Member Article

Paul McEldon on Business Link and the BIC

Ahead of the impending transformation of Business Link, Bdaily spoke to Paul McEldon, chief executive of the North East Business and Innovation Centre.

While he is positive that support will still be there for businesses, Paul acknowledges that the changes will alter the landscape.

“There was a business life for many years before Business Link, and there will undoubtedly be an afterlife. It will change the dynamics, but the fact is that knowledge still exists, and businesses want to grow.”

If the demand for the services is still there, Paul suggests that relinquishing the ‘one stop’ nature of Business Link, could make access to this type of expertise somewhat harder.

“The funding that came from business link is obviously going to be missed. The change will mean it is more difficult to access that kind of resource, although it is certainly still there.

“Many businesses may have relied on the subsidies, and so the effect on the Private Sector may be that fewer companies are able to sustain that level of access. That said, it’s not going to disappear.”

Looking forward, Paul also suggests that the closure might pose new opportunities.

“Looking positively at the change, it could be that Business Link had caused an inflated rate to emerge for these services. It might bring prices down and encourage more competitiveness. That could mean a more level playing field.”

With volunteers to replace the paid advisers, there has been scepticism over whether call centres, and websites will be sufficient to cater for the gap left by Business Link, and Paul echoes some of this.

“It’s probably going to provide value for money, but with the loss of face to face advice, that is debatable. There is not much that can compare to advice from people who have experienced building a business. The support that is going to be made available will not be as valuable, and I just think something will be lost.”

The work of the BIC will shore-up many of those seeking training programmes, funding advice, and business planning, among other resources.

“At the BIC we are committed to providing a free service for start-ups seeking support and advice, and that will continue for the next three years.”

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