northamptonshire enterprise partnership - business support brochure

Business SupportONE-STOP

FUNDING

SUPPORT

NETWORKS

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www.northamptonshirelep.co.uk

WELCOMEIt is an unassailable fact that businesses create jobs. Northamptonshire Enterprise Partnership’s (NEP) primary objective is to support Northamptonshire businesses to do just that.

Developing new and successful initiatives to support both start-up and established companies from the earliest stages of advancement and beyond is one of the prevailing issues at the forefront of NEP’s development strategy.

NEP is uniquely placed to offer professional guidance and practical assistance by way of a comprehensive range of business support programmes and activity. These include Enterprise Hub Workshops for start-up companies, trainee and apprenticeship recruitment, property search and rent-free office space, one-to-one support including mentoring, funding opportunities and business to business networking.

Regardless of whether you are thinking about or have recently started a new business or are trying to grow an established company in Northamptonshire, this publication is essential reading.

Don’t forget to keep checking the NEP website for details of the many free training and workshop opportunities available www.northamptonshirelep.co.uk@_NorthantsEP

SAJEEDA ROSE Director of Economic [email protected]

CONTENTSSUPPORT 4Enterprise Hub Workshops 6One-to-One Support 7Property Search 8Job Brokerage 9Mentoring Programme 9

FUNDING 10Funding & Finance 12High Performance Technologies 13

NETWORKS 14Creative & Cultural Industries 16High Performance Technologies Network 16Business to Business 17Industry Focus Groups 17Construction Forum 17

Investment Programme

ONE-TO-ONE SUPPORT

ENTERPRISE HUB WORKSHOPS

4 www.northamptonshirelep.co.uk

NEP MENTORINGPROGRAMME

Support

ONE-TO-ONE SUPPORT

Enterprise Hub WorkshopsJobs BrokerageProperty SearchOne-to-One SupportNEP Mentoring Programme

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ONE-TO-ONE

A programme of support for both start-up and established businesses


ENTERPRISE HUB WORKSHOPS

IS IT FOR ME?For anyone thinking about starting a business, this workshop provides an opportunity to explore the basics and start building a network with other budding entrepreneurs.

BUSINESS PLANNING Your business plan is a unique roadmap to starting and developing a new business; it is an essential tool if you intend to look for financial investment. This workshop covers the key topics enabling you to put together your first business plan.

SOCIAL MEDIA FOR NEW BUSINESSES Are you social media savy? This workshop takes a look at the world of social media from a business perspective and will help you develop an effective social media strategy for engaging with target audiences.

EFFECTIVE WEBSITESThis session is packed with vital information and guidance from establishing a company identity and registering a domain name to creating and developing a website that works as an efficient marketing tool.

ENTERPRISE CHAMPIONSThe marketing strategy course, ‘Enterprise Champions,’ was nominated for the National Training Awards last year. It is designed to enable business owners to maximise opportunities for growth by equipping them with the commercial skills needed to succeed.

Essential guidance and advice for start-up businesses

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support

ONE-TO-ONE SUPPORTReceiving honest and impartial insight into your business from an expert outside of the day-to-day operation can be empowering and provide new energy, inspiration and drive as well as the necessary focus for success going forward.

Those who may find NEP’s One-to-One Business Support service particularly helpful are people who work on their own or find it inappropriate to share concerns with staff such as cash flow issues, the pressure to secure sales and keeping on top of paperwork.

Talking things through with a professional who understands the problems can be highly liberating.

For more information, contact

COLIN LEWISBusiness Support [email protected]

PROPERTY SEARCHLooking for a property?We can help. Making use of advanced search engines we also have access to local property specialists that help us locate properties ideal for a variety of uses including office, retail, logistics and so on – anything from 100 sq. ft. to 1,000,000 sq. ft. We also arrange and host bespoke tours of sites and premises for companies and delegations of any size.

Let us know your requirements by completing the form on our website – www.northamptonshirelep.co.uk – or call David Burrows on 01604 609533 and we’ll put together a list of Northamptonshire sites that suit you.

INNOVATION & ENTERPRISE CENTRESProviding much needed office space, workshops and incubation units for new and established businesses, Northamptonshire has developed a number of high quality, award-winning Innovation and Enterprise Centres which are vital to supporting growing, new and established businesses.

The centres provide small spaces in a modern setting at affordable rates. They are already fully facilitated with office essentials (phone, internet etc.) enabling quick and efficient set-up with the minimum of down time. They also provide a professional meeting place for clients and networking opportunities between tenants.


STACEY WYLIEEconomic [email protected]

For more information on property, contact

support

NEP MENTORING PROGRAMMEBusiness mentors can help new business owners make more of the right decisions. Also, as a confidential sounding board they can prove invaluable.

NEP’s Mentoring Programme carefully matches volunteer mentors who have a wealth of business experience with local companies. It provides an opportunity to avoid some of the more common mistakes and develop fresh ideas.

Research shows that mentoring can significantly improve growth potential.

CALL FOR MENTORSThe popularity and effectiveness of the NEP Mentoring Programme means that expressions of interest from potential new mentors are always welcome.

If you have a philanthropic desire to share your knowledge and use your experience to help others succeed, please get in touch.

HELEN NICHOLLSPartnership [email protected]


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JOB BROKERAGEThinking of recruiting a school/college leaver, trainee, apprentice or graduate?

The Job Broker team at NEP offers a FREE and effective solution for all local businesses, helping to reduce the cost and the time taken to find the ideal employees and apprentices.

The Job Broker Team can:

- Provide employers with a single point of contact- Advertise vacancies FREE OF CHARGE through our partnership network - Receive/sift CV’s and pre-screen applicants to source suitable, work-ready candidates for employers- Research apprenticeship training and funding- Provide information on government funding initiatives for recruitment

No cost. No catch.Available to all Northamptonshire businesses.


Job [email protected]@[email protected]

FundingFUNDING & FINANCE£1,000 Start-Up GrantUp to £20,000 Rates Rebate£5.8m Growing Places FundRent-free Office SpaceExternal Funding OpportunitiesHigh Performance Technologies Investment Programme


A broad range of funding opportunities to help your business grow

FUNDING & FINANCE

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INV-ENT FUND

£1,000 START-UP GRANT

£5.8M GROWING PLACES FUND

FUNDING & FINANCE£1,000 START-UP GRANTGrants of up to £1,000 to go to new businesses in Northamptonshire to help cover set-up costs such as IT equipment. Applications are invited from new businesses with a robust plan and ambitions to grow.

UP TO £20,000 RATES REBATE (INV-ENT FUND) A business rate rebate to Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) enabling investment in activities to stimulate business development and growth. Funded by Northamptonshire County Council and delivered jointly with NEP.

£5.8M GROWING PLACES FUNDThe aim of the fund is to help boost economic growth, unlock infrastructure constraints to enable the creation of new jobs and homes and get stalled projects moving again.

RENT-FREE OFFICE SPACE (SOFT LANDING SCHEME)The Soft Landing Scheme is run in association with Northamptonshire’s 11 Innovation Centres providing inward bound innovative businesses with a rent-free period during their key early stages.

EXTERNAL FUNDING OPPORTUNITIESA continually updated page of opportunities to secure further funding is available on NEP’s corporate website.


FIONA ÖZDEMIRProject [email protected]


STACEY WYLIEEconomic [email protected]

For more information on our Soft Landing Scheme, contact

“The extra funding has helped us launch our new Hydromask product into the aerospace and engineering sectors and create two new jobs and apprenticeship opportunities”

Andrew KeirManaging Director, Hydromask

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funding

In March 2013 the Government awarded £1.2m of the Regional Growth Fund (RGF) to NEP to run an RGF programme. The Northamptonshire High Performance Technologies Investment Programme has the backing of the local HPT industry and will help to unlock over £3 million of direct business investment and create over 300 sustainable, private sector jobs. The programme will offer support to eligible businesses in the form of grants of up to £100,000.

JULIA SCHUMACHERBusiness Partnership [email protected]


HIGH PERFORMANCE TECHNOLOGIES INVESTMENT PROGRAMME

INDUSTRYFOCUS

GROUPS


BUSINESS TO BUSINESS NETWORKS

HIGHPERFORMANCE TECHNOLOGIES NETWORK

BUSINESS TO BUSINESS NETWORKSHigh Performance Technologies GroupsCreative & Cultural Industries

Northamptonshire Industry Focus Groups

- Northamptonshire High Energy Users Group- Northamptonshire’s Environment Group- Northamptonshire Health & Safety Group- Northamptonshire Customer Services Group- Northamptonshire HR Group- Construction Property Forum

Networking for new businesses

NetworksBeing connected is an integral part of business development and growth

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HIGH PERFORMANCE TECHNOLOGIES NETWORKThe Northamptonshire High Performance Technologies (HPT) Network is a unique concentration of industries that specialise in the design and manufacture of innovative technologies, engines and products. With a distinctive network of over 1,000 HPT companies, Northamptonshire has developed a comprehensive industry supply chain that significantly contributes to the economic growth of the county.

JULIA SCHUMACHERBusiness Partnership [email protected]


CREATIVE & CULTURAL INDUSTRIESWorking with established stakeholders, Creative Northants, Northamptonshire County Council and The University of Northampton,NEP is committed to making the best of Northamptonshire’screative and cultural opportunity by building on theachievements of the sector and by leading on a strategic framework for development.The sector is currently worth an estimatedGVA of £97m (2009).

Northamptonshire Industry Focus Groups

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networks

BUSINESS TO BUSINESSNETWORKINGBeing connected to the right people leads to sales generation so getting involved and taking advantage of Northamptonshire’s high quality networking opportunities is vital to your business.

NEP is always keen to hear from potential new members of these popular and proactive groups.

NORTHAMPTONSHIRE HIGH ENERGY USERS GROUPThis group is a self-help network of practitioners accountable for sustainability and energy reduction in their workplaces. The group’s aims are to share experiences, gain knowledge, debate legislation and benefit from individual support towards achieving energy reduction and sustainability goals.

Members of the group are typically from companies that are high energy users who subscribe to Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC), have Climate Change Agreements (CCA) or are members of equivalent schemes.

NORTHAMPTONSHIRE ENVIRONMENT GROUPMembers of the group share best practice and information on a wide range of topics including energy usage, anaerobic digestion and updates in legislation.

NORTHAMPTONSHIRE HEALTH & SAFETY GROUPEach meeting features shared best practice together with information on a wide range of topics related to Health & Safety. Past meetings have included a drama master class around behavioural safety, legislation updates and presentations from the HSE.

NORTHAMPTONSHIRE CUSTOMER SERVICES GROUPThe group allows those in Customer Services to share best practice and new knowledge on a comprehensive range of issues related to customer services including social media.

NORTHAMPTONSHIRE HR GROUPMembers of the group undertake an HR role within their respective companies. They share best practice and information on a wide range of topics and also undertakes a yearly salary and benefits survey.

NORTHAMPTONSHIRE PROPERTY AND CONSTRUCTION FORUMNorthamptonshire’s monthly property and construction networking forum offers network and business opportunities and discussions on key development activities in the county.

CHARLOTTE PATRICKNorthamptonshire Logistics Sector [email protected]

For more information and to attend meetings, contact

NETWORKING FOR NEWBUSINESSBuild your support network and potential customer base at our networking events specially designed for new businesses in Northamptonshire.

“Receiving the right amount of funding has provided a catalyst for our business…creating new job roles and opportunities going forward.”Sarah StouteFull Support Healthcare


HIGH-PERFORMING BUSINESS SUPPORT

NEP asked award-winning COG Research to conduct a survey of businessessupported by NEP in 2012-13. Here are some of the findings:

95% of businesses interviewed said they would recommend NEP’s business support service

9 out of 10 businesses said they were happyor very happy with NEP’s business support service

3 out of 4 businesses said NEP made a realdifference to the success of their operation

Almost half of those businesses interviewed saidcontacting NEP sooner would have improved results

In just two years, NEP’s achievements have included:

360 new businesses established through pre-start and start-up programmes

Over 1,000 already formed and growing Northamptonshire businesses supported

Over 1,200 jobs attracted, supported or safeguarded

“The funding we received will enable

us to invest in new equipment and to launch in the UK, Europe and internationally.”

Andrew KeirSpraylat

“NEP is business-like, efficient and very helpful.”

“The staff at NEP are very motivated and easy to work with. It is clear their focus is on helping local business.”

Rob LewisTotalSim

“Thanks to NEP initiatives, we are nowconsidering expansion…proving that UK manufacturing is not just alive but developing and thriving.”

CliveTurnell & Odell

“The excellent business strategies developed with NEP are tailored to individual companies.They’re definitely not based on what would be a far less effective ‘catch-all’ approach.”

Kerry NewmanContented

“Receiving the right amount of funding has provided a catalyst for our business…creating new job roles and opportunities going forward.”Sarah StouteFull Support Healthcare

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“NEP helped us to invest in a good engineering

software package which offers our trainees the chance

to learn the most up-to-date package available in the industry today.”

LouiseEximgo Ltd.

Funded by

Contact us to see how we can

SUPPORT your business today

Northamptonshire Enterprise PartnershipEnterprise House30 Billing RoadNorthampton NN1 5DQ

01604 609 393northamptonshirelep.co.uk@_NorthantsEP

FUNDING

SUPPORT

NETWORKS

northamptonshire enterprise partnership - business support brochure

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