GOOD JOBS
Make your mark online
Ealing Council is supporting the borough ’ s small businesses and sole traders with a free digital support programme , called Ealing Trades Online . Iva Manova reports .
Funded as part of the government ’ s additional restrictions grant scheme , the programme is designed to help businesses cope with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic by providing expert support using a range of methods , such as one-to-one calls , personalised advice , guidance and online interactive webinars .
Small businesses with fewer than 250 members of staff , and sole traders , can get advice and training in setting up their online presence , increasing their online and offline sales , building a website , growing their social media , producing engaging videos , ranking higher on search engines – and much more .
SETTING UP ONLINE Eve Roginska is owner of Inksane Tattoo Parlour in Ruislip Road , Greenford , which has been open for 10 years . She signed up to Ealing Trades Online for help in selling Inksane merchandise , such as T-shirts , hats and bags .
She said : “ The programme taught me how to open and run my own online store . I ’ m learning about optimising my website and e-commerce and
online marketing . I have connected our store to Facebook , which makes it easy to access , and now we are learning about social media promotion . There is a lot of information to take in , but I think if you want to learn , you can ; and everything becomes easier with practice .”
Read more about Eve ’ s experience at aroundealing . com / news / TBC
‘ AN ONLINE PRESENCE IS ESSENTIAL ’ Councillor Bassam Mahfouz , the council ’ s cabinet member for decent living incomes said : “ The pandemic has shown now , more than ever , businesses need to be online . For some shoppers , if you ’ re not online , you might as well not exist – an online presence is essential , especially for small businesses and sole traders . Our carefully prepared business support programme has been created with local businesses in mind to give them the tools , help and confidence to get their business online and thrive .
“ Whether it ’ s a listing on Google , or making the most of Etsy and Facebook , you can take the big first step and see your businesses grow by signing up our
free business support programme .” Read more about the free support programme and any upcoming webinars at www . ealing . gov . uk / support-programmes or visit savethehighstreet . org / ealing
GET YOUR STAFF TRAINED Learn Ealing , the council ’ s adult learning service , offers courses and workshops for adults , parents and families who want to be inspired , creative and qualified . It is working with local businesses to run free courses and workshops for their staff . It can also help you develop bespoke courses to train your employees , or address a skills gap or a specific business need in response to COVID-19 . To discuss your training needs , email LearnEaling @ ealing . gov . uk or call 020 8825 5577 .
around ealing Winter 2021 21