Business Link

LadyDay · (#1 (**permalink**))

does anyone use business link or have experience with them

are they a useful resource

Business support, information and advice | Business Link

any other business link type resources

brownstar · (#2 (**permalink**))

Yes I have used them they are very good. Why don't you give them a call. They are very helpful

LadyDay · (#3 (**permalink**))

ok thanks
i will call them, gonna look at the site more 1st

Maat · (#4 (**permalink**))

Hey LadyDay,

I used to use Business alot some years back now. They do have really good resources but I find that now most of it is online or by phone call. They used to provide business courses and one to one consultations in my area but that's since gone. Businesslink is useful for directing you to other resources and what to look out for specific to how you want to operate.
What kind of recources or support are you looking for?

LadyDay · (#5 (**permalink**))

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maat

Hey LadyDay,

I used to use Business alot some years back now. They do have really good resources but I find that now most of it is online or by phone call. They used to provide business courses and one to one consultations in my area but that's since gone. Businesslink is useful for directing you to other resources and what to look out for specific to how you want to operate.
What kind of recources or support are you looking for?

basically i want to look into starting my own business and just need some direction to help me focus and work around that. there are many things i would love to be doing but would just like to try one 1st and see if i need to do any courses.

removed · (#6 (**permalink**))

Yes they are very very good, go for it and use them. you can attend up to 3 or 4 seminars in a given set of time and I can tell you from now they have been very inspirational in my setting up of my business also you can use them after your business has started and up and running. I met a man whos business has been going for six years and still leans on business link for advice. they have paid-for services which are subsidised due tobeing funded by the London Development Agency. (apols for my rubbish spelling)

besides the support the networking opportunities are fantastic. I use business link in conjunction with my local enterprise agency, (every borough has one so check you borough website) as i won a scholarship to set up my business and I am very close to launching so i need all the help i can get right now. I am simply getting my name out there, doing promotions etc. so you get lots of ideas from the delegates.

there are very few negatives to business link, and they do ask for your feedback after attending their seminars so to make the negatives into positives in future.

go for it!

Maat · (#7 (**permalink**))

Quote:

Originally Posted by LadyDay

basically i want to look into starting my own business and just need some direction to help me focus and work around that. there are many things i would love to be doing but would just like to try one 1st and see if i need to do any courses.

Alright well from what I recall your area of study is Media right? Do you still want to focus on that area?

Maat · (#8 (**permalink**))

Quote:

Originally Posted by removed

Yes they are very very good, go for it and use them. you can attend up to 3 or 4 seminars in a given set of time and I can tell you from now they have been very inspirational in my setting up of my business also you can use them after your business has started and up and running. I met a man whos business has been going for six years and still leans on business link for advice. they have paid-for services which are subsidised due tobeing funded by the London Development Agency. (apols for my rubbish spelling)

besides the support the networking opportunities are fantastic. I use business link in conjunction with my local enterprise agency, (every borough has one so check you borough website) as i won a scholarship to set up my business and I am very close to launching so i need all the help i can get right now. I am simply getting my name out there, doing promotions etc. so you get lots of ideas from the delegates.

there are very few negatives to business link, and they do ask for your feedback after attending their seminars so to make the negatives into positives in future.

go for it!

Well done you

That's great to hear. I agree there are great opportunities from using them and it's really cool to see how you've used it to grow your business so far.

Keep it up and good luck with it throughout!!

By the way your spelling isn't rubbish at all

LadyDay · (#9 (**permalink**))

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maat

Alright well from what I recall your area of study is Media right? Do you still want to focus on that area?

i would love to make use of my media skills/study. my options are open

Maat · (#10 (**permalink**))

Quote:

Originally Posted by LadyDay

i would love to make use of my media skills/study. my options are open

OK well I'm thinking for you to:
1. Go back to that thread you posted some years ago regarding what you can do with a media degree - think it was in the advice forum. There are loads of suggestions there.
2. Focus on your ezine, what you've done so far with it and what more you can do to develop it OR consider something else you are good at, enjoy doing and is not hard for you to do (as in you don't need to go and train up in a completely new area).
3. Consider any obstacles you've had trying to create it and see how you can work round them i.e. lifestyle, skills update.
5. Get a business plan going - if you haven't already done so. I think I mentioned some of this before on that media thread where you can start with a spider chart and get the ideas down on paper then break it down into categories. Alternatively, I think you can get a template online but off the top of my head the main things to consider in your plans are:

What you want to do (sell goods or services)
Consider what legal status do you want. You can register as self employed and become a soletader (like me) or you can create a Ltd company.
How or where you want to do it - face to face/online/premises/from home
Who you want to do it for (your target market i.e. who you want to buy your products/service)
What resources or additional skills you have or (reliable) people you know who have those skills. The main resource you'll need to bear in mind at the moment is TIME, especially if you are working and you now have the little ones to consider - not to mention your energy! The idea is to break it up into managageable chunks.
What finances you have to start it with - even if it's a small change enough to get you going. WARNING: places like business link will encourage you to do a plan so that you can get external funding such as a grant or loan for which you will need to have a complete business plan. In my opinion this is not always the right way for everyone to start up and I have known people to create their plans take them to the banks to apply for the loans, get the application rejected but DON'T get the business plan back.
Income and expenditure - abreak down what money you will start with and what you need to spend it on BEFORE you start to make money yourself. It may be best to go through the list of things you need to buy first to create the producst or service.

.....just had a thought that I've gone into one and am not sure what you know form what you don't LOL so let me know if any of this makes sense, is helpful for you or is unclear alright. I'm off for now but kiss the babas for me and I'll speak to you soon.

LadyDay · (#11 (**permalink**))

thanks matt
decided will start off with a real blog that generates traffic and thus move on to sellig ad space than develop it from there

i will look for that old thread i hope i can find it

Maat · (#12 (**permalink**))

Quote:

Originally Posted by LadyDay

thanks matt
decided will start off with a real blog that generates traffic and thus move on to sellig ad space than develop it from there

i will look for that old thread i hope i can find it

You're welcome. I was thinking on this last week and meant to go back to my first question. What happened with the ezine idea?

Ad space would be cool and I was looking into that myself recently. Not sure about how blog spots work. Do you have someone who can help or advise on it?

LadyDay · (#13 (**permalink**))

hey Maat
basically a blog is like this Afrobella | Beauty, fashion, music and more but can easily be seen as a magazine. best thing for me to do would be to buy a url and pay for hosting. some blog host have been known to cancel/delete
though an ezine is definitely where i want to end up. i suppose i can do both. ezine for editorial content and blog other stuff. would be a nice mix

i am going to be doing some courses over the next year to get my business mind in gear. one in marketing and maybe a business course. i have already enrolled on a marketing one.