BUSINESS NEWS
Take advantage of the Swindon & Wiltshire SME Growth Project
The SME Growth Project offers local business people 12 hours of intensive business support to ensure that they have the skills and knowledge to successfully grow and develop their business .
The growth of a business is unique to that business , so a programme offering tailored support to suit each individual business is an ambitious proposition , but it ’ s proving a success . By working in partnership with the Department for Communities and Local Government , Swindon and Wiltshire Councils and four local business support providers ; Business West , Cool Ventures , Oxford Innovation and Inspire , are able to offer a network of support capable of delivering the right support at the right time for your business .
“ I ’ ve had lots of free training and strategy planning , it ’ s been brilliant ” Kerry Glover , PinkBox Boutique
The SME Growth Project provides free , independent and impartial business advice and support to SMEs ( small and medium-sized enterprises ) across Swindon and Wiltshire and , where eligible , the chance to apply for a grant to help a business grow .
From reviewing business plans and providing business people with the skills to market their business , to collating robust financial plans or exploring innovative ways in which to grow a business ; their highly experienced advisors drawn
from the four partner agencies work closely with a business to give direction , support and to refresh or develop the business skills needed .
“ The help with structure and
cashflow forecast was invaluable ”
Anthony de Souza , crowdfunding expert
The business advisors have a breadth and depth of experience that they can apply , migrating best practice from one sector to another and providing connections to the B2B community that can sometimes seem difficult for smaller businesses to access .
Individuals and businesses based in the Swindon and Wiltshire area , or looking to move to the area to conduct their primary business activities , are eligible for support on this programme . This includes entrepreneurs and start-up businesses as well as existing businesses employing up to 250 staff . There is some additional eligibility criteria , but generally , the programme parameters are broad enough to accommodate the astonishing variety of businesses that thrive in Swindon and Wiltshire .
151 businesses have already completed their free 12-hours of support and now form part of a larger alumni business networking community . A further 265 businesses are currently undertaking the 12 hours of support working
For more info : www . inspirebiz . co . uk www . businesswest . co . uk www . coolventures . co . uk www . oxfordinnovationservices . co . uk
with their dedicated business support provider . The programme , which completed its first year of operation at the end of September 2017 , is scheduled to run for a further two years . Businesses who might like to access this free , bespoke support are encouraged to get in touch soon so that they too can reap the benefits .
European Regional Development Fund The project is receiving up to £ 1,200,000 of funding from the England European Regional Development Fund ( ERDF ) as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020 . The Department for Communities and Local Government is the Managing Authority for ERDF . Established by the European Union ERDF funds help local areas stimulate their economic development by investing in projects which will support innovation , businesses , create jobs and local community regenerations . For more information visit : www . gov . uk / european-growth-funding
For more information visit : www . theenterprisenetwork . co . uk / smeg
Call 01264 848311 or contact one of the project partners directly .
SWINDON DESIGN AGENCY SCOOPS NATIONAL AWARD
The team of a Wiltshire-based bespoke web and graphics agency have been named winners of the Web Development Project of the Year for their work on The Lost Cinema .
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At an awards ceremony in London , GEL Studios beat off strong competition from names such as Fifty Five and Five , Kubix and Wirebox to win the title at the 2017 Digital Entrepreneur Awards .
Graeme Leighfield , managing director , said : “ We ’ re overwhelmed , really grateful , and the national recognition we ’ ve received means a lot to us . We ’ ve worked really hard over the past five years since we set up the business , and this award shows dedication to clients is essential , as well as truly understanding their needs .”
The team were praised for their outstanding work on The Lost Cinema ( an outdoor cinema company ). As well as
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the logo and brand , GEL Studios created a website which provided a quick , easy and pleasurable experience for users to purchase tickets .
Graeme said : “ The challenge with this project was to create a solution that removed the need for endless pages relating to seat selection and ticket addons etc . We wanted to ensure the user ’ s experience was seamless on even the smallest of devices .”
Judges on the panel which selected GEL Studios as a winner included Lawrence Jones MBE , founder of UKFast , Tom Bloxham MBE , chairman of Urban Splash and Colin Stevenson , founder of Better
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Bathrooms . The awards recognise online business excellence from across the UK .
GEL Studios is located in North Swindon at Gemini House , Hargreaves Road , Swindon . A portfolio of the company ’ s eCommerce , website and graphic design work can be found at : www . gelstudios . co . uk
Graeme and the team can be contacted on 01793 677150 .
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@ gel _ studios |
4 THE BUSINESS EXCHANGE 2017 |
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