Page 2 - The Star SME Toolkit 2019: Business Experts Give Their Advice

2 THESTAR www.thestar.co.uk Wednesday,September25,2019
SME TOOLKIT
BUSINESS: EXPERT ADVICE COLLATED IN ONE PLACE
Learn top tips from the very best in the business world
Welcome to The Star’s second SME Toolkit – your complete guide to navigating the world of enterprise.
This supplement brings to- gether expert advice from those at the top of their game around the region.
The Star has teamed up with these individuals to help leaders of small or medium- sized enterprises who juggle it all, from HR to finance and sales to marketing, on their shoulders.
Of course not all of these leaders do it completely alone, but where they get ad- vice from can have a major impact on the future of their business.
And paying for expert ad- vice can have other advantag- es, such as freeing up time for strategy for the boss.
An adviser can also bring independent thinking and fresh ideas from outside the daily grind and free from in- ternal politics.
And they can use their net- works to introduce other use- ful people.
The ultimate dream for an SME boss might be to have a circle of advisers who can be called on singly, or together, to help them op- timise the running of their firm and reach new heights of success.
It is achievable, many are doing it already. In this publi- cation, The Star aims to make it work for you.
Read about a new campaign at the AMRC
Our expert contributors are:
KATIE ASH, HEAD OF EMPLOY- MENT AT BANNER JONES.
She provides five top tips to help protect your business from any legal issues that can arise in the world of employ- ment. Page 3
JILL THOMAS, OF FUTURE LIFE MANAGEMENT
She gives a fascinating insight into the world of personal fi- nance. Page 4
ANDY IRVINE OF SHORTS AC- COUNTANTS
He says the firm can handle
the finances of “any SME in the region” Page 5
JONATHAN BRAY, THE AMRC’S DEPUTY HEAD OF DIGITAL
He talks about the AMRC’s new Digital Meet Manufac- turing campaign and its aim of making South Yorkshire a digital capital. Page 6
YVONNE ASQUITH, FROM BUSINESS SHEFFIELD
She tells how the organisation supports start-ups and ear- ly stage businesses through workshops, guidance, semi- nars, start-up loans, events and resources. Page 7
Take advice from the experts with our SME Toolkit
Chance to take part in new business programme
Community businesses that benefit Sheffield and South Yorkshire can now apply for a learning programme and a grant of up to £10,000.
Therearemanycommunity business, including shops and farms, pubs and call centres. What they all have in common is that they are accountable to their community and that the profits they generate deliver positive local impact.
The Community Business Trade Up Programme, run by the School for Social Entre- preneurs, in partnership with Power to Change, opened for applications last week and runs until Wednesday No- vember 27, 2019.
The programme supports the leaders of community businesses with a fully fund- ed learning programme (12 learning days, spread over
nine months) a Match Trad- ingTM grant of up to £10,000 and a community of support- ive peers.
In Sheffield, Gareth Rob- erts runs Regather Co-opera- tive, a community space that runs events, supper-clubs and the organisation behind the Folk Forest events and festival.
Regather also has its own brewery, and runs a fruit and veg box scheme.
Gareth said: “Everything we do at Regather is about bringing together the com- munity. The programme will help me take the next step in our growth, so Regather can become even stronger and do more for our neighbours. It’s a great support, and I’d defi- nitely recommend applying!”
The learning programme will help the leaders of com- munity businesses to develop
the skills, strengths and net- works they need to increase their impact, with a focus on increasing their sales and in- come.
It will run from April to December 2020, and there are places for 80 community business leaders across Eng- land who will learn in groups of 10. Community businesses can apply at https://www.the- sse.org/community-business
Regather is 10 years old