Spring to Action Ltd

Support for Food and Drink Businesses

 

Food Workshop

Get support to develop a food or drink business in Leicester. Learn about food hygiene, health and safety, business planning and test your idea and products alongside other food businesses.

Enrol on the FREE 2 day workshop at  http://www.thefoodworkshop.co.uk/enrol-now.php

 

Pitch Up Entrepreneur Competition

Leicester Market has a new initiative to inspire and assist budding entrepreneurs called the Pitch Up Entrepreneur Competition.

With this short term project they are looking for 8 “finalists” who will benefit from dedicated workshops, free test trading throughout June, a £250 trading allowance and overall business support.

The eventual winner will be judged by a panel and will receive a further £500, up to 6 months FREE trading at the market (if compatable with their Business Plan) and claim the crown of Pitch Up Entrepreneur 2012

 

Again entries and further information is available on line at www.thefoodworkshop.co.uk

Entries up until 18^th May

 

http://www.leicestermarket.co.uk/news/pitch-up-entrepreneur-2012/

Real-Life Entrepreneurs - event by FSB

Local businesses and startups are invited to join the FSB, Sir Peter Soulsby the Mayor of Leicester, Leicestershire Enterprise Partnership and speakers to hear about why local businesses are so important to our economy and listen to a motivational workshop by Rob Brown.

Leicestershire and Rutland's branch of the Federation of Small Business (FSB) invites you to a FREE event at the Leicester City Football Club on 16th March from noon til 4.30pm.

For more information Download Invite to FSB Event March 2012

See you there

 

 

Meet / Mingle with Leicester's startups

Wednesday 29th February 2012
From 6pm at LCB Depot

Meet / Mingle Leicester is a new event designed to help local people interested in starting a business to connect, share experiences and meet.  Held at the creative LCB Depot, the event is hosted by our very own Kate Cowan and will feature 4 local business people, who've developed successful businesses right here in Leicester.

You'll have the chance to ask them questions and hear about how they made their businesses work, and the pitfalls along the way.  There will be honest accounts of the highs and lows, and some useful tips for you to use in your business.

Book your place at Meet / Mingle Leicester online, it's free, and includes a drink. We suggest you eat before you arrive though, so there aren't too many rumbly stomachs.

So far over 60 people have booked a place, with just 20 places left we suggest you book yours swiftly too!

See you there.

New dates added - Selling to the Public Sector

Does you business or organisation want to sell to the public sector or improve their success rate?  A range of workshops have been organised including:

Introduction to Selling to the Public Sector - 14th November, 9.15am - 12.30pm

Completing a PQQ and ITT: Essential documents for tendering - 14th November, 1.15pm - 5.00pm

Writing a tender with impact - 6th December, 9.15am - 12.30pm

Advanced Tendering Skills: Winning the Bid - 6th December, 1.15am - 5.00pm

 

• All seminars will be held at Highpoint Conference Centre, 165 Glenfield Road, Leicester LE3 6DJ.
• Joining instructions will be sent to you once we have received the completed and Download Booking form - Selling to the Public Sector.

Get in touch with kate.cowan@springtoaction.co.uk or call 07921 992 194 for more information.

Learn how to do business with the public sector

Free workshops are on offer for Leicester City businesses wanting to trade with the public sector.  Learn how the public sector buys and how you'll need to get your business 'fit to supply'

This workshop provides you with the knowledge and skills to understanding the public sector procurement process, learn about Pre-Qualification Questionnaires and Tenders and put them into practice.  Discover how to write your bids, the policies required and insurance levels in addition to understanding the ways which public sector bodies buy goods and services. 

Delivered by BSS, with extensive experience in supporting small businesses in bidding and tendering for public sector work, their trainer will explain how to sell effectively to the public sector and improve your success rate.

Workshops:

31st October Book at http://31octobertendering.eventbrite.com/

14th November Book at http://14novembertendering.eventbrite.com/

28th November Book at http://28novembertendering.eventbrite.com/

All workshops are held at Highpoint Conference Centre, starting at 9am and include lunch.

New Business Startup Course Dates

As part of the Enterprise as a Life project, Spring are continuing to support people with helping local people bring their business ideas to life.  The project offers the basic business grounding of knowledge about tax, finance, marketing, writing a business plan but also offers the chance to improve people's confidence to sell themselves and manage people.

New dates for 2012 are:

Group 1: January 19th, 20th, 26th, 27th plus 9th and 10th February

Group 2: April 12, 20th, 26th 27th plus 2nd and 3rd May

More courses will take place over 2012, all will be held in a central city centre venue.

find out more at www.enterpriseasalife.org.uk or get in touch with Kate on 07921 992 194 or email kate.cowan@springtoaction.co.uk

Our Leicester Day a Roaring Success

Our Leicester Day, held on 11th September in Leicester Market, was an opportunity for local community and not for profit organisations to showcase their work to Leicester.  It will be remembered not only for being very windy (we lost a brochure or two to the wind and puddle combination) but for being a clear indicator of the amount of work and community involvement the sector has in Leicester.

You can catch up with the day here, with a short film from Pukaar News.

Spring offers help to get your business idea off the ground

People with business ideas in Leicester are being offered support to consider self employment as a viable career option.

As well as one to one support the project offers you specialist workshops to help you understand the key aspects of starting a business and to build your confidence and motivation.  After you’ve participated in these workshops to provide you with basic business knowledge you’ll be supported to start with access to a business mentor.

The project, Enterprise As a Life, is open to anyone resident in Leicester City over the age of 19 years.  You may either have a clear idea or several ideas and not sure which to follow. We’ll help you with the information you’ll need to make that decision.

The next course starts on 20^th September, at 9.30am at St Martin’s House in the heart of the city centre (next to the Guildhall and Cathedral).  Get in touch to book your place.

All this support is offered free of charge, thanks to funding from the European Regional Development Fund and Leicester City Council.

For more information contact Kate Cowan on 0116 217 9250 or email kate.cowan@springtoaction.co.uk

Inspiring Enterprising Communities

(C) www.talgarthmill.com

Village SOS has been made into a TV programme, fronted by Sarah Beeny who seems to be everywhere right now.  It shows us the stories of how villages have spent their cash, raised from a competition last year to find 6 communities to revive their communities through enterprise.

When I wrote about it back last year it was hard to imagine the wealth and variety of ideas communities would come up with. They didn't disappoint tonight. Talgarth village in Wales resurrected an old mill, turning it into a working flour mill where they create local bread in an artisan bakery and have opened an on-site cafe as another income source.

65 years on from its last use, the mill has been bought back to life by talented and inspiring villagers in just a single year.

At a time when the UK faces internal challenges threatening our community life, this is a tale of people coming together, sharing skills, talents, experience and a desire to make positive change. 

This show was so popular I can't even get on their website to tell you more - maybe you'll have more luck in a day or so - check them out at www.talgarthmill.com and support them if you're in the area.

 

Melton Mowbray Business Advice Day

 

Join HMRC for their business advice day at Melton Mowbray's Brooksby Melton College on Thursday 10th March 2011.

Seminars include the hot topics businesses have shown interest in - VAT awareness, becoming self-employed and your tax responsibiliities, first steps as an employer and opportunities from the Olympics 2012.

The day starts at 10am.  Book now.