Apologies for the lack of postings over the last few months – various technical hitches beyond our control.
But we’re ‘back in business’, and to kick start events we have our first meeting open to all Swansea Bay members and their guests on Thursday 31st January in the Towers Hotel, Jersey Marine SA10 6JL, commencing 7pm for 7.30pm start.
After a light buffet there will be a presentation on ‘How to save money in business by being environmentally-friendly’, incorporating a short quiz – not only fun but might just save you money! This will be lead by branch committee member Phil Jones, along with Dave Carson from BIC Innovation.
A table will be provided for members to display their business literature for free, in addition to which you can bring a pop up visual banner for a small contribution of £20.00 – no need to book a space, just bring it along with you on the night.
Look forward to seeing you there.
Although fairly dry, as one might expect, the FSB Swansea Bay Branch meeting on Tuesday evening 13th March at the Castle Hotel, Neath was actually very interesting.
The first presenters were Kevin Lugg and Sarah Fowler of Neath Port Talbot council who explained about the range of services performed by the business support team. This included help with new start ups and financing, property, health check for existing businesses and a level of practical help etc. In particular there is a local regeneration project which aims to improve the retail experience in Neath and Port Talbot, where businesses can get a 50% grant towards modernising their shop front. There were other schemes aimed at getting the young into work, going right across the board, also opportunities to develop the town of Port Talbot with the new £107m Harbour Way link road and associated developments - more on this at : http://www.harbourwayproject.com. Much of the information is on their website, to which they referred continually throughout the presentation.
In addition the 2nd presentation was by Bethan Blackmore of the 'Essential Skills Project'. The Neath Port Talbot Adult Learning Network (with NPT College as the GRB and NPT Lifelong Learning Service managing the project) has been successful in securing over £847,000 in ESF funding and the contract for delivery of the Basic Skills/Essential Skills up to Level 2 in the Neath Port Talbot local authority area. Bethan explained about the Free Training Opportunities for Businesses. The provision is tailored to participants' individual needs, and course content is appropriate to the context of participants' work role and daily tasks undertaken. Flexible learning provision takes place in appropriate community venues away from the workplace. There were concerns from some members present about whether this would be a worthwhile project as with the grant presentation, given the primarily ICT focus of the training. However, in both cases the advice is to engage with the local authority provider who will meet with you and let you know if and where they can offer any help.
The website for Neath Port Talbot is http://www.npt-business.co.uk
The website for the Essential Skills project is http://www.wtuclearn.org
Following the very successful Launch in Cardiff, Google are holding the following events in the Dragon Hotel, The Kingsway, Swansea SA1 5LS :Google Juice Bar, Friday 30th March40 minutes of free one-to-one help on growing a business on-lineFriday 30 March
Google Workshop 3.30pm - 5.30pm, Wednesday 25th Aprilfree workshop and find out how businesses can get the most from being online.To sign up go to http://www.gbbo.co.uk/workshops
CBSA is also running another free event locally in March :
How to Tender Workshop
Hints and tips will be forthcoming on how the Public Sector Buying Process works, inclduing how to access local opportunities for local businesses.
Tuesday 13th March in The Mercure Hotel, Pheonix Way, Swansea SA7 9EG
from 12.30pm – 4.30pm
To book a place please e-mail levans@cbsa.org.uk
Two events, both free to attend as they funded by the Welsh Government through the Supplier Development Service :
Maximising 'Sell 2 Wales' Workshop
The workshop will discuss the host of information that is available, together with looking at how your business can get the best out of it. The workshop will be run in an open and friendly way, with attendees encouraged to take part in discussion and sharing of experiences.
Tuesday 6th March in The Mercure Hotel, Pheonix Way, Swansea SA7 9EG
from 12.30pm – 4.30pm
Business Networking Breakfast
Wednesday 21st March 2012 in The Aberavon Beach Hotel, Aberavon SA12 6QP
from 8.00am – 10.30am
Some feedback from networking events in February:
‘Able to gain publicity and talk to potential customers – Good event, please keep doing them’
‘Met many people that could benefit from our services’
‘Great opportunity to network’
To book on either of these contact Liz at levans@cbsa.org.uk and for more information on any CBSA events, visit: www.cbsa.org.uk
The following articles are all from Walesonline :
Small businesses in Wales have become smaller, a report by the Federation of Small Business has found - click here to read
This article includes quotes from Janet Jones, Chair of both FSB South Wales Region and the Welsh Policy Unit.
Nearly half of FSB members have targeted growth - click here to read
Only 1% of businesses don’t use the internet, the FSB survey found - click here to read
Late payment has become an increasing problem for FSB members in Wales - click here to read
A fifth of owners work in two businesses - click here to read
http://www.walesonline.co.uk/business-in-wales/
In March 2012, Google will kick off a year-long campaign in collaboration with the FSB and other business partners to help small business owners in Wales make the most of the internet. In a bid to boost the country's online economy, Getting Welsh Business Online will provide over 1000 free consultations and e-skills workshops - using online education modules - to help businesses in Wales set up a website or improve their online presence.The campaign is the first time Google has committed to an on-the-ground programme of this length anywhere in the UK - and is the company's first major visit to Wales. The internet presents endless opportunities for starting and growing one’s own business, and Google hopes its campaign will help to boost the Welsh economy which currently suffers unemployment rates that are four times above the UK average. The events are designed to help local businesses regardless of technical expertise as Google experts tour the country in the Google Juice Bar offering free one-to-one lessons on how to boost traffic to websites and increase business online. Starting in Cardiff on 6 March the Juice Bar will travel to various locations across Wales and will be in Swansea on Wednesday 9th May. Business owners can sign up for the free events by clicking here and are encouraged to sign up and register their interest as soon as possible, as spaces are limited.
