Directory: BUSINESS SUPPORT

(Latest news of opportunities for local creatives can be found on the What's New page.)

 
     _{BUSINESS START-UP SUPPORT: self-employed & partnerships}

::  StartUp Britain - offers new entrepreneurs access to £1,500 worth of support via the website. The package of assistance includes free services from the likes of AXA, Barclays, Experian, Google, Intel, Microsoft, McKinsey & Company, O2 and Virgin Media. Many other leading firms have agreed to provide free desk space, mentoring, marketing, and advertising to new start-ups. Even school kids who want to practice their business skills will qualify for new £10 loans, helping them set up their own playground or other enterprises! StartUp Britain is a not-for-profit company, not funded by the government.

::  WIRE Staffordshire (Women in Rural Enterprise for Business).

::  The Hub - based at Stafford and offering business support services for rural Staffordshire.

::  The Crafts Council - has various schemes that provide financial, business and professional development support for craft makers.

::  NESTA: Investment & Innovation - grants to support innovation, up to £50k. Available to businesses of less than 5 people.

::  The Design Trust - offers a free 40-page guide to starting a design-based business (315kb PDF file, direct link).

::  PRIME - the national charity which helps people aged over 50 to set up in business. They have loans of up to £5,000 available.

     _{BUSINESS START-UP SUPPORT: small & medium companies}

::   The Birmingham Chamber of Commerce has produced an excellent free A Guide To Sources Of Small Business Finance In The West Midlands (July 2011). This detailed and concise guide has everything you need to know about current regional and specialist sources of funding for your small business.

::  Staffordshire Chamber of Commerce - based at Festival Park, Stoke-on-Trent.

::  inStaffs - the Staffordshire inward-investment agency. Useful for larger creative businesses seeking to relocate here from outside the area. See also this guide to managed workspaces and business parks in the area.

::  Business Enterprise Support: Staffordshire - offers a four-month business training scheme, which is subsidised. They also offer specialist women-only support.

::  Stoke-on-Trent Filmmakers Network, for professional filmmakers and film companies based in... "Stoke-on-Trent, and surrounding areas".

::  C-MAT - Staffordshire University's new research centre for Media Arts and Technologies, able to offer applied research help to local businesses, along with staff training.

::  Audiences Central - helps arts-based businesses in the West Midlands to attract new audiences and better understand existing audiences.

::  Is your creative business looking for skilled recent graduates? Prospects.net lets you post job vacancies on the UK's official graduate careers website, which gets into a lot of universities.

::  The Late Payment Act - enables small businesses to charge interest on late payments due to them.

     _{BUSINESS START-UP SUPPORT: larger companies}

::  Stoke-on-Trent Inward Investment Team.

     _{BUSINESS START-UP SUPPORT: business networking events}

::  Staffordshire Chamber of Commerce - based at Festival Park, Stoke-on-Trent.

::  Business Network International: North Staffordshire.

     _{BUSINESS START-UP SUPPORT: graduates & youth}

::  Enterprise Fellowship Scheme is open to graduates and alumni of Staffordshire University.

::  The Prince's Trust - supporting people aged 18-30 starting in business. The Trust has an office in Stoke-on-Trent.

::  Staffordshire University Creative Village - managed workspace for graduates, located on the Stoke-on-Trent campus and conveniently near the train station.

::  ITV Central - provides free TV adverts for new businesses run by those under the age of 30. It shows 8 x 30-second adverts per month, and will even help pay for the making of the advert.

::  Young Enterprise - a charity of 12 regional organisations, bringing volunteers from business to work with teachers and pupils.

     _{BUSINESS START-UP SUPPORT: research & development}

::  R&D Tax Credits - small and medium-sized businesses spending over £10,000 on Research & Development can get tax credits of up to 150%.

::  Ceramic Industry Forum - based in Stoke-on-Trent.

     _{SPECIALIST BUSINESS SERVICES: leads & tenders}

::  The North Staffordshire Chamber of Commerce has an online business tenders website.

     _{SPECIALIST BUSINESS SERVICES: intellectual-property}

::  Swindell & Pearson - large legal firm, specialising in providing expert Intellectual Property advice on all aspects of design, copyright and trademarks. Offices at Federation House, Stoke town (Stoke-upon-Trent).

::  Grindeys Corporate Legal Services - long-established legal firm based in Stoke. Stephen Grocott is their partner who specialises in Intellectual Property law.

::  The Patent Office - Guidance for Designs & Designers on the new Design Registration service in the EU.

     _{SPECIALIST BUSINESS SERVICES: online selling}

::  PayPal.

     _{SPECIALIST BUSINESS SERVICES: venture capital & loans}

::  The Staffordshire and Black Country Business Support Fund. Companies must be based... "Within the Black Country, Staffordshire and environs", employ less than 50 employees, and have been turned down for loans by the conventional banks.

::  Advantage Enterprise & Innovation Fund - a £20m venture capital fund providing capital for expanding businesses.

::  Enterprise Finance Guarantee - provides loans to small businesses which can't obtain loans from traditional lenders.

::  Coalfields Enterprise Fund - makes commercial venture capital loans from £40,000 to £500,000, in ex-coalmining areas, of which North Staffordshire is one.

::  UK Steel Enterprise - offers unsecured loans of up to £35,000 to suitable small businesses in ex steel-making areas, of which Stoke-on-Trent is one. Also available in parts of Newcastle-under-Lyme.

::  Michelin Development Fund has £1-million of unsecured loans (from £5,000 each) on offer to small businesses in North Staffordshire.