Business Link Gives Businesses the Edge in a Challenging Economy
1 October 2008"It is vital that all businesses, especially start-ups and small firms, have access to good quality, impartial advice so that they can exploit their growth potential.”
Pam Alexander, Chief Executive, SEEDA
Businesses who take advice from Business Link have an advantage in setting up, surviving and growing through tough economic times, according to a new review. Those businesses that had received intensive support, advice and assistance from the offline Business Link service had employment growth 2.4 per cent higher than those businesses that had not used the service. These additional jobs resulted in an estimated value added to the national economy of between £690 million and £750 million.A review of the achievements of Business Link in 2007/8, published today, highlights the benefits of Business Link, used by 52,000 start-up companies within their first 12 months of trading
The Business Link national service was set up to offer entrepreneurs the opportunity to tap into the experience of professional business people around the country. Under the leadership and management of the Regional Development Agencies (RDAs), the service has helped nearly 800,000 customers throughout nine English regions to take advantage of a range of services – from starting their own business to trading internationally.
With a shift in emphasis from mass-market ‘light-touch’ services towards more in-depth and intensive support, customer satisfaction is now running at 90 per cent. Fully committed to equality and diversity, a total of 300,000 businesses who took advice from Business Link were owned by women - a third of all users – and 110,000 were ethnic minority-owned businesses.
"Business Link does what it says: it puts together," says John Bird, social enterprise entrepreneur and founder of the ‘Big Issue'.
Peter Jones, UK entrepreneur and Dragon’s Den star concludes: "Mentoring new businesses is a vital part of nurturing entrepreneurship, especially amongst young people. Business Link offers new businesses a vast knowledge base of people who’ve been there and done it. They know the highs and lows of starting up on your own."
Highlights include Sharon Goodyer of The Cake Bake Company, who together with partner Martin Major, was responsible for baking the 400 cakes that made the Skoda in the television advert said: “I was delighted that the Business Link website contained the information I was looking for."
"We’ve now taken on Mr Kipling directly by developing a new product with serious body and soul. Times are very tough at the moment, but we are very well-positioned – September, with a £30,000 turnover, is our best month to date."
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Two example case studies from the Business Link Review.
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| Sharon Goodyer, left, and Business Link team adviser, Judy Stanley enjoy the fruits of The Cake Bake Company's success |
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| Dr Patrick Hook, the man behind Auxetix, with his award winning technology. |
The Cake Bake Company
Sharon Goodyer of The Cake Bake Company, who together with partner Martin Major, was responsible for baking the 400 cakes that made the Skoda in the television advert said: “I was delighted that the Business Link website contained the information I was looking for,".
"We’ve now taken on Mr Kipling directly by developing a new product with serious body and soul. Times are very tough at the moment, but we are very well-positioned – September, with a £300,000 turnover, is our best month to date."
"We did not have any experience of running a business, met with our local Business Link team, and were put in touch with organisations that helped us become a limited company, create a website and introduce new accounting software.
"We had exhausted our own ideas, but Business Link, and our adviser Judy Stanley, opened up many new avenues for us – she gave us sound business advice, telling us to vary our range of products but not step outside what we’re good at."
Auxetix
Dr Patrick Hook discovered a new way to manipulate fibres which could withstand multiple bomb attacks when used for window protection. After setting up Auxetix to develop and market his idea, he contacted Business Link for support and technical advice.
After taking advantage of a business mentor and involving himself in the Evolve Training Scheme, the decision to focus on the security sector lead to a meeting with J and S Franklin, the Ministry of Defence’s primary supplier of military tents, which hope to use Patrick’s materials to make tents with enhanced protection – a deal which could make the entrepreneur £10 million in royalties. Auxetix has already generated around three quarters of a million pounds for University of Exeter through research activities.
"Business Link couldn’t have been more helpful," says Patrick, whose product was runner-up in the world finals of the Global Security Challenge and won the Innovation Prize for the Best Technical Textile Development of 2007.
Patrick spoke of "Excellent guidance as a result of business link support regarding investment readiness” and said: “Life would have been a lot harder without Business Link."
He is now looking to launch the product in the US and is in discussion with US agencies responsible for overseeing homeland securities. "My adviser is now helping me with this next phase of expansion which we’ve now entered."
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