The Business Exchange Swindon & Wiltshire Edition 42: April/May 2019 | Page 33

BUSINESSWISE Let us help spread the word about your business www.businesswise.org.uk SWINDON NETWORKING GROUP TO HOST THE UK’S SMALL BUSINESS COMMISSIONER The UK’s Small Business Commissioner Paul Uppal is visiting Wiltshire on Tuesday May 7 to meet with members of the SME sector in the county. Paul, who ran his own construction company for 20 years, took up his role when the office of the Small Business Commissioner was created in December 2017. It’s an independent public body set up to tackle late payment and unfavourable payment practices in the private sector. During its second year in operation, Paul and his team aim to travel around the UK meeting as many business owners as possible to share the work of his office – and to hear from experiences around cash flow and late payment. Paul said,“Running your own business can be a very lonely experience and my priority will be ensuring small firms feel supported as well as helping to create an overall impression that business isn’t necessarily cut throat.” Late payment and unfair practices have a significant impact on the SME sector and the economy as a whole. • A third of all payments to small businesses are late. • The average payment value is £6,142 • 20 per cent of small businesses have problems with cash flow because of it. • If payments were made on time, it’s estimated it would boost the economy by £2.5bn. Paul hopes to bring about a culture change around late payment and its impact on productivity and survival of many SMEs. In some circumstances, his team can help tackle payment disputes with larger businesses. He’s coming to Swindon at the invitation of the town’s leading not-for-profit business referral group BusinessWise and the event is being supported by The Workshed. It will run from 6pm to 8.30pm at The Workshed on Tuesday May 7 and tickets are £15 plus booking fee. Jerry Thornton, chair of BusinessWise, said, “We felt it was a fantastic opportunity for the Small Business Commissioner to meet Wiltshire and Swindon business people and to find out more about how he can help us when it comes to late payment. We welcome anyone interested from across Wiltshire or nearby to this evening event.” The evening will follow an agenda with round-table discussions facilitated by BusinessWise members, a talk by Paul Uppal with time for Q&As. Tickets are paid for to cover a portion of the costs and they are limited. To book please visit: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/meet-the-uks-small-business- commissioner-tickets-56480658169 Alternatively you can email [email protected] for further information. Member Benefits: • Not for Profit Organisation • Fees re-invested into the group • Exclusive business category • Opportunities for new business across all sectors • Low annual membership fee VISITORS If you are interested in visiting BusinessWise (all visitors can come along free of charge), we meet every other Friday morning from 7:30am at Jury’s Inn, Swindon town centre. We are run on a not-for-profit basis and, as a non-competing group, one member will be the only member representing his or her sector in the room. We are currently looking for new members in these areas: Architecture Dentistry Floristry Restaurant or food industry GP Practice Wellbeing/health-based Retail Opticians Plumber Sport Fitness Education Interested? If you would like to find out more – or come along as a visitor, please visit our website or call Paul Eagles on: 01793 70 60 20 For more info: www.businesswise.org.uk THE BUSINESS EXCHANGE 2019 33