Peter Weeks | Senior Business Adviser and Team Leader
Business Link West
Leigh Court
Abbots Leigh
Bristol
BS8 3RA
e: peter.weeks@businesswest.co.uk
m: 07976 133336
t: 01275 373 373
NATIONAL
Business advice and help - free facts sheets
www.businessquestionsanswered.co.uk
Enterprise Insight
www.starttalkingideas.org
HM Revenue & Customs - Business Support Teams
www.hmrc.gov.uk/bst
National Association for the Self Employed
www.nase.org
National Council for Graduate Entrepreneurship
www.ncge.org.uk
Practical business help from Business Link
www.businesslink.gov.uk
Self Employment aptitude test
www.business-bureau-uk.co.uk
Self Employment Kit
www.lawpack.co.uk
Shell Livewire
www.shell-livewire.org
LOCAL
NORTH SOMERSET ENTERPRISE AGENCY
North Somerset Enterprise Agency has been serving our community for 20 years this year and during that time has helped over 200 businesses.
For the last 12 years, the Agency has successfully delivered Business Link services in the area on behalf of Business West. Now, due to an amalgamation of Business Links across the South-West to provide economies of scale, a separate Business Link company has been created that covers Gloucester, Wiltshire, North Somerset and part of Dorset. As the Government gateway for small businesses, Business Link is using one of the Enterprise Agency's meting rooms to provide a local Business Link presence on an appointment basis. Please call Business Link information line for further details, on 0845 600 9006.
The Enterprise Agency continues to deliver Business Link's 3-day Starting in Business course, as well as the Barclay's Bank free one-day start-up awareness course.
The Agency offers a wide range of additional services including one-to-one business advice and mentoring, business skills development training, specialist support for social enterprises, rural businesses, arts-based businesses and female entrepreneurs and continues to run the very successful North Somerset Business Club (http://www.nsbusinessclub.co.uk). It provides valuable local presence for Business West and its members by amongst other things co-ordinating the North Somerset Initiative: the collective business voice for North Somerset; and the Agency is an active member of many regeneration programmes currently underway in Weston.
For further information, please contact Terry Gilbert or Hazel Wintle on 01934 418418.
http://www.nsbusinessclub.co.uk/
North Somerset Enterprise Agency
The Link Centre
Oldmixon Crscent
Weston super Mare
BS24 9AY
One Day Seminars
Starting In Business Course
ADVICE/TRAINING ADDRESS WEB/EMAIL/TELEPHONE
Avon Cooperative Dev
Agency
CDA, Brave Ltd, The Coach
house, 2 Upper york Street,
Bristol. BS2 8QN
www.avoncda.coop
Tel: 0117 9892536
Bath Enterprise Abbey Chambers, Abbey Church
Yard, Bath. BA1 1LY.
Tel: 01225 388383
Business West (Head
Office)
Business West Bristol
Leigh Court Business Centre,
Abbots Leigh,
Bristol BS8 3RA
www.businesswest.co.uk
Email:
info@businesswest.co.uk
Tel: 01275 373 373
Fax: 01275 370 706
Freephone: 0800 980 2789
Business West
(Bath & North East
Somerset)
Trimbridge House
Trim Street
Bath BA1 2DP
www.businesswest.co.uk
Email
info.bath@businesswest.co.uk
Tel: 01225 338383
Fax: 01225 321971
Business West
(Midsomer Norton)
Unit 22 Midsomer Enterprise Park
Radstock Road
Midsomer Norton
BA3 2BB
www.businesswest.co.uk
Email
info.wansdyke@businesswest.co.uk
Tel: 01761 411800
Fax: 01761 411431
Business West
(North Somerset)
The Link Centre
Oldmixon Crescent
Weston-super-Mare BS24 9AY
www.businesswest.co.uk
Email:
info.weston@businesswest.co.uk
Tel: 01934 418118
Fax: 01934 629541
Business West
(South Gloucestershire)
8 Badminton Road
Downend
South Gloucestershire BS16 6BQ
www.businesswest.co.uk
Email:
info.soglos@businesswest.co.uk
Tel: 0117 910 9200
Fax: 0117 910 9211
BACEN Bristol Area
Community Enterprise
Network
Ujima House, 97-107 Wilder St,
St. Paul's Bristol. BS2 8QU
Email:
bacen@freeuk.com
Tel: 0117 907 0080
BRAVE Bristol & Avon
Enterprise Agency
The Coach House, 2 Upper York
St, Bristol. BS2 8QN.
www.brave.org.uk
Email:
info@brave.org.uk
Tel: 0117 944 5330
NVQ 3 Business Start-
Up/Owner Manager
Courses
City Of Bristol College
College Green Centre
St George's Road
Bristol BS1 5UA
www.cityofbristol.ac.uk
Email:
enquiries@cityofbristol.ac.uk
Tel: 0117 312 5000
Fax: 0117 312 5053
CSV Enterprise Unit 7-10 Lawford Street, St. Philips,
Bristol. BS2 0DH
www.csv.org.uk
Tel: 0117 908 2266
Federation of Small
Businesses
(Regional offices)
www.fsb.org.uk
The Prince's Trust South
West Regional Office
66 Ringwood Road
Bath BA2 3JL
www.princes-trust.org.uk
Tel: 01225 489 930
fax 01225 489 931
Prince's Youth Business
Trust
2
nd Floor, 102Whiteladies Road,
Clifton, Bristol. BS8
www.princes-trust.org.uk
Tel: 0117 970 6600
Shell Live-Wire
www.shell-livewire.org
Small Business Service
www.sbs.gov.uk
Women Returners Network
www.women-returners.co.uk/cms/
Email:
kgay@a4e.co.uk Tel: 0117 927 2111
CAREERS SERVICE (NEWTON PARK)
How To Set Up And Run Your Own Business
Going Freelance
Working for Yourself
How to Start and Run your Own Restaurant
101 Ways To Start Your Own Business
Independent Careers
Start Up and Run Your Own Business
A Guide toWorking for Yourself
Small Business Guide - Lloyds Bank
SKILLS FOR LIFE: Make it your business
The free Employer Toolkit is a useful resource to help all businesses tackle skills shortages. The newly revised toolkit for employers is now available.
The toolkit is designed to help employers address issues, face challenges and find solutions to business problems arising from poor literacy and numeracy skills. Based on the original employer toolkit, a joint project team from Deloitte and Cambridge Training & Development consulted with key stakeholders to understand what employers needed to encourage them to develop workplace skills. This consultation enabled the development of an approach that speaks directly to employers and can be used by anyone involved in staff development and training, including public and private employers of all sizes, as well as anyone offering advice to and support for employers in Skills for Life learning.
Order your free copy of the toolkit from
dfes@prolog.uk.com or 0845 60 222 60 quoting Ref: ETKV2-2004. Copies can also be ordered free by calling learndirect on 0800 100 900.
For more information on Skills for Life (Literacy, numeracy and ESOL English for speakers of other languages) please Click here
Business Associations
There are a number of organisations which can help if you are running your own business in North Somerset.
This section contains the following useful names and contacts you will need in order to run a successful business within the South West:
Clevedon Chamber of Trade and Commerce
David Hendey
c/o Lindley Johnstone Solicitors
The Reading House
11 Alexandra Road
Clevedon BS21 7QH
Telephone: 01275 877 277
Website: www.clevedonchamber.co.uk
Nailsea Chamber of Trade and Commerce
Karen Irish
Arcadia
69 High Street
Nailsea BS48 1AH.
Telephone: 01275 854 046
Website: www.nailsea.biz/nctc
Portishead Chamber of Trade
Ron Hazelton
The Poacher
High Street
Portishead
Telephone: 01275 844 002
North Somerset Industrial Association
Bob Wayne
BWOC Estates
Oldmixion Crescent
Weston-super-Mare BS24 9BA
Telephone: 01934 417 576
Weston College Business Development Group
Nicky Vinrace
Knightstone Road
Weston-super-Mare BS23 2AL
Telephone: 01934 411 556
Weston-super-Mare and District Chamber of Trade and Commerce
Mr Chris Knight
Weston Chamber President's Office
20 Stradling Avenue,
Weston-super-Mare,
North Somerset,
BS23 3RD
E-Mail: president@westonchamber.co.uk
Telephone: 08707 460 832 (Secretary)
Web: http://www.westonchamber.co.uk
Weston-super-Mare Town Centre Partnership Company
John Brentnall
C/o Wards Solicitors
37 Boulevard
Weston-super-Mare BS23 1PE
Telephone: 01934 413 535