MORE than 300 new start-ups have been helped by Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce since the beginning of the Covid-19 crisis.
Another influx is expected, with workshops planned throughout January for people looking at launching a start-up.
New businesses set up since April 2020 ranged from an interiors business through to a company delivering nature boxes for children. Many were set up because of either redundancy or jobs uncertainty due to Covid-19.
The Chamber also delivered more than 50 online workshops attended by up to 550 people looking for help and tips on what to do when embarking on a new venture.
Hardeep Sandhu, the Chamber’s Enterprise Coach team leader, said: “Once the crisis took hold and people began to either lose their jobs or started to feel uncertain about their existing employment, our start-up service saw a real increase in demand.
“In some cases, people had been thinking about setting up on their own anyway and all of the uncertainty had acted as a spur for them to get in touch with the team at the Chamber to access our free help.
“That said, establishing a new business is not easy and should never be taken lightly – even at the best of times – so our team will always go through the reasons for an individual starting up on their own and offer help and advice.
“It’s been great, even in these incredibly difficult times, to help people achieve their dream of starting up a business and becoming their own boss.
“We expect another rush in January. This is already a very busy time for us as people have had the break to consider what they want to do and have a plan for a ‘new year, new start’.
“Our team is prepared for that and will talk through those plans and ensure that each individual goes into it with their eyes open. From there, we can help with everything from business planning through to marketing and sales to give each business not only the best chance of getting started but flourishing too.”
Visit https://tinyurl.com/y43w82g3 for more information on attending a new start-up workshop, or to book a place.
