Member Article

Free courses for people jumping at the chance to launch their own business

Places on free virtual workshops to give a helping hand to Warwickshire-based potential business owners to leap to the next stage and launch their own company are available next month.

Coventry and Warwickshire Reinvestment Trust (CWRT) has organised the sessions as part of its JumpStart scheme, which is part-funded by Warwickshire County Council.

The project is designed to teach individuals how to adapt their mindset and boost their confidence to overcome any fears and concerns they may have about starting a business, enhance their business knowledge, money management skills and, importantly, assess their business ideas to enable them to go on to start a business if they decided it’s right for them.

The workshops, which were moved online at the start of the pandemic, are led by experts in different fields including Michelle Fakes, who has run Business Support & Training Services from her Nuneaton base for the last decade.

She will be leading the sessions on Business Planning on Tuesday, June 15 and Wednesday, June 16 and Cashflow Forecasting on Tuesday, June 22 and Wednesday, June 23 which will both be between 9.30am and 4.30pm.

Michelle said accessing business support and training was vital for all businesses but particularly start-ups.

“I have been working with CWRT on the JumpStart programme since 2016 and the modules are a fantastic way of taking people through each step of a business plan so that they feel comfortable in taking their ideas to the next stage,” she said.

“We cover all aspects from searching for premises to looking at market research to pricing.

“In the cashflow workshop, we look at setting up costs, access to finance, projections for the first year of trading, and profit and loss projections which can all seem daunting if you have never done it before.

“We discuss all this in language which is easy to understand because it really is a step-by-step guide – it is like putting all the building blocks in place in the right order!”

Keely Copson, JumpStart’s Project Officer, explained: “We have had a variety of individuals attend our workshops with business ideas ranging from legal services to baking from home.

“The project constantly receives positive feedback from attendees as they like our approach and they can relate it to their business as well as appreciate all the information which is given in an engaging way.

“Since the pandemic started, we have supported over 60 people and have now also introduced one-to-one mentoring into our package because we know that now, more than ever, it is really important to gain a comprehensive package of business support that will aid in making the chances of success much higher.”

Sheridan Sulskis, Executive Director of CWRT which is based at Coventry University Technology Park, said JumpStart is a fantastic way to access support in the early stages before businesses are even launched.

She said: “As soon as the first lockdown began, we reacted quickly and moved our JumpStart workshops online which meant we have been able to continue with our same level of detail for people starting out on the path towards running their own business.

“These workshops are more pertinent than ever because Covid-19 has given people the opportunity to assess their careers, whether they would prefer to be their own boss or want to continue with the flexibility and freedom that working from home has given.

“JumpStart is ideal for those who have little or no business experience but have an idea. It doesn’t matter whether you have one idea or 100, the workshops are designed to help you assess which one is viable and the best suited to your personal circumstances.

“All the courses are free to Warwickshire residents and I would encourage anyone who is considering launching a business, or even just exploring whether being their own boss is for them, to get in touch and find out how these workshops can help.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Matt Joyce .