Let's Do Business
30 September 2008
Lets Do Business was fully booked this year with 95 exhbitors and more than 600 business people under one roof on one day, all looking to do business locally with one another. The feeback was overwelmingly positive with 98% of exhbitors and visitors saying they would attend again. To download the full case study please click on the Lets Do Business header above.
Let's Do Networking
28 February 2008
The event was fully booked with nearly 300 people from 185 different businesses attending the event on the day. Feedback was obtained from 114 delegates, 93% of which said that they would definitely or probably be doing business as a result of the event, and 98% of those surveyed said they would definitely take part in another Let's Do event.Axis Festival 2008
24 and 26 April 2008
The festival provided workshops, where local musicians would hear and learn from music industry leaders, which would enable them to be better equipped to cope with a more competitive edge in an extremely competitive industry. Over 47 local bands and individual artists attended over the two days. Click here for the full case study.
Tomorrow's Managers Today - Clayton Hall
29/30 April 2008
Over 200 fourteen-year-old students from Clayton Hall Business and Language College participated in a management exercise called 'Tomorrow's Managers Today'. Click here to download pdf.
The Enterprise Club
13 September 2007
The Enterprise Club run by the NSCCI had responded to its customers' request for more information about corporate social responsibility (CSR). Business Brokers were involved in planning the event, as they provided speakers from their pool of contacts. The Business Brokers further supported the event by having meetings with the speakers beforehand, helping out with powerpoint presentations on the night as well as introducing the speakers. more...
Lets Do Enterprise
2 & 16 May 2007
The first \'Let\'s in September 2006 proved very popular and confirmed that there was a lot of entrepreneurial talent around the city of Stoke on Trent with 54 candidates registering over 2 days for the chance to present their business idea. It proved that candidates plucked up the courage to attend the event, presenting their business ideas, and positive feedback and encouragement from the panel gave several of them the extra confidence needed to proactively proceed with starting up their own businesses. more...
Glitter Bin Celebration Event
28 April 2006
Coalville is an ex-Coal Board housing estate, which is now a housing market renewal Pathfinder area and, consequently, will undergo large-scale intervention by way of clearance, demolition and new-build over the next few years. 260 children between 4 and 16 years old from Weston Coyney Infants School and Kid-Zone Youth Club had been working with Stoke-on-Trent City Council and the Coalville Residents Association on an environmental project, Cleaning & Greening Coalville, as part of the "Tidy Stoke Campaign". more...
Cape Town Challenge
April 2007
The local Youth Services were running the Cape Town Challenge 2007 project, instigated by Azis Ahmed, youth development worker. The aim was to be offering young people different learning experiences, where they would spend 12 days living and working in South Africa. Ten 15-19-year-old youngsters were selected from across the city of Stoke on Trent for this once-in-a-lifetime chance. Part of the challenge was that each young person was expected to raise  £300 towards the expense of their trip.
more....
CareMatch Launch
The Staffordshire Social Care Workforce Partnership and Wider Impact approached the business brokers to see if they could assist with the funding and delivery of a free social care and health seminar to promote Carematch. The aim was to provide a seminar which would enable employers, potential employees and representatives from key support agencies to come together to learn about Carematch, a web-based recruitment site, which aims to match employers with job seekers in the social care and health sector. more...
Work Placement
Landau is a local charity which helps people with disabilities/difficulties to find work placements.
The business brokers were approached by Landau to see if they knew of anybody, who would take on people
with disabilities or learning difficulties for a work placement. The brokers agreed to promote the
charity to existing and new businesses. In addition, due to a busy event schedule the brokers were
able to provide a 12-week work placement for one person. more...
Lets Do Lunch at the Elms
Following on from Let's Do Networking many local businesses had commented that they would like
to see more regular events from the Business Brokers, where they could meet up with local organisations
to network, and hear from guest speakers, who could help them to move their businesses forward. In
response to this the brokers came up with the idea of a lunchtime networking event.
To raise the awareness of local restaurants - a sector the Brokers had not worked with before - it
was agreed that the event would be held at a localrestaurant in Stoke-on-Trent. more....
Timken visit with Blackfriars School
Blackfriars School was leading a cluster of 16 special schools in Stoke on Trent and Staffordshire in Enterprise Education and occasionally organising educational events for them. One such event was a visit to Timken Vocational Training Centre in Wolverhampton to which representatives from businesses, the specials schools and the business brokers were invited along. The aim was for the delegates to network and share ideas of how job opportunities could be created for young people with special needs in an innovative way. more ...
Art for Life
The Art for Life appeal was established to raise money towards injecting different types of art into the new hospital buildings on the sites of the UHNS and Haywood Hospitals. Funding had been provided for new buildings to clinical priority standard, however, no funding had been provided for additional elements such as artworks and landscaping, which would help to make the hospital buildings feel more welcoming and less impersonal. Hence funding for this additional element was sought through donations, sponsorship, grant-aid and other external sources from businesses. more ...
Lets Do Lunch at Furama Palace
10 December 2008
The idea came from a Brindley Place/Mailbox lunch network established in Birmingham. The initiative introduced local business people to local restaurants in the hope that giving them a 'taste-before-you-buy' experience would encourage them to come back outside work with their family and friends for a social occasion.
The first Let's Do Lunch in July 2008 was very popular, and the business brokers wanted to repeat the success, as positive feedback confirmed that delegates found it very beneficial for their businesses, in particular the networking opportunities. A different restaurant with a different kind of food was chosen for this one, and instead of a speaker a speed networking session was held, as the business brokers had heard from local businesses, that they were constantly on the look-out for new contacts. more ...
Staffordshire University - You're Hired
Staffordshire University wanted to promote their SPEED and Enterprise Fellowship Scheme (ESF) business start-up companies at their Staffordshire University Shop unit in the Potteries Shopping Centre in Hanley. They asked businesses to support them by volunteering to be on the panel for "You are Hired" and providing prizes for the prize draw.
The day consisted of companies exhibiting between 9.00 and 17.00 so that the public could come and have a chat with them about their business experiences of the scheme through the university. Businesses exhibiting included: Datawreck, Totem Films, BackonTrack UK Ltd, Charis Jones - Sculpted Steel and many more. A competition entitled "You're Hired" encouraged members of the public to pitch a business idea on film throughout the day for a chance to win a free place on the "Life PLC - Invest in yourself", a personal development course donated by Boommm Training and Consultancy. The business ideas were judged by a panel of volunteer business people.
The event was aimed at people who were either unemployed or at risk of being made redundant and would like to explore setting up their own company and being their own boss. More
WF Property Preservation - Let's Do Mentoring
Having founded their business as WF Building Solutions in 2005, partners Darren Wild and Michelle Fox operated from home until deciding to move to Shelton Enterprise Centre early in 2009.
That move and their decision to seek help from a business mentor were the catalyst for a hectic three months of re-structuring and growth for the re-named WF Property Preservation.
How did they manage to increase the number of staff employed, obtain a loan from Michelin Development, secure a major contract, lay the foundations for further growth by putting new processes in place?
Click here to see the full case study.
Students inspired by experiences of successful entrepreneurs
Students from three Stoke-on-Trent high schools were given tips for the future when businesspeople took time out to talk to them about what makes an entrepreneur.
Mair Williams, Ben Dyer and Jane Pallister - who all run successful businesses - met students taking the Business, Administration and Finance Diploma after teachers contacted the Business Brokers for help.
Click here to see the full case study.Platinum Healthcare Solutions Ltd - Let's Do Mentoring
The growing pains of a start-up business are only too familiar to Lee Carrington-Smith who, having launched Platinum Healthcare Solutions, turned to Let's Do Mentoring for help. Thanks to input from two mentors - first Bob Moore and now Mark Lewis - Lee is focusing on his aim of delivering vital health and safety training to firms of all types.
Click here to see the full case study.
Flat Vision Products Ltd - Let's Do Mentoring
Having formed Flat Vision Products Ltd in February 2000 as a specialist knowledge-based supplier of LCD flatscreen display solutions, entrepreneur Martin Bose decided to seek the support of a business mentor in early 2005. Although his business was successful and profitable, Martin wanted the support of an experienced individual to help him face the challenges of growth in a competitive market. It was to be start of a rewarding and close relationship with mentor David Dry which has played an integral part in the firm's ongoing success and expansion.
Click here to see the full case study.
CK Leafleting Ltd - Let's Do Mentoring
CK Leafleting Limited was established at the start of 2005 after Philip Isaacs - who had been involved in door-to-door distribution for a national company - recognised there was a gap in the market for a reliable, efficient direct mail delivery company to serve the needs of the local business community.
From the outset Philip - who had a background in sales and management - intended that his company would set itself apart from competitors in the leaflet distribution industry by offering a high standard of customer service, employing its own locally-based direct workforce and implementing policies in areas such as employment law and health and safety.
Click here to see the full case study.
