Membership of Small Business Focus is just £50 a year.
All you have to do is fill in the membership form....
We're a proactive, not-for-profit organisation where membership is open to all organisations having less than 100 staff within the BANES area.
The B&NES ENTREPRENEURS’ CLUB, set up by Small Business Focus, aims to provide support to all micro and small businesses within the region, whether they are well-established, in the start-up phase or still at the “Big Idea” stage.
Free weekly meetings focus on the resources, skills and knowledge needed to run a small business efficiently, effectively and successfully. Each meeting also includes networking opportunities, plus free refreshments. The meetings take place on Tuesdays, from 6.30 pm until 8.30 pm at different inspirational venues.
We are currently conducting a survey.
We value your feedback, and would appreciate it if you clicked on this link and took a few moments to respond to some questions.
Thursday April 18, 2013
The 2013 City of Bath Conference, being held on May 1, although termed a "conference" is actually a showcase for some of the activities and key elements within Bath which help make our city a beautiful, lively place to live, with a............more>>>
Thursday March 21, 2013
Starting a small business is like building a boat – stay with me on this…
Firstly, the big idea, the outline plan, which for many is driven by a desire, or creativity or simply 'something I have always wanted to do' but, more specifically in the case of starting a business, an element of need for an income, something to............more>>>
Thursday February 21, 2013
Very few people can have missed the debate on the fears for the demise of the high street or the loss of the small independent business.
This is particularly pertinent here in Bath, where we are known nationally and internationally for not only our architecture and heritage, but also for our unique mix of specialist shops and businesses.
But perhaps we should see............more>>>
Thursday January 24, 2013
I was enjoying a meal with my family in Panahar, my local BYO Indian restaurant, when I noticed the guests at the neighbouring table were pouring their beer out of special two-pint cartons.
Apparently their favourite pub offers a take-away deal – draught beer or ale dispensed into the special waxed-paper, dispensable containers for consumption at home. Pubco tactics, increased............more>>>
Thursday December 13, 2012
As the national press is now taking up the plight of Bath's independent shops (Sunday Times, Squeezed stores threaten to quit high street, December 2), can we please remind readers of our campaign to............more>>>
Thursday, October 18, 2012
The main political party conferences have ended with one consistent message that the economy is improving, but far from recovered, which means continued austerity, cuts and the current "responsible lending" by banks and other business funding sources remaining in place.
This is true of our region where............more>>>
Thursday, September 20, 2012
With the glorious sporting summer drawing to a close and our thoughts turning to warm comfort and there being fewer than 100 days to Christmas, Bath is thinking about food.
The Great Bath Feast takes place in October with Bath Tourism Plus and the............more>>>
Thursday, September 6, 2012
A new community market in Odd Down is proving supermarkets can help local businesses.
Sainsbury's at Odd Down has held its second Local Traders' Market in its foyer space.
The monthly market was launched in August and its aim is to help boost trade for neighbouring businesses............more>>>
Thursday, August 23, 2012
The last few months have been exciting and exhilarating for us all.
We have witnessed huge demonstrations of loyalty and pride in our Queen and the monarchy. We have thronged the streets to cheer on our local torch-bearing personalities and we have spurred on the magnificent sportsmen and sportswomen of Team GB to huge successes............more>>>
Thursday, August 2, 2012
Small local businesses have been selling their wares at a new market held in a Bath supermarket car park.
The event, which was held at Sainsbury's in Odd Down, was the product of an ongoing partnership between the superstore and the city's Small Business Focus group............more>>>
Thursday, July 19, 2012
July has been designated Independent Retailer Month and in cities and towns all over the United Kingdom there have been special events and campaigns to encourage people to buy from local, independent businesses.
One of our entrepreneurs' club members, Julie-Ann Blackmore............more>>>
Thursday, June 21, 2012
May was a really hectic and productive month for Small Business Focus, its members and strategic partners.
We joined the steering group for the inaugural City of Bath 100 Ideas for Bath Conference, an event which brought together all the various groups and initiatives aiming to make Bath a better place in............more>>>
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Community groups, small businesses, and voluntary and charity sector organisations across Bath are being invited to attend a conference being organised by Bath & North East Somerset Council next month.
Called 'The Bath City Conference- a hundred ideas for Bath' it is an opportunity to get people together to discuss and share ideas to improve the city............more>>>
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Civic leaders are hoping a new annual summit will generate 100 fresh ideas for improving Bath.
The Bath City Conference: 100 Ideas for Bath is the title of an event bringing together community groups, small businesses and charities next month...........more>>>
Friday, April 06, 2012
Civic leaders are hoping a new annual summit will generate 100 fresh ideas for improving Bath.
The Bath City Conference: 100 Ideas for Bath is the title of an event bringing together community groups, small businesses, and charities next month.
The event at the Guildhall is being organised by...........more>>>
Thursday, April 05, 2012
Small businesses in the city were given a lesson in dedication and motivation by the University of Bath-based GB ladies' rhythmic gymnasts.
The seven athletes, who will compete in the London Olympics, were the star attraction at the latest B&NES Entrepreneurs' Club session...........more>>>
Thursday, March 22, 2012
The majority of the government support schemes for enterprise are principally aimed at larger businesses and, to be frank, Bath has very few of these. Therefore, owners of small local businesses continue to come up with their own initiatives.
Retiring businesswoman Ann Taylor recently offered members of Small Business Focus and the B&NES Entrepreneurs' Club her entire stock of office supplies: an offer which...........more>>>
Thursday, March 08, 2012
A drive to bolster start-ups in Bath has gained added momentum following a business summit in London attended by Prime Minister David Cameron and the Prince of Wales.
Angela Ladd, the chairwoman of Bath-based Small Business Focus, was...........more>>>
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Changes are often thrust upon people and come in many different forms, whether as a result of divorce, retirement, leaving school or university, children leaving home or sickness.
'Redundancy', a word now feared, is a challenge faced by many in today's straitened circumstances. Caring employers – and this includes our own local authority – take steps to help their employees deal with this challenge more easily by offering change management courses. We know from...........more>>>
Thursday, January 20, 2012
The festive golden goose has distributed all available golden eggs, the new year sales have been "steady" according to some official bodies, the FTSE is back above 6000, and Deloitte in Bristol claims that the number of companies going into administration is declining – hey we did it! The economic crisis is behind us and all is well… not quite.
There are some real signs of recovery but it is more important than ever to consider your plans for the coming year and how best to navigate through..........more>>>
Thursday, January 05, 2012
Bath's businessmen and women of the future proved a roaring success when put through a Dragons' Den- style challenge in partnership with Bath Rugby.
BTEC Extended Diploma students from City of Bath College were set..........more>>>
Thursday, December 15, 2011
So who among you conducts some business in Europe/The European Union/the Eurozone? (It's all the same thing, isn't it?) Well, no actually. There is a palpable sense of concern among the business community that the outcome of the latest European summit is not good for UK plc.
What should be made clear is that, whatever your view on Cameron's decision, the summit was principally supposed to resolve the crisis of the euro. What actually emerged was...........more>>>
Thursday, December 08, 2011
Three IT students from City of Bath College have designed a website for a new Bath-based business organisation.
The trio designed and built the website from scratch after being approached by the newly formed Bath and North East Somerset Entrepreneurs' Club, which aims to encourage local people to set up small businesses by providing them with support, advice and...........more>>>
Thursday, November 17, 2011
With four successful seminar and networking events behind it, the B&NES Entrepreneurs' Club is gaining momentum and celebrated its official launch on Tuesday at The Cosy Club in SouthGate Place. The launch fell in Global Enterprise Week 2011 with its motto, Starting Tomorrow's Business Today.
On Tuesdays students, graduates and would-be entrepreneurs join members of the...........more>>>
Thursday, October 20, 2011
In his speech at the recent Conservative Party conference, Chancellor George Osborne claimed that "we are the party of small businesses" because of new government measures directed at the sector, including credit easing and tax freezes, and outlined schemes and measures to rebalance the economy, particularly for small businesses...........more>>>
Thursday, October 13, 2011
An initiative aimed at bolstering the prospects for start-up firms in Bath is being launched by a coalition of business groups and education providers in the city.
The Bath and North East Somerset Entrepreneurs' Club will hold its first event on Tuesday, October 18.
Spearheaded by local organisation Small Business Focus, the initiative is also being driven forward by the Federation of Small Businesses, City of Bath College...........more>>>
Thursday, September 22, 2011
At the time of writing, it is September 11 and the matter of perspective – what really counts – is proving a real distraction.
Much time and effort is directed towards issues that neither actually matter nor make any real difference and we need to consider and appraise the true motives behind many of our actions.
The 10th anniversary of 9/11 will have perhaps inspired a little reflection on where we were at the time, what felt important at that moment and how things have been during...........more>>>
Thursday, August 18, 2011
There has been one story dominating the media recently which has caused great distress and damage to businesses and homes up and down the country.
Thankfully, we have not experienced these problems in Bath but have...........more>>>
Thursday, July 21, 2011
The Government officially wants more SMEs to tender for national and local contracts, but the door needs to be open to smaller firms, as there is a wide perception that Whitehall favours "larger outsource companies when allocating contracts", as one source in London put it...........more>>>
Thursday, May 19, 2011
While writing, we are unsure who will run our local authority and how the deal will be struck – for the good of the community or a ring-fenced implementation of pet plans and initiatives? We shall see.
The Labour Five have a decent hand to play and their involvement is not welcome by some.
However, they may provide a..........more>>>
Thursday, April 28, 2011
As regular readers of this column and members of our organisation will know, we have generally approved of the statements and initiatives made by our council provided they protected and supported the interests of our business community.
Part of our mandate is to ensure that the true nature of these actions and how they affect small and medium-sized businesses is presented with clarity and openness..........more>>>
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Robin Davies, in a letter published on April 7, claims that the people of Bath and visitors are not being heard on the issue of A-boards and street advertising. Mr Davies must have very acute hearing indeed, if he can hear the 'public outcry'.
To clarify matters on the level of public concern, I recently t contacted the council to make a Freedom of Information request. I asked for the number of notifications received by B&NES from the public relating to A- boards and similar obstructions of the footpath during the year February 2010 to February 2011..........more>>>
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Battle lines are being drawn as council officials look at whether to bring in a licensing system for pavement A-boards in Bath.
Bath and North East Somerset Council is sifting through the responses to a consultation exercise on the idea of charging businesses what is expected to be £100 a year to display the portable advertising signs..........more>>>
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Traders in Bath say they are "incandescent" about council plans to charge businesses to display portable advertising signs outside their premises.
The proposals for an annual permit system to ensure A-boards and other signs do not cause unsightly clutter or pose an accident risk have upset the business community, whose leaders say the move will damage trade at independent shops in the city..........more>>>
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Spring generally brings an uplift in tourism to our beautiful region and our small independent businesses will be trying to work with the changes that have been taking place over the last year to capitalise on this influx.
On the whole, it seems that we are in better shape than 12 months ago, but there are still major issues to be addressed that would improve the commercial environment dramatically..........more>>>
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Taking a summary view of recent activities, initiatives and presentations that have been emerging, it would seem that the official hat of business support is being firmly placed on the heads of the creative and IT industries, apparently considered in this region to be the principle sectors to deliver results in the Government driven "high-growth" programme.
This is also the thread running through much of the initial thinking behind the newly-formed Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), which will have a major influence on who exactly gets support and who does not..........more>>>
Thursday January 20, 2011
The festive golden goose has distributed all available golden eggs, the new year sales have been "steady" according to some official bodies, the FTSE is back above 6000, and Deloitte in Bristol claims that the number of companies going into administration is declining – hey we did it! The economic crisis is behind us and all is well… not quite.........more>>>
Thursday January 20, 2011
Budding entrepreneurs from City of Bath College have been grilled about their business ideas by leading Bath business people in a Dragons' Den-style event.Just like the hit BBC TV show, students had to pitch their business ideas to the Dragons before tackling tough questions about their proposals.The Bath Dragons were Angela Ladd, chair of Bath Small Business Focus.........more>>>
Thursday December 30, 2010
A new twist on bartering is being tried out in Bath – with the launch of an alternative currency called the Oliver. The Bath Oliver will be introduced in March to enable individuals and businesses to exchange goods, services and skills without conventional money changing hands............ Angela Ladd, chairman of Bath's Small Business Focus group praised the idea..........more>>>
Thursday December 30, 2010
During a difficult year which saw the entire committee of the Bath and North East Somerset branch of the Federation of Small Businesses resign en masse, Angela has remained a strong voice for small firms in the area. After leading the FSB exodus, she became the co-founder and chair of Small Business Focus, which aims to assist business people across Bath.........more>>>
Thursday December 23, 2010
The Christmas Market arrived, the lights were switched on and the independent shops and businesses that help make Bath such a special attraction are all set for a seasonal shopping-fest that will repair the damage from the last 18 months of economic blight ... maybe........more>>>
Thursday November 25, 2010
So, the Government recognises the importance of small businesses to the UK economy, even asking us to "take-in" redundant public-sector workers to help retain the national workforce........more>>>
Thursday November 11, 2010
Entrepreneurs and businesses from across Bath will exchange ideas at a series of events being held as part of Global Entrepreneurship Week........more>>>
Thursday, November 04, 2010
Small Business Focus, the new and fast-expanding not-for-profit support organisation for businesses in Bath and North East Somerset, are taking a key role in the activities taking place in the region during Global Enterprise Week 2010........more>>>
Thursday, September 23, 2010
A new organisation has been set up with the aim of giving a voice to small businesses in Bath and North East Somerset........more>>>
Thursday, September 16, 2010
A new not-for-profit organisation has been launched to stand up for small firms in the Bath area........more>>>
Thursday, July 22, 2010
A breakaway group is being set up to represent small business owners in Bath.
Former committee members of the Bath branch of the Federation of Small Businesses, who quit en masse earlier this year, are forming their own independent pressure group........more>>>
Small Business Focus was awarded a Global Entrepreneurship Oustanding Impact Award for the
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