Start Up September 2022
Let’s Do Business Group celebrates another successful Start Up September campaign in 2022
Throughout the month long Start Up September campaign, Let’s Do Business Group, based in Hastings, East Sussex, shared the wide variety of support available for aspiring entrepreneurs in the South East and East of England, and helped a vast group of people to get the support they needed to start their own business via free workshops and consultation clinics through the campaign.
The Let’s do Business Group originated in Hastings more than 25 years ago as a local Enterprise Agency, and are now a leading provider of business support, finance and training across the South East and East of England. The Group has helped thousands of people to fulfil their dreams of starting a business, by providing high-quality, independent advice and training, as well as access to finance such as Start-Up and Business Loans.
Over social media, they shared daily recommendations, success stories and top tips for anyone looking to start their own venture, as well as the details of the Start Up programmes offered by the Group and their partners.
The month saw several free workshops take place which aimed to provide anyone thinking of starting a business with the knowledge and skills needed to make their idea a success. Over Zoom, coaches from Let’s Do Business Group ran the popular Her Biz programme – an initiative which is aimed at encouraging female entrepreneurship in the region and funded by NatWest.
As well as the virtual programme, Let’s Do Business Group ran a free ‘My Biz’ programme, an in-person workshop at the Hastings Library, as well as an additional start up business workshop at the Maidstone Business Terrace, to connect with local aspiring entrepreneurs and give them the confidence and skills to launch their business.
“Honestly couldn’t ask for more from this company and the standard of their workshops. They have given me the confidence to go forward and execute my business plans. Highly recommend to anybody starting off on their own.”
The free workshops had a combined attendance of 46 aspiring entrepreneurs from across East Sussex and Kent, many of whom commented that this boost in confidence and knowledge has given them the motivation to pursue their dream of starting a business.
“Huge thanks to Lisa for delivering so much highly useful content over the two days of the course in such a friendly, approachable and engaged way. It’s made me think about my business in a much more strategic way again, which I’m very grateful for. And it’s equipped me with lots of super helpful new resource material, too – from business plan examples to cashflow templates – so thank you!”
As well as the free workshops on offer, Let’s Do Business Group, in partnership with The Maidstone Business Terrace and Essex organisations Colbea and BEST Growth Hub, extended their support by offering free 45 minute consultations both in person and virtually across East Sussex, Kent and Essex for anyone wanted to talk through specific issues for their new or small business, where they could discuss ideas and areas for improvement as well as guidance to move forward.
Over 4 days of consultation clinics, which covered support on anything from business strategy to accounting and marketing, the teams supported a further 27 clients.
“As someone previously hesitant to use Facebook and social media (well, I avoided it really!), I have found Kerry’s Facebook sessions so valuable! I am learning at such a productive, steady pace and am actually looking forward to using FB now, which I would never have thought possible. Excellent FB sessions from Kerry.”
In addition to the buzz of social media and event activity of the campaign, the month of September saw 170 new enquiries submitted for the Start Up Loan scheme for the team at Let’s Do Business Finance, the finance arm of Let’s Do Business Group.
Let’s Do Business Finance are an official delivery partner of Start-Up-Loans on behalf of the British Business Bank, and are able to offer loans up to £25k to businesses who have been trading for under 3 years. Through the scheme, aspiring entrepreneurs who may not be eligible for mainstream finance are able to have a chance to fulfil their dreams of starting a business.
During the month, the Let’s Do Business Finance team were able to lend a total £295k over 33 loans to aid start-up businesses across the region jumpstart their new enterprises.
One previous client of the Start Up Loans team at Let’s Do Business Finance, Mickey Whiteman of RD1 Clothing, opened the doors to his new Hastings store in September. His loan enabled him to secure the lease for his premises in the centre of town, and he’s now looking forward to getting the ball rolling on his new venture.
“There’s a lot of support in this town from people like Let’s Do Business Group and Locate East Sussex, that are trying to get things going for businesses.
“The communication and support I got when I was applying for the loan was excellent - I had to get used to the process, as it was all new to me, but Emily was great and gave me a lot of help.”
