BiG’s Neighbourhood Enterprise Champions reach 166 clients and counting!

166 potential entrepreneurs have taken advantage of BiG – Make it Your Business’s Neighbourhood Enterprise Champions (NECs). BiG is a set of activities to increase entrepreneurship and business start-ups, and helping existing businesses to grow.

 

The NECs work closely with people in their communities, provide confidential, creative advice and are the first place to visit for moving ideas forward. Since they were first up and running in mid-September 2007, they have gained 166 clients looking for guidance in starting their own businesses.

 

The large number of clients was achieved by utilising the NECs existing contacts and resources, such as the networks and personal contacts already in place, and word-of-mouth throughout the local communities they work in.

 

Now BiG, funded by Sheffield’s Local Enterprise Growth Initiative, is providing the NECs with extra resources to generate even more interest in entrepreneurship and encourage more people to seek out advice. Through open days around the city, the NECs have engaged with over 250 budding entrepreneurs.

 

The initial interest shows that there are lots of would-be entrepreneurs looking for some business support. Director of SOAR, the Southey & Owlerton branch of NECs, Ian Drayton said: “To generate this level of interest before we had even started our campaign shows that interested people are out there, we’re just scratching the surface”.

 

Cecilia Sheilds, programme manager of the NECs says “Clients wishing to set-up businesses can talk to us for assistance. Having lived and worked for years in the communities, we can assist local people with proactive, personalised one-to-one support, to help people work through their journey from start-up to opening the doors of their first business.”

 

People who have been helped so far include businesses such as child-minding, a cleaning company, opening a nursery, a tattooist looking to start his own business, a catering business and an import/export business.