SECTOR FOCUS: ENTREPRENEURS
Chamber secures funds for business start-ups
poorer parts of the city start up in business, The funding is for a project being carried out in partnership with Birmingham City Council’s ‘Enterprising Communities’ initiative. This initiative is aimed at Saltley, Small Heath,
B
Sparkbrook and Sparkhill, which are widely viewed as suffering significant socio-economic disadvantages.
‘This is a fantastic opportunity for individuals to test out their ideas’
It is aimed at addressing this in a number of ways, including improving the skills of the local population, to boost their job prospects, and also by attracting new investment into the area. The Chamber scheme will encourage individuals to
irmingham Chamber of Commerce has secured £590,000 of funding over the next three years to help people living in
think about the idea of self-employment as a realistic alternative to employment. Local people will have access to a range of
workshops, group work and one-on-one mentoring support to help them build confidence in their business idea, test its feasibility and ultimately start-up on their own.
Chamber project manager Aftab Khan said: “This is a
fantastic opportunity for individuals to test out their ideas within a safe environment before making the major leap into self employment. “At a time when the support on offer from Business Link is changing it is important that there is still the opportunity for entrepreneurs to be able to meet with an enterprise coach face-to-face to talk through their ideas and concerns”. The three year programme is partly financed from
the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Birmingham Economic Development Partnership (BEDP).
Young enterprise event in Aston
Aston University students and business school are working together to host an entrepreneurial conference to be held next February. The National Student Enterprise
Conference will bring together budding entrepreneurs and encourage them to develop business skills with the guidance of top business professionals and celebrity entrepreneurs. The bid to host the conference
was co-ordinated by Aston Business School and Aston Entrepreneurs Society, and obviously made a great impression on the judging panel of the National Consortium of University Entrepreneurs (NACUE).
‘Enterprise can’t simply be learnt from a textbook, but I wholeheartedly know that events such as NSEC will work miracles’
Chocolate heaven: Anne Slim Business Venture’s sweet success
After a 40 year career as a secretary/administrator, Anne Slim finally decided to realise a longstanding ambition to start her own business. However, the only admin work
that comes into the new business is related to the running of it – because Anne has become a chocolate entrepreneur. She’s taken on the Birmingham
franchise for ‘My Chocolate Explosion’, whose products are used at weddings, birthdays, parties and fundraising events. The products are a chocolate
version of the flower bouquet – but probably taste a lot better. The edible ‘bouquets’ contain
chocolate and confectionery – from branded bars and wrapped sweets to natural and organic products.
‘I thought that it must be now or never to take the plunge’
Anne, 57, said: “In view of my age, I thought that it must be now or never to take the plunge. “Daunting as it was, I’m so glad I
did it. I am well under way in developing my business strategies, which will provide me with a sound basis going forward.” Anne has been backed by Chamber subsidiary Business Venture, which is one of the region’s most successful enterprise agencies and specialises in helping new businesses get off the ground. Anne said that among the most
valuable help she has received from Business Venture was in the area of targeting her products into relevant markets, and also with networking.
The Aston Entrepreneurs Society, launched two years ago, helps develop business skills among students, and industry links. The society is aiming to increase its active membership from 186 to 500 members by the end of next year. Samuel Wilson, president of
Aston Entrepreneurs, who is a second year student in International Business with Spanish, believes the event is going to “change mentalities for the better.” “Enterprise can’t simply be learnt
from a textbook, but I wholeheartedly know that events such as NSEC will work miracles.” he said. This year’s conference in Manchester brought together 200 of the most promising students across the UK as well as leading academics, investors, international corporates, global entrepreneurs and the media. The NSEC is due to be held at
Aston University on 18-19 February 2012.
OCTOBER 2011 CHAMBERLINK 39
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