone in
2007 after a varied and much
travelled career.
Olga said: “Although I had a wealth
of business experience and the
language skills, Business Link was
able to focus me on the areas I did
not know so much about such as
contracts, terms and conditions and
VAT registration. It was this type of
help which was invaluable and
showed me what I needed to do.”
Business Link Adviser Tony Logan
said: “We encouraged Olga to use
our Supplier Matching Service, a
free database for suppliers of
business-to-business services, as
well as introducing her to Valerie
Pondaven, Business Link’s
European adviser. Through
introductions and Olga’s extensive
networking she has made many
useful contacts.
“Zen Languages is a good example
of where we can help with our
business advice but also how we
can be beneficial through
introductions as well.”
business
development
Starting up
Extensive support and advice is
available and particularly popular
is an ongoing programme of free
business start up workshops that
are organised across Kent.
These ‘Starting Your Own Business’
events are held at convenient
locations and times – including
evenings and weekends – and
are open to all. The half-day
introductory ‘Is it right for you?’
workshop explores the pros and cons
of self-employment and looks at
entrepreneurial potential, explains all
about a business plan and the need
for financial planning and raises
awareness of available support.
For those whose ideas are more
developed, Business Link offers a
modular course of three half-day
workshops – including sessions
exclusively for women and social
enterprise – addressing the key
areas of running a successful
business: business planning
and legal considerations, sales
and marketing, finance and
accounts, with a mix of tutor-led
sessions and practical activities.
On completion participants have
an individual action plan detailing
further steps to take before
launching the business.
Particularly popular
is an ongoing
programme of
free business start
up workshops
28
Case StudyCase Study
≥ Business Link continued...
Olga D’Silva
Case Study
business
development
29
The programme is user-friendly,
with participants able to dip in and
out of the course. There is also the
opportunity to find out more on the
broad range of free support
available from Business Link.
One-to-one clinics
Business Link also runs a
programme of one-to-one drop-in
clinics across the county, where
local business people can benefit
from expert, impartial advice from
an experienced Business Link
adviser. In many cases, the hourlong
session is the start of a longer
professional relationship.
Keen to be green
As part of the business advice and
information services provided by
Business Link, there is specialist
advice relating to environmental
issues. This can be as simple as
getting recycling started in the office
or how to switch to a green tariff
right through to the impact that
climate change is having on
business. It’s a service that
businesses of all sizes are using.
The team also helps ensure that
Kent businesses understand
their legal responsibilities for
their impact on the environment
and encourages them to look
beyond simple legislative
compliance to examine the
potentially wider business benefits,
for example, by selling waste for
reuse or recycling. ≥
Jeff Moody and partner Simon Peek bought a run down
farm in Pluckley in January 2007 and within six months
had transformed it into a thriving business.
With very little previous experience, the couple turned
to Business Link for assistance even before they had
exchanged contracts on the property.
“I was very impressed with the enthusiasm that we
were met with,” explained Jeff. “Our business adviser
was full of ideas and after an hour spent with him at
a free Business Advice Clinic, we came away feeling
inspired and felt that we could really achieve our goals.”
Jeff enrolled on several business courses that were
recommended by Business Link and slowly built his
knowledge of the industry and the ins and outs of
running a small business.
He continued: “Our adviser helped us with our business
plan, the pricing structure and forming partnerships
with organisations such as the Kent Tourism Alliance.
We were able to talk through our priorities and soon
realised that we could be financially better off by
changing our order of work.
Occupancy rates at the guesthouse soon far exceeded
its owners’ expectations and were further boosted
after the venue received a four star rating from ‘Quality
in Tourism’.
Jeff added: “I have to admit that I was sceptical about
the practical help that Business Link could provide but I
was soon proved wrong. Our adviser has been involved
with the business almost every step of the way and I
know he genuinely cares about it. It is great to have
someone on the end of the phone to act as a sounding
board whenever we have a new idea or just need to talk
through a problem.”
Local
business
people can
benefit
from expert,
impartial
advice
business
development
No Water Loo Wages War
on Waste Bills
Simple measures saved large
sums of money after the
organisers of the annual Kent
Show turned to Business Link
for advice.
As a result, the 2007 Kent Show
at the Detling Showground
featured a whole raft of waterless
urinals, which meant that
thousands of visitors could spend
a penny without costing the earth.
Sara Denton, Sustainable
Business Adviser, said: “The
Kent Show had an issue with
water use during key events.
After contacting Business Link,
a Free Fastrack Survey visit was
arranged with Envirowise and the
report gave them advice not only
on how to save water but other
waste materials and energy.
After finding a UK supplier, new
blocks were installed and the
Showground is now achieving
a 40 per cent reduction in its
annual water bill.
Skills for the future
Another important sustainable
business service is the
Regional Resource Centre for
Environmental Technology Skills
(RRCETS). The application of
solutions for energy and waste
reduction is set to be the fastest
growing market over the next
ten years. The Centre provides
information and advice on the
wide range of courses now
available in the South East
for both the professionals and
applicators needing to update
their skills in the wide range of
new environmental technologies.
Business Link
Tel: 0845 600 9 006
www.businesslink.gov.uk/
southeast
≥ Business Link continued...
Sara Denton, Sustainability Business Adviser
Solutions for
energy and waste
reduction is set
to be the fastest
growing market
over the next
ten years
Case Study
30