New free business briefings from Business Link (From St Albans & Harpenden Review)

New free business briefings from Business Link

10:43am Tuesday 21st September 2010

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Business Link has today launched its new programme of free workshops and briefings for businesses and entrepreneurs in Hertfordshire. The events will take place from October through to March, at convenient locations across the county. Aimed at those just starting out, as well as established businesses, they are designed to develop business skills, ideas and knowledge. From business planning, to finding new customers and using social media, there’s something to suit every need.

Several new briefings have been added to programme. For more established businesses, these cover employee engagement, high impact presentations, search engine optimisation, website analysis and email marketing. That’s in addition to the existing, well established workshops, which have been further refined based on customer feedback, as well as current market conditions and legislative changes.

For those looking to start a business, there’s a workshop to provide support every step of the way. Whether looking for business ideas, buying a franchise or simply finding the answer to the question ‘is it for me?’, Business Link’s workshops for new businesses will help get the basics right and provide support every step of the way.

Last year, Business Link workshops attracted 24,035 delegates and received an overall customer satisfaction rating of 91.6%. So far this year, customer satisfaction has risen steadily to 95.7%, with 100% achieved in July; these figures tell a story of high quality presenters, appropriate content and good locations.

Elaine Holtum, Events Booking Service Manager at Business Link says: “Our new workshop programme really does provide something for everyone, whatever stage they are at with their business. We’ve listened to feedback from customers and refined the programme to ensure that workshops are exactly what our customers want and need to help them start, run and grow successful businesses.

“More than 800 workshops feature in this latest schedule, at over 60 locations across the East of England region. Most are half-day workshops, making them suitable for those running businesses or juggling work-life commitments. For full listings, information on workshop content and to book, visit www.bookevents.org or simply call our events booking team on 0845 601 1000.” 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
• T 08457 17 16 15 E info@businesslinkeast.org.uk www.businesslink.gov.uk/east