In summary
Welcome to February’s FSB Merseyside and Cheshire Small Business Bulletin!
This month we are pleased to announce several fantastic collaborations – and don’t forget our regular in-person and online networking events across the region - all designed to help you and your business thrive!
Read on to find out about our partnership with HSBC, Ways to Wow and the St Helens Business Support and Start-up service – and find out how you can get involved as an FSB volunteer.
Featured news and events
FSB Seeks New Regional Chair
FSB is calling for nominations from Merseyside and Cheshire members for the position of Regional Chair, with effect from Tuesday, 1 April 2025. As an FSB member, you can shape future government policy and help small businesses grow. We're proud to be a member-led organisation because it's what makes us the leading and authentic voice of 5.5 million small businesses and the self-employed in the UK. We rely upon business owners volunteering at both a national and local level to support the vital work we do. Our volunteers don't just help, they lead. Be part of the leading voice representing 5.5 million small businesses and the self-employed in the UK. Help drive change by volunteering with us. Working alongside Development Managers and other staff, the Regional Chair’s role includes promoting and championing FSB to external stakeholders and audiences, supporting our lobbying on issues important to local businesses and assisting with activities and membership growth within the region. To find out more, request a copy of the full role description, please contact [email protected] before Thursday, 13 February. Selection will take place between 14 and 28 February.
Build Your Brand Workshop with Ways to Wow
FSB Merseyside and Cheshire and Ways to Wow are joining forces to help you learn how to turn your small business into a BIG BRAND. This regular workshop will provide expert guidance on building your brand, creating experiences and increasing sales – with great networking to boot. Join FSB and Jamie Wray, founder and Managing Director of Ways to Wow, at INNSiDE by Meliá Liverpool, Old Hall Street in the heart of the city's business district to access the secrets behind the most referenced business tool used when building a meaningful brand. We start with networking before the main workshop takes place, and then finish with panoramic views of the Liverpool skyline and more networking in the venue's Sky Bar. Tea and coffee provided! INNSiDE by Meliá Liverpool is wheelchair accessible, and any specific accessibility arrangements can be made with the venue in advance. The collaboration launches on Thursday, 20 February – so register now to take the first step towards building your brand the right way, and master how to automate your business processes and procedures to enable you to create consistent experiences that drive excellence, brand loyalty and sales.
Liverpool Networking, by FSB and HSBC
Join FSB Merseyside and Cheshire and HSBC representatives on Tuesday, 18 March from 10am - 12pm as we return to the historic Royal Liver Building for a morning of networking. Find out about the business support provided by FSB and HSBC while enjoying tea and coffee at the Grade I listed venue, one of Liverpool's famous 'Three Graces' (along with the neighbouring Cunard Building and Port of Liverpool Building). Located at the city's historic Pier Head, it was part of Liverpool's formerly UNESCO-designated World Heritage Maritime Mercantile City and features the two fabled Liver Birds, which watch over the city and the sea. The event follows the first HSBC-FSB collaboration in October 2024. Our aim is to provide a platform for business owners from across Liverpool City Region and beyond to come together in an informal, relaxed yet engaging event, with an emphasis on making key introductions, connect with new contacts and meet old friends. Open to FSB members and non-members, whether you are a regular networker or a newbie you will find a warm welcome and an easy atmosphere for making those valuable introductions.
In other news
Liverpool to receive funding boost for creative industries
Liverpool City Region has been named a ‘priority region’ for creative industries by Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy. It will receive a share of £60 million in government funding for start-up video game studios, grassroots music venues and other creative businesses to boost British music and film exports. The Liverpool City Region MusicFutures cluster is to benefit from £6.75 million to bring together partners including the city’s two universities, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic and the Liverpool M&S Bank Arena. The cluster will provide funding and training for musicians, educators and small businesses to harness new technologies such as AI and Extended Reality (XR) and explore making the live music sector more environmentally sustainable. The initiative was announced at a recent economic growth summit for the creative industries, held in Gateshead. Ministers are working with the Creative Industries Taskforce on the full Spring launch of its Creative Industry Sector Plan - part of the UK’s modern Industrial Strategy - and will also create shorter apprenticeships from August as a ‘first step’ towards a more flexible Growth and Skills Levy. British Business Bank will increase its funding for the sector, and the Government has also launched a ‘Soft Power Council’ to drive investment.
Employer support from University of Chester
Employers are being invited to take advantage of business support initiatives from the University of Chester. Data from the university shows that over 60% of students wish to remain in the region after graduation, if they can secure employment. Employers now have direct access to the university’s talent pool and support of the Careers and Employability Team, including promoting vacancies and developing brand awareness via a low-risk recruitment. In addition to its employer-focused programmes, the university is offering general vacancy advertising via its CareerHub platform, a free service promoting part-time and graduate-level roles. Employers can also connect with soon-to-be and recent graduates through the ‘Get a Graduate Job’ scheme. Those wishing to meet the students face-to-face can do so through Employer in the Foyer visits at the University. In addition, the University’s Graduate Internships programme provides full and part-funded opportunities to host final-year undergraduate students or recent graduates, and the inaugural ‘GradGo’ mini graduate job fair will offer the opportunity for a limited number of local businesses to showcase their open job vacancies in person, on campus, at no cost.
Still in the news
Working together to support St Helens Businesses
St Helens Business Boost, a collaboration between FSB Merseyside and Cheshire and the St Helens Business Support and Start-up Service, is to take place on Monday, 10 February 2025 at the World of Glass. Are you based in St Helens and looking to make new connections and grow your business? This relaxed, friendly event is a great opportunity to learn about the support available to you, including a breakdown of FSB member benefits courtesy of FSB Membership Advisor Darren Gallimore. The morning of business support and peer-to-peer networking will be the perfect platform to make new introductions and build your network. It follows a joint event held in November where businesses from St Helens and beyond gathered at the Ruskin Sports Village. Join us at the World of Glass museum and visitor centre, located on the former Pilkingtons site, previously winner of England's Best Small Visitor Attraction, where the world's first continuous glass making furnace, built in 1887, still stands.
Good Small Business Awards
The Good Small Business Awards are now open for entries from small businesses, offering recognition for ecological and sustainable practices. The purpose is to promote the good that businesses do for a better world, focusing on small businesses with a common goal to be a force for good, while developing a strong and stable economy. The Awards, the brainchild of Liverpool-based FSB members Garth and Claire Dallas, provide a platform for small and micro businesses to showcase how responsible business strategy, practice and developments have transformed their activities and brought opportunities to fulfil their people alongside inspiring their local economies to achieve a better environment. The Awards recognise small businesses with an active or trading registered legal entity in the UK and 1-200 employees. Entrants are asked to specify how many employed and contracted people are in the organisation, their legal registered business name and other information depending on the category entered. To download a useful handbook and enter the Good Small Business Awards, visit the website.
More news and activity near you
- Lancashire and Cumbria
- Greater Manchester
- More from FSB North West
Get in touch
Your FSB Development Manager for Merseyside & Cheshire is Phil McCabe. 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: @FSBMerseyside
- follow us on Facebook: @FSB.Merseyside.Cheshire