As small businesses desperately search for credit to ride out the recession, trade bodies say that the banks are still not lending and are imposing increasingly high chrages on business accounts.
Shout out about your successes
Showcase success: Stephen Waud
23 March 2009
By Farhana Haque
Business reporter at the Halifax Courier
ENTREPRENEURS who have triumphed over adversity are urged to put themselves forward for an award.
Stephen Waud, from Brighouse, set up the Biz Awards three years ago in a bid to support small and medium sized businesses in the region.
The 40-year-old wants to attract more entrepreneurs from across Yorkshire to enter the awards which reward those who made their business idea a success.
The ceremony takes place on June 26 at Leeds Royal Armouries, supported by Yorkshire Forward and the region’s business support agencies.
Mr Wau is, fund director and founder of the Bradford–based Business Enterprise Fund, which gives funding and business mentoring to new businesses.
He said: “We launched the Biz Awards three years ago to celebrate the often unrecognised achievements of small business entrepreneurs who have achieved their business dream despite being turned down by the banks, not having the right experience or simply because they took a risk.
“The awards create a sense of achievement for those who never thought they would make it and highlight the incredible and inspiring stories that Yorkshire’s entrepreneurs have to tell, while offering hope and encouragement to others considering their own business ventures.
“This year the awards are focusing on encouraging companies to stand up against the doom and gloom and showcase their success in the face of adversity.”
For more details visit http://www.thebizawards.co.uk or call Alison Metcalf on 01274 230050
The Telegraph and Argus 24th November 2008
11:19am Monday 24th November 2008
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By Chris Holland »
Bradford has one of the most successful Govern-ment-funded projects to give new entrepreneurs a leg up through training, funding and advice.
Bradford Kickstart is entering its third year and has received a £16.5 million second tranche of funding to enable it to continue until at least 2011.
More than 2,000 people have been helped to start new businesses. Another 2,000 have been assisted through community-based enterprise schemes and nearly 700 new small businesses are up and running.
Nearly 400 people have been recruited by Kickstart-backed firms and the total of new jobs created over the past 30 months is about 1,200.
Kickstart has also funded advisors at Bradford Council’s Jobs@ programme which has found employment for about 600 people.
Bradford Kickstart, the district’s Local Enterprise Growth Initiative, was started with £21.4m of public money in 2006.
Its success led to Bradford Council receiving funding for phase two.
About £1m of the cash has so far been used as start-up funding for new enterprises.
But Kickstart is about more than cash. Its services include “hand-holding” and advice to help nurture business ideas.
Kickstart’s bottom line is job creation and boosting economic activity.
Many of the people it supports are not natural entrepreneurs and have limited, if any, previous business experience.
It targets social housing tenants and in particular the unemployed, people aged between 18 and 25, women and ethnic minorities.
Kickstart helps a variety of budding entrepreneurs, including unemployed people, the over 50s and disabled people.
It also supports existing business owners having trouble raising extra finance and helps businesses to employ more people.
The organisation also works with primary and secondary schools to introduce pupils to enterprise.
Free advice on starting a business is available from Kickstart on: (0800) 953-9503.
Here are some case studies showing what Kickstart can do for budding business people.
Factory Street Studios Professional musician Alex Eden and his wife Amy are investing nearly £100,000 to convert part of a former worsted mill at Dudley Hill into a ‘music hub’ with intensive support from Kickstart and its partners.
Factory Street Studios will have seven acoustically-isolated rehearsal rooms, a fully-equipped recording studio, an instrument-repair workshop and a place where musicians can meet socially.
Funding is being provided by the Premises for Enterprise scheme and the Bradford-based Business Enterprise Fund.
Alex said: “Without this vital support we would not have been able to build the hub on the scale we know is required.
“Our Kickstart business counsellor, Colin Holmes, understands what we want to achieve.
“He helped us write a great business plan and our branding and stationery was designed and produced by a local agency through the Kickstart professional services programme.”
Alliance Home Improvements Alliance Home Improvements is an example of a Kickstart-backed firm that is still going strong after more than a year.
The business was started by three former British Bakeries workers after its Bradford bakery was closed with the loss of 370 jobs.
Tariq Mahmood Ahmed, Sarfraz Ahmed and Mohammed Yaqub Ismail used advice offered by Kickstart to bakery employees to plan their enterprise.
Kickstart partners, Accent Community Partnership, referred them to Enterprise Skills Build, an intensive-training group at the Skills School in Thornton.
Tariq said: “Training courses provided through Kickstart were excellent and we are confident our business has a good future.”
Women at Work Women at Work was the 650th new business to benefit from Kickstart support.
It is a Bradford construction and maintenance company set up by four determined young women, including three single mums.
Founders Julie Milburn, of Buttershaw, Kerrie Ormonroyd, of Dudley Hill, Laura Spurden, of Bingley, and Toni Dominik, of Tong, so impressed the judges of the recent Kickstart Enterprise competition that they were among five winners who received a £1,000 cash prize.
They met at Bradford College while learning building skills. Kerrie, 27, is now a bricklayer, Laura, 25, is a joiner, Julie, 30, is a painter and decorator, while Tony, 17, is a trainee plumber.
Kerrie said: “Most of our clients are women or elderly people who feel more comfortable with women working in their homes. We appreciate the flexibility which self-employment gives us.”
They are being advised by Helen Hoyle, a Kickstart business counsellor attached to Royds Business Enterprise at Buttershaw.
Blue Ginger Blue Ginger is a new fashion boutique in Royal Arcade, Keighley, owned by 26-year-old designer Louise Fyffe, of Cullingworth.
She called Airedale Enterprise Services, which led to a series of meetings with Phil Harrison, a Keighley-based Kickstart business counsellor, who provided advice and contacts.
Louise imports garments from Singapore and Thailand which she got to know while living in the Far East. She also designs and makes costume jewellery.
Louise studied art and design at Craven College before graduating in ceramics at the University of Carlisle.
She has opened her shop in premises vacated by her brother Warren, who runs Aire Valley Guitars, and has moved to larger premises in Royal Arcade.
Doody Following redundancy from Empire Stores after 23 years, Darren Reynolds, 40, of Clayton Heights, Bradford, put his experience as an international buyer to good use by setting up an online retail business with support from Kickstart.
The business, Doody, taken from his childhood nickname, is on target to exceed its first-year sales targets, having supplied more than 5,000 customers worldwide.
Darren sells fancy-dress costumes and wigs, party products, gifts, leatherware, homeware, clothing and toys. He said: “I spotted a poster advising people interested in self-employment to contact Bradford Kickstart, so I called them.
“Kickstart business counsellor Tony Wilson helped me write a business plan and offered me loads of useful skills courses. Kickstart also arranged for me to have a professional website developed by a Bradford-based consultant.”
It seems that the whole world is in turmoil; the financial world seems to be going down the toilet. How does one cope? Fundamentally the system is fine quite apart from the morality of those city slickers who have made their millions.
In truth the whole issue is about confidence. Everything the government has done has been to try and bolster confidence in the market so that people feel secure in the UK’s financial services.
Maybe I am getting cynical these days, but I can’t help feeling there have been some great offers going around. Barclays buying a profitable arm of Lehamn Brothers, Nomura buying another profitable arm. Lloyds getting HBOS, when the competition authority would never have allowed it previously.
When all of the dust settles, there are going to be some very happy chppies looking out of their 30 storey office windows thinking, in the words of Brucie, ‘Didn’t we do well.’
Meanwhile the average bloke on the street hasn’t a clue whats going on and the banks use the opportunity to clamp down on lending. Well thank goodness for CDFI’s who can make the most of this situation to tell their story to the public at large. You struggling to get finance then come to us and we will see if we can help you.
CHANGES TO ENCOURAGE MORE INVESTMENT IN DISADVANTAGED COMMUNITIES ANNOUNCED
New measures to boost the amount of finance raised and channelled into new and expanding businesses in disadvantaged areas have been announced by the government today.
The changes are designed to strengthen the ability of organisations, known as community development finance institutions (CDFIs), to attract private investment. In turn, these organisations provide access to finance for enterprises in disadvantaged communities that have been turned down by mainstream providers like banks.
Enterprise Minister Shriti Vadera said:
“By allowing more community development finance institutions to lend with the backing of government secured loans, we are improving the options available to small businesses looking for finance. Together, these changes will enable the community development finance sector to attract greater private investment, increase access to finance, and foster enterprise in the most disadvantaged communities in the UK.”
Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, Angela Eagle said:
“CDFIs’ work in extending finance to economically disadvantaged areas is invaluable in helping our attempts to reduce the disparities in economic performance across the UK and draw on the full potential of everyone in our country. I am pleased to announce changes to the Community Investment Tax Relief that will make them work even better.”
Phil Hope, Minister for the Third Sector, said:
“CDFIs can get into those places which mainstream finance can’t or won’t reach, financing thousands of enterprises, jobs and households in disadvantaged communities. We want to improve the way Community Investment Tax Relief works - because we’re committed to supporting innovative social investment models in the long term. We know such models help social enterprise to thrive, thereby creating social and economic value.”
Didn't they do well!
A beautiful business in a beautiful place.
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Helping the most vulnerable