City Businesses Offered Free Support to Ride the Economic Wave

Joint initiative to be launched by Brighton & Hove City Council and Brighton & Hove Chamber of Commerce.

As Brighton and Hove businesses face an uncertain winter, wondering about the impact of this week’s government spending review and the ever-present risk of a second recessionary wave, a major new, free business support initiative offers a breath of fresh sea air. ‘Ride the Wave’ is a comprehensive programme of practical events, guidance, training and advice which launches in November 2010.

Ride the Wave - FREE business Support for Business in Brighton and Hove

The product of a partnership between Brighton & Hove City Council and the Brighton & Hove Chamber of Commerce, ‘Ride the Wave’ is to be delivered to businesses between November 2010 and March 2011. Its aim is to provide the city’s small and medium sized businesses with down to earth know-how on topics that might help them not only stay afloat but thrive throughout the downturn.

As an example, the launch event for ‘Ride the Wave’ is designed to help businesses and organisations win new business, despite the downturn, by bidding successfully for the sorts of tenders and contracts they might think are only available to their bigger competitors. The half-day event, titled ‘Going for Gold: delivering a bid strategy that generates business’ and to be held on November 18 at Sussex Cricket Ground in Hove, will present a panel of recognised experts talking about all aspects of major pitching and tendering, from tracking down contract opportunities to writing successful bids. It will introduce the avenues into local authority and big business tendering, demystify ‘procurement’ and show how to meet buyers’ expectations, ever mindful of the limitations that small businesses have on time, resources and skills. As well as major presentations, the experts will meet in more intimate ‘break out’ groups to ensure that everyone has a chance to ask questions and grow their understanding.

Remaining ever practical, at least four more major events and five smaller events are scheduled between Nov and March, covering everything from retail and creative marketing to surviving rent reviews.

Julia Chanteray, president of Brighton & Hove Chamber of Commerce and a presenter at the first event, says: “Staying on top of things and continuing to grow can be a real challenge for many city businesses at the moment. But it can be done and Riding the Wave will show how it can be done, with plenty of practical, high level expertise, knowledge and advice.”

She continues: “Ride the Wave offers the kind of privileged know-how that is normally only sold at a high commercial price. But in partnership with Brighton & Hove City Council, we’re able to offer this expertise to the city’s businesses for free. Small and medium sized businesses are the lifeblood of the city’s economy, providing the majority of its employment and income, and so the city council and Brighton & Hove Chamber of Commerce together are determined that they should succeed, no matter what  the economic outlook might be.”

‘Going for Gold: delivering a bid strategy that generates business’ marks the launch of Riding the Wave and will be held on November 18 at Sussex Cricket Ground from 9am to 1pm. Book your free place at Going for Gold today.

Notes for editors

Some economic background

‘Ride the Wave’ is a partnership between Brighton & Hove City Council and Brighton & Hove Chamber of Commerce in response to the uncertainty felt by many of the city’s smaller businesses. In a recent survey, the city council has found that two thirds of surveyed businesses have been negatively affected by the recession so far. For most the impact has been small but nearly a quarter have had to lay off staff and a third have experienced a reduction in turnover, with more than four out of ten experiencing cash flow problems and a quarter experiencing difficulties in accessing credit.

However, not all businesses have felt it to be bad.  Around one in six have taken on more staff in the last two years and 40% have seen their turnover increase. And almost universally they feel more optimistic about the next 12 months, with four out of ten expecting to take on more staff and nearly six out of ten expecting to increase turnover. (Source: Economic Development Team, Brighton & Hove City Council)

By contrast, though, the Centre for Cities’ ‘city tracker’ tool (http://citytracker.org.uk/) shows that Brighton & Hove is losing its earlier privileged position in the ratio of job applicants to jobs available. At the start of 2009, the city was fourteenth in the country in keeping down the number of applicants per job available but it is now 49th. The average number of applicants per vacancy in the UK is presently five but in Brighton & Hove it has risen to six. A sensible conclusion is that the city’s businesses have remained resilient through the downturn but have nevertheless reduced the number of jobs available to active job seekers.

Against this background, ‘Riding the Wave’ is supporting the city’s business infrastructure, not only to see it survive and thrive but as the primary source of jobs for the future.

About Brighton & Hove Chamber of Commerce

Brighton & Hove Chamber of Commerce supports many businesses of all sizes and sectors across the city with services ranging from its popular twice-monthly breakfasts and monthly evening events to skills training and business support. It is also the voice of business in Brighton & Hove, representing its members on all the key local partnerships and initiatives, sitting on a variety of bodies and forums, and feeding local business issues into the City’s strategy developments. The Chamber offers several levels of membership depending on business size, starting at just £99 a year.

For further information please contact

Sarah Springford, director
Brighton & Hove Chamber of Commerce
Tel: 01273 719097
Email: director@businessinbrighton.org.uk
Site: http://www.businessinbrighton.org.uk/ridethewave

Join the Ride the Wave facebook group for updates about the events.

If you want to contribute to the Chamber blog, contact us on hannah@brightonchamber.co.uk