In summary
We have a busy Spring ahead of us with great expos in Bristol, Cheltenham and Swindon, our first ever FSB Bootcamp in Gloucestershire (which is shaping up nicely) and plenty of interaction with MPs, councils and stakeholders to make sure the voice of business is listened to. So, make sure you follow our social media for all the updates. And don’t forget if you ever want a 1-2-1 about any FSB issue or benefit just email us via the links at the bottom and let’s talk....
Featured news and events
Great speakers announced for our great FSB event to help you and your business
Plans are now shaping up well for the first ever ‘Bootcamp’ for the FSB Gloucestershire and West of England area.
The FSB Bootcamps – day-long events to inspire, inform and support small businesses and the self-employed – have been a great success elsewhere in the UK and we are sure our event with a cracking line up of speakers will be a day not to be missed by local SMEs.
The Bootcamp – entitled ‘Springboard to Growth’ - will take place at the University of Gloucestershire’s Business School in Gloucester between 9am-3pm on Wednesday, May 14 and we are thrilled to have The Growth Hub Gloucestershire as our key supporters, sponsors and partners.
Our speakers will include a former UK entrepreneur of the year (Oli Christie from the Cotswolds), ‘Pete the Speaker’ who won investment from the Dragon’s Den team who will show you the way to pitch your business and Bristol’s Abi Rogers who will show you how to deal with your ‘inner critic’ to make you more successful in your business life. With other great speakers plus updates on the new ‘Together Gloucestershire’ procurement campaign, an interactive quiz to help you beat cyber scammers and a chance to hear about the support available to local businesses from the Growth Hub Gloucestershire and the FSB it all promises to be a full and exciting day.
Tickets are now available to buy and cost just £10 for FSB members and £20 for non-members – and that includes a lunch too - so don’t delay in signing up. And, if you are interested in exhibiting we have a small number of very low cost table-and-chair-and-pullups stands still available (just £75 for members or £125 for non-members!) so don’t miss out on those.
To book and secure your tickets to attend the event visit Bootcamp visitor sign up and to book a stand visit Bootcamp exhibitor sign up.
Gloucestershire, Bristol & Bath Virtual Networking
We hold well-attended and relaxed online networking events up to twice a month for FSB members and guests in the Bath, Bristol, Gloucestershire and South Gloucestershire area and if you would like to join us to be part of the sessions why not sign up now for our meeting on Friday 14 March?
In other news
More helpful green grants now on offer in the West of England
If you are an SME based in Bath, Bristol or South Gloucestershire a new range of supportive 'Green Business Grants' to help you and your business are now open again to apply for.
Over 300 SMEs and charities in the West of England have already been supported to buy products and equipment that cut their energy bills and reduce carbon emissions via these grants so now is your chance to add to that number.
Grant projects so far have included LED lighting, solar panels, insulation, heat pumps, manufacturing equipment and cooking appliances so there is plenty of ways you can use the money to help your business on its sustainability journey.
Grants are available on a first come, first served basis and the West of England Growth Hub team can also help you find carbon saving opportunities and signpost to installer directories.
To find out more and register for an application pack please visit Green grants.
Join us for three forthcoming Spring Expo events
We are always pleased to get out and about at local Expo events as a chance to meet members and be part of a great day of local business interaction.
During March, April and June we will be exhibiting at three events locally and we would love to see you there if you are able to join us.
Firstly, on Thursday 27 March, we will be at the Cheltenham Racecourse for the Sterling Cheltenham ‘Expo Plus’ which features plenty of networking as well as a great opportunity to meet lots of local businesses and exhibitors. You can sign up to join the event at Cheltenham Expo.
After this, we are very pleased to be teaming up again with the B2B Expos team to take part and exhibit at two of their Expos in Bristol and Swindon.
First of these is The Swindon Business Expo which takes place on Thursday 24 April at DoubleTree by Hilton and is a day aiming to be fully-focused on sales, marketing, innovation, and growth. Whether you're a local business owner, entrepreneur, or professional, this event is designed to help you take your business to the next level. You can book at this link.
A couple of months later we are heading to Bristol when on Thursday 19 June we will be exhibiting at the BAWA Conference Centre. To sign up for that see Bristol Expo.
Still in the news
Don’t forget to check out FSB’s library of great business webinars
We know that SMEs can often struggle to attend business events ‘live’ due to the understandable pressures of work and deadlines. That is why when we do nationwide webinars on business issues we always try to record them so business owners can watch them later at their convenience.
We would therefore encourage you all to check out the free 'FSB On Demand' service where we have a library of some of our recent business supporting webinars for people to be able to listen to in their own time.
We have done them recently on issues such as how to improve your website ('Website ready for 2025'), marketing essentials for sole traders (see Tips to help you market ) and the ever increasing importance of being AI-ready (visit AI webinar). There was also a very important one at the end of last year on the forthcoming Employment Bill changes – see that key one at this link.
All our recent webinars can be found at On Demand and to sign up for future helpful webinars keep checking the national events and networking section on our website at this link.
New Procurement Act could help you win contracts
The new Procurement Act came into force in the last week of February which should help small businesses as they try to sell their goods and services to the public sector.
If you aren’t aware of what is involved and how it could help you, the Government recently hosted a very good webinar for businesses to find out what is in the Act and how it may change the way you supply to the public sector - you can watch it via You Tube here. You can also get a good overview of the changes at Govt website advice.
If you are based in the Stroud area, Stroud District Council has produced a very handy guide to how the changes will affect the way you work with them. It is also a very good summary of the Act changes for those outside of Stroud and can be found at Stroud Procurement Act.
Finally, Gloucestershire-based businesses who want to find out more about a major and exciting new initiative to improve the chances of small business owners looking to sell to the public and private sector should check out the Together Gloucestershire website. See Together Gloucestershire.
More news and activity near you
- Cornwall
- Devon
- Dorset
- Somerset and Wiltshire
- More from FSB South West
Get in touch
Your FSB Development Manager for Gloucestershire, Bristol and Bath is Sam Holliday. If you'd like more information about the topics above, or if you have news about this area that you'd like to share, please get in touch.
- email us: [email protected]
- follow us on X: @FSBGlosandWoE
- follow us on Facebook: @FSB.GloucestershireBristolBath
- connect with me on LinkedIn: Sam Holliday