Small business bulletin for West Yorkshire

Local News 26 Nov 2024

Local small business news from Barney Mynott, your FSB Development Manager. Updates cover Leeds, Bradford, Wakefield, Huddersfield, Halifax.

In summary

Sorry if it is too early but as I won’t get another chance, can I say Happy Christmas. Our last event of the year takes place on Thursday 12 December in Huddersfield. It is our fantastic Pants event, where we support the Mission by bringing new pants along for them to donate (it sounds odd but believe me there’s some logic behind it). As always please feel free to get in touch. Many thanks, Barney

Featured news and events

The Business Growth Gathering, Wakefield 10 December

A free networking and learning event for business owners is being held by Ad:Venture at The Tileyard in Wakefield on 10 Dec. The aim is to get 400 business owners there (and I know they are well on track to get this number) for an event to help you grow, network, and learn from industry leaders and peers.

There will be panel discussions on AI for SMEs, investment and scaling up, and branding and marketing. There is a networking lunch and a chance to talk to organisations providing advice and support – including the FSB.

It is free but you do need to book your place. You can attend for all or some of the day but to make it easier for you to join for the full event there will be a large space available with free WIFI for anyone who needs to use it.

Book your free place here>

Local FSB events

We are planning our events for next year and we already have online and in person events that you can book for January. Last year we held 76 events and over had over 3000 bookings. If you haven’t attended one of our events before, you could be missing out.

You can also still book on for our Pants event. A unique and fantastic event with great networking that supports a brilliant local charity.

In other news

Free sustainability webinars

The West Yorkshire Combined Authority are hosting a series of free one hour webinars to help business owners take practical, environmentally friendly steps in their workplace. The next one on the circular economy takes place in February, with the topics of reducing water usage, travel and avoiding greenwashing later in the year. 

Find out more here>

Free training for creative freelancers and microbusinesses

Small business owners in West Yorkshire can get support from WYcreate. They have brought together industry experts to help freelancers and microbusinesses by providing tailored creative industries skills development and business support. They also signpost to other resources, services, industry bodies, and established region-wide creative sector freelancer networks.

Find out more here>


Still in the news

Leeds Trinity Professional placements opportunity

Would you be interested in providing a work placement to undergraduate students? Leeds Trinity is looking for local businesses to provide placements for students across diverse fields. Placements are an integral part of their students' degrees, helping them to gain practical skills whilst contributing to your organisation with fresh ideas and academic knowledge.

Placements can be 90-210 hours and either part-time (starting Jan 2025) or full-time (starting in Apr). If you would be interested in taking on a placement student, please complete their Expression of Interest form.

West Yorkshire Fair Work Charter

The Fair Work Charter is a way for you to show you are a great local employer, with benefits for staff recruitment, retention and connecting with other businesses.

It is free to join and the straight-forward application process doesn’t take long to complete. Once you sign up you can access free tools and peer networking. You can find more information about the West Yorkshire Fair Work Charter here and express your interest.

Read more here> 


More news and activity near you 


Get in touch

Barney Mynott - FSB West Yorkshire Development Manager

Your FSB Development Manager for West Yorkshire is Barney Mynott. 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.