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Welcome to the April Newsletter. You've probably noticed that we've introduced an extra newsletter mid month since January. We've loads of events, one-to-one opportunities and resources for you to make the most of, which couldn't be contained in one newsletter alone. 

Please keep checking in with us to see what's new, read about our High street Heroes and delivery partners, and find out what business support you can access for free from libraries. 

Introductions to Business Support

There’s lots of different types of business support you can access, which can make it confusing when you're trying to find support for multiple things at once.

Whether you’re just starting out or you consider yourself beyond the Start-Up phase, we can help signpost you in the right direction. Join us for introduction webinars on:

Fit for Business programme

It's back! 

We're repeating our staple series of start-up and business development webinars with our partners Smorgasbord. 

From Business Idea to Business Model, Thursday 14 April, 10.00 – 11.00 Digital Marketing and Social Media for Beginners, Thursday 21st April, 10.00 – 11.00 Are you fit for funding? Thursday 5 May 2022, 10.00 – 11.00 Digital Marketing and Social Media for Intermediates, Thursday 19 May, 10.00 – 11.00 Paid Advertising: How & Why you Need to Do it? Thursday 16 June 2022, 10.00 – 11.00 How to Stand Out with Selling and Sales, Thursday 30 June, 10.00 – 11.00

You can accompany these webinars with one-to-one sessions with our business experts, Mark, Patrick, Tony & Andy. Read more about them below.

Online 1-2-1s

Our IP Clinics offers you a free, online advice session with Potter Clarkson specialists, who can talk through your options for protecting your work and ensuring others don’t profit from it.

Webinar

Brand storytelling for Start-ups & SMEs

Articulating a compelling brand story is a incredibly valuable for your small business, from distinguishing yourself from your competitors to repeat sales to drive up profit.

Webinar

Getting Started with Finances & Tax

Manage your finances confidently by considering the pros and cons of business structures, the main taxes to consider, financial deadlines and options for accounting systems.

#HighStreetHero - Natalee Onyeche, founder of Skin Solace

Natalee set up her business in 2016 after coming back from Ghana, where she’d taken some time away from the business with her children and decided she wanted to bring the business back with a bang. Her aim was to turn Skin Solace into a sophisticated luxury brand to reflect the high-quality ingredients and make her customers feel pampered. Natalee was directed to the BIPC Nottinghamshire where she was provided access to a range of business databases and intellectual property guidance which helped her upscale her business and registered her trade mark. Having grown up in Nottingham, Natalee found it only appropriate to start her business in her home city. The community aspect of the city has been incomparable in terms of development and support of Skin Solace. “When I’ve done pop-ups outside of Nottingham, it’s not quite been the same. In Nottingham everyone gets behind you because they know it’s a Nottingham-based brand. I think there’s something about being in your home city; it’s like its Nottingham’s business, not just mine. So, that’s what I love about Nottingham and they’re very good at supporting you.”

Her piece of advice to aspiring business owners? "Just go for it. Be confident and stand by your brand and your business. If you’re not confident, see why that is, and check things out. If it doesn’t feel right, it’s probably because something’s wrong... You don’t have to know everything, and what you don’t know, the BIPC will definitely know or know someone who does."

The Next Chapter

Have you taken part in our Next Chapter Library Consultation yet? We now have an Easy Read version of our survey on proposals to transform Nottingham City Libraries – please do take a few minutes to add your views if you haven’t already done so on the original version.

BIPC Partner Spotlight

We're featuring our Experts in Residence, Smorgasbord as this month's Partner Spotlight.  They help businesses of all types and ages navigate to the next stage of their development.

‘Our business is helping SME businesses of all types and ages to use a combination of processes we have developed, backed by our experience gained from many years running SME businesses, to take the next steps. Looking at the possibilities, working out who to involve and then taking a series of actions that help you get to the next stage.
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We became involved in the #FitForBusiness programme via some free advice clinics we ran at Nottingham Central Library, mostly working with start-up businesses but also with businesses that have been around for a long time that needed some advice.
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One resource at the Library that is under-utilised is access to all the marketing and other databases for research. One of the best resources is COBRA (Complete Business Reference Adviser). For new and existing businesses alike, it is invaluable to understand your market by exploring your business sector. We frequently refer to COBRA while working with clients on understanding their business paradigm, competitors, market gaps, good practice, opportunities and legislation.
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Our best piece of business advice is, “You should always try and sit at the other side of the table for a few minutes to understand the other person’s feelings, opinions and circumstances”.
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Outside of work, you can find us:⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Tony: for me it would be out in the open ocean, teaching scuba diving or at the race track teaching advanced motorcycling.
Patrick: Not wanting to adhere to the middle aged man in lycra cliché but I am often to be found on a gravel bike or a rowing machine trying to stave off the ravages of age and the aches and pains caused by playing sport over many years.
Mark: I love running and when my rehab is complete you'll hopefully see me back in my favourite park (Wollaton) on a regular basis.’