Lancashire is home to countless successful businesses of all sizes, covering all sectors and they’re all proud to be based here. But let’s not forget, many started as pipe dreams and through hard work and determination, those dreams were realised.
There’s no doubt about it, launching a business can be difficult, sustaining it and growing can be even harder, but I bet most, if not all, of those people who set up their own business, will tell you it has been worth it.
Are you a new business which needs some direction? Or have you got an idea which you need help getting off the ground? Maybe you got off to a good start but now need some help to achieve your goals.
Well that’s the point of Boost Business Lancashire – the county’s business growth hub. It was set up to help growth-hungry Lancashire businesses – like yours – realise their potential.
There’s various ways Boost can help you – it might be by providing access to a range of funded programmes, delivered by specialists with a track record of growing established and innovative start-up businesses or by helping you and your business access specialist private sector business support.
We’ve been able to help businesses across our county achieve their goals and now they’re reaping the rewards – between July 2013 and July 2015, Boost provided growth advice and support to more than 2,800 businesses across Lancashire and it has helped to create more than 1,200 jobs and new economic activity valued in excess of £10m.
I’m pleased to say the help and support doesn’t stop there, in January 2016, the project received £7.8m to continue offering support to businesses until 2018, aiming to support a further 3,360 businesses in the county, creating 2,000 jobs and helping to establish 200 new businesses.
So if the above sounds like you and you need support, start the growth conversation today.
The business support programmes being delivered under the Boost service include:
• Growth Support Programme, provided by Winning Pitch and Enterprise4all: Practical advice, support and coaching for owners of high-growth start-ups and early-
start businesses.
• Growth Mentoring, provided by Community & Business Partners and Orvia: Support for SME business owners from experienced mentors in areas such as business planning, finance, sales, marketing and HR.
• Innovation Clinic, provided by UCLan: Support in areas like product design, engineering, testing and prototype development to enable business owners to grow through innovation and development of new products and services.
• Access to Finance, provided by North West Access to Finance: Free finance consultancy support to help Lancashire SME businesses identify and apply for suitable forms of finance.
Businesses can apply for Boost support by calling 0800 488 0057 or by filling in the ‘contact us’ form on the Boost website – www.boostbusinesslancashire.co.uk.
