The Business Exchange Swindon & Wiltshire Edition 45: Oct/Nov 2019

BUSINESSWISE Growth for BusinessWise BusinessWise, the Swindon-based independent not-for-profit referral group, is going from strength to strength as it celebrates the arrival of several new members. Among the new faces are Mark Fletcher of Aspray, who has run his business locally for a year backed by decades of experience in the retail, property and construction sectors. Mark now helps home and business owners across Swindon who suffer loss due to fire, flood, subsidence or other factors which lead to a property damage insurance claim. He advocates for the claimant for no charge to the policyholder and ensures the job is done to restore a building to excellence. For more information visit www.aspray.com Another new member is Chris Blackwell of TED Mortgages. Newly married, Chris has had a successful career in mortgages within a well-known building society and has now taken the plunge to join a colleague and become part of the small business scene here in Swindon. For more information email: Chris@ tedmortgages.co.uk Chair Fiona Scott said, “It’s brilliant to welcome new members to the group and help them develop their business profile in the town. We offer members so much opportunity to learn, build relationships, refer business, receive referrals and get out and about to events both social and professional. “We also have another three people who have applied to join so watch this space for more information in the coming weeks.” BusinessWise is a not-for-profit group which operates a single seat policy and works to an agenda at its meetings which are held at Jury’s Inn in central Swindon. The team also organise regular informal, social meet-ups and two formal networking evening events during a year with high quality guest speakers. The latter events are open to anyone. In May they hosted Small Business Commissioner Paul Uppal. BusinessWise has been active in Swindon for more than seven years and also supports a charitable member, Dawn Prosser, who works with charities in the town including Renew (Men In Sheds) and the Swindon Night Shelter. Current membership includes Haines Watts Swindon, Bevirs Law, Midwinter Web Design, Excalibur Communications, GEL Studios and Thornton Associates. The membership fee is £250 in year one, then £150 on renewal and the monthly cost is £30 which includes breakfast, room hire costs, marketing activities, charitable work and social events. To find out more please get in touch using the details opposite. Let us help spread the word about your business www.businesswise.org.uk 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: Plumber Cleaner Recruitment Hospitality Therapists (one in each discipline) Carpenter Electrician Office Supplies Hairdresser Interested? If you would like to find out more – or come along as a visitor, please visit our website or call: 01793 238 030 For more info: www.businesswise.org.uk THE BUSINESS EXCHANGE 2019 37

The Business Exchange Swindon & Wiltshire Edition 45: Oct/Nov 2019 | Page 37