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BUSINESS
2023 : A YEAR OF CHALLENGE AND OPPORTUNITY
Geraldine Fuller talks about the Lifeline in Libraries available for businesses
Last year was an exceptionally busy and exciting one for the team at BIPC Liverpool City Region .
As a finale to a packed programme of events we hosted a networking lunch with former RAF fighter pilot , Mandy Hickson , as keynote speaker . Mandy is only the second female in the world to fly a Tornado GR4 on the front line . She has completed three tours of duty and 45 missions over Iraq during a 30-year career in aviation . Her talk covered the challenges she faced – everything from battling imposter syndrome to being a working mum - as well as performance and survival in an environment when stakes are at their highest . Now an entrepreneur and author of the bestselling book ‘ An Office Not a Gentleman ’ it was no surprise she attracted a packed audience in the Racquet Club who were all enthralled by her powerful story . And of course , in the year that Top Gun 2 was released , it felt especially fitting to have Mandy address our City Region ’ s own highflyers .
In the same month I spoke at two breakfast events . Well-known Liverpool entrepreneur Leon McCowan runs The Sales Dojo . These sessions are for business owners and sales professionals and are designed to bring everyone together to improve their skills , share knowledge and gain new insights designed to help people become more successful . There was a real buzz in the room which was full of warm , enthusiastic and friendly people from a wide variety of sectors including legal , translating services , manufacturing , food and wellbeing . Leon is an inspiring , charismatic individual himself so it ’ s not surprising he ’ s developed a powerful network of thousands of people . I thoroughly enjoyed talking about our services and made a lot of new connections . Many people were unaware that BIPC services are free and that we provide help to businesses of all sizes , stages and sectors so it was a great opportunity to promote what we do .
Then followed the Sefton Economic Forum hosted by the Invest Sefton team in the delightful surroundings of the Lake House Crosby . Other guest speakers included Bank of England Deputy Agent Ken Clark , Robin Tudor of Liverpool John Lennon Airport , Irina Shmakova from the Department for International Trade with James Brayshaw , CEO of AdaptiveComms Group as Chair . Over 100 business leaders were in attendance , and I felt honoured to part of such an esteemed panel . All had fascinating insights to share but the Ken Clark ’ s perspective was for me a vitally important and informed perspective on the UK ’ s economic prospects .
In December , Liverpool City Council ’ s Education and Select Committee requested a report and presentation from us . This was an opportunity to appear in front of councillors and explain the value of our services to communities and individuals and demonstrate our demographic reach .
Attending and hosting events gives us the opportunity to talk to businesses informally about their needs and hear first-hand what challenges people are facing and what they would like to see included in our events and workshop programme . In the current climate many business owners are rightly concerned about cash flow and rising energy and other costs . Others continue to find recruitment and retention of staff a key issue . Some continue to face challenges post Brexit and post pandemic . Predictions of a recession - however short or long it may be - affect confidence and decision making .
But despite these issues we continue to see so much entrepreneurial talent and positive energy in our business community . From the first guide dogs in Wallasey to football nets , the crossword and the first railway tunnels our City Region has produced a great many world firsts in terms of invention and innovation and there is every evidence that this will continue .
At BIPC Liverpool the Entrepreneur in Residence Clinics run by Gary Millar and his team of volunteer professional advisors continue to provide help and guidance to people with great ideas every week . In 2022 well over a thousand people have benefitted from BIPC services . From authors to gamers , musicians to directors of multimillion-pound enterprises - everyone is welcome to come to us for expert impartial advice on protecting their ideas and developing their business . Anyone can use our databases to research their business or market and attend our workshops and events . People can come to Central Library in Liverpool as well as Birkenhead Central Library and other across the City Region in Liverpool , Knowsley , Sefton , St Helens and Halton .
Our 2023 events programme promises to be even more rich and varied than last year . We will be looking at marketing , leadership , finance , wellbeing , IP and many other key areas .
Follow us on Twitter ( BIPC Liverpool ) and LinkedIn ( BIPC Liverpool City Region ) to keep up to date with what ’ s happening . merseylife . com 73