Following the success of the Start Your Own Business Boot Camp, Business Link in the East of England has introduced a new Business Boot Camp for start-ups with high growth potential. The new programme meets the needs of entrepreneurs who are starting businesses with the potential for high growth and need a solid base with the right foundations from which to grow.

The intensive two-day residential Boot Camp workshop provides a fast-track solution to starting and developing a high-growth business. It includes structured guidance on strategic planning, market research, sales and marketing techniques and building a management team. Areas such as networking and developing and presenting an elevator pitch are also covered.

Launched in April of this year, the new Boot Camp is aimed at businesses from the pre-start stages up to the first year of trading with the potential to reach a turnover of £500,000 in the first three years. Delegates benefit from the opportunity to focus on intensive business planning with other like-minded people in a structured and focused environment. The workshop also offers one-to-one sessions with Business Link Advisers, Researchers and other external experts.

Viv Starkiss, Enterprise Awareness Manager for Hertfordshire, says: “High-growth enterprise helps create employment opportunities, and it’s important to encourage this kind of development locally. Business Link is very keen to work with partners to help identify businesses that have the potential to be part of the engine of recovery in the wake of the recession.

“We understand that the prospect of a two-day intensive course could seem overwhelming, or time may simply be too tight, which is why we will be holding free taster sessions in the run-up to Boot Camp. The taster sessions are a great way for local entrepreneurs to chat to Business Link representatives about their needs, benefit from structured guidance and advice, and decide on the next steps for their business.”

If you’re confident that your business has what it takes to thrive at Boot Camp, more information and an application form are available at www.startupbootcamp.org.uk. Spaces are limited to 12 for each Boot Camp – successful applicants will be contacted following submission of an application form.

To find out whether Business Link’s High Growth Business Boot Camp is right for you, book a free taster session in Hertfordshire at www.bookevents.org, or by calling the events team on 0845 601 1000.

Boot Camp Statistics

  • 55% of pre start delegates have gone on to start a business
  • 56% of delegates were in the early stages of having started a business, and used Boot Camp to accelerate their business growth
  • There is an even split between male and female delegates
  • 63% of Boot Camp attendees have accessed ongoing support from a Business Link adviser to keep them on track
  • 19% of delegates are over 50
  • 66% of delegates fall into the 25-49 age range

About Business Link in the East of England:

• Business Link… the place to go for business support • Business Link provides information, practical advice and support to help people to start, run or grow their businesses • Our clients fall in to two main categories: - Those running or working in established small and medium sized businesses - Those who want to start their own business • Both client groups can access independent, impartial and, in most instances, free help and support from Business Link in the form of: - Free one-to-one help from an experienced Adviser (established businesses) or Enterprise Awareness Manager (start-ups) - Workshops and briefings on a range of business subjects such as business planning, sales and marketing, legislation, developing people - Telephone and online support through our Regional Information and Intelligence centre • Business Link supports businesses and entrepreneurs in the 6 counties in the East of England: Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk • Business Link is a government initiative to promote enterprise, funded in the East of England by the East of England Development Agency, who offer an extensive portfolio of business support in the region. For more information, go to www.bizmapeast.co.uk