Business Link run regular events to encourage new businesses and help support existing ones. Here’s a review of a Business Link event I went to called “business ideas”.
If you’ve never heard of Business Link before, they’re an organisation funded by the government to help support business in the UK.
I was sceptical at first, with it being free event, only lasting three hours and never having worked with Business Link before.
There was a mixture of people there, all at different stages in developing a business or becoming self employed and all with an interesting and varied background. It was interesting to hear peoples’ stories and discover how in a room of only ten people there can be such a wide variety of experience and skills.
The content was alright, but nothing new to anyone already reading into business and entrepreneurship. Some of the topics covered included SWOT analysis, finding the right target market, looking for new opportunities and writing a business plan. I recommend a copy of Duncan Bannatyne’s Wake Up And Change Your Life for more information on developing a business idea.
The handout was not so great, just a print out of the Powerpoint slideshow. It’d have been better if we’d have been provided with some details of books or websites for further reading on each of the topics discussed.
For example, OK, we’ve been told to do some market research, but what are the best tools and methods for doing so, and what books or websites do you recommend for market research? Again, we should write a business plan, but where can I find out what needs to be included in it and what are banks looking for in a business plan in order to approve a loan?
Overall, the event was well worth the time just for the networking opportunity for anyone currently in business or looking to start one and I’ll be keeping an eye on the upcoming Business Link events in sheffield. The best parts of the event were the interesting ad hoc discussions on real world problems that people were having. I came away with contact details of five really good people, who I’ll be keeping in touch with.
I think it’s important to remember when considering signing up for a course or event, even if the content isn’t so great, there’s bound to be people there with similar interests as you who you can learn from and exchange contact details with. It’s all about the networking.
I’ve booked another event through Business Link called “How to turn your Website into a Customer Magnet”, that’s on December 1st at The Source in Sheffield. It was fully booked nearly a month before the event and I’m definitely looking forward to it.
