Member Article

Enterprise campaign boosts start-ups

A campaign to encourage more people to follow their dreams and start up in business is achieving record results in Tyne & Wear. Business Link in Tyne and Wear launched its ‘Stop Thinking About It, Start Doing It’ campaign earlier in the year, and says that it has been very successful. The campaign is aimed at inspiring people in the area who are thinking about launching an enterprise to take the first step towards doing it.

As a result of the campaign, Business Link have already spoken to over 4500 people about starting a business and there has been a 25 per cent increase in the number of entrepreneurs launching new businesses in Tyne and Wear between April and October 2006 compared to the same period last year. There have already been 1,450 hits to a dedicated web site, www.iwant2doit.co.uk, which offers free information packs covering topics such as approaches to starting a business, preparing a business plan, looking at finance options and writing a sales and marketing plan.

Salome McVeigh, project manager at Business Link in Tyne and Wear said: “In a way the response to the campaign doesn’t surprise us. We know from our own research that twice as many people in Tyne and Wear are thinking about starting a business than the national average. What is really exciting is the fact that through this campaign we are talking to more would-be entrepreneurs than ever before. “The information included in the packs has been driven by our research into entrepreneurship which highlighted key questions and areas of interest from those considering launching a business.”

As part of the campaign, Business Link recently held the Start Your Business event at St James’ Park, Newcastle. The event attracted almost 300 enterprising people who were offered advice in how to take forward their ideas. For more information visit www.businesslink.gov.uk.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .