Partners

Yorkshire Forward

Yorkshire Forward is the regional development agency for Yorkshire and Humber. Our vision is to make our region a better place to live, work and invest. We are supporting people, helping businesses and improving places to create a region where people are inspired to work hard; to start up their own businesses; to work together and share ideas. And a region where businesses are as productive, innovative and competitive as they can be.

We are working to bring about a long-term culture shift in the region, so that enterprise is more highly valued and entrepreneurs get the support they need. We want people to be ambitious, and to know they can find the support they need to get where they're going.

We have developed a business start-up programme, providing business support for both individuals and SME's, and we are delivering an access to finance programme, ensuring they have straightforward access to appropriate and sufficient levels of finance in order to grow. Following start-up, we help businesses to improve and innovate so they remain competitive. This is achieved through business support initiatives which help companies to make effective use of technology, develop strong supply-chain linkages and implement efficient processes. We also encourage collaboration between the region's businesses to share experiences and best practice, and collaborations with academic institutions to exploit developments in research. Our aim is to help businesses to become more productive, more innovative, and more adaptable to economic change, resulting in a confident and prosperous region.

Website: www.yorkshire-forward.com

Business Link Yorkshire

Business Link Yorkshire is a central point of information and advice for all businesses in the region, no matter what their size or stage of development. We are funded through Yorkshire Forward and we aim to make Yorkshire and Humber a great place to start and grow a business.

We are committed to building vibrant, diverse and sustainable economies, built around competitive and entrepreneurial businesses.

We do this by providing access to free, impartial advice and expertise to solve problems, meet needs and create growth opportunities.

We provide an easy first point of call through our customer information centre where trained advisers can source a wide range of information on business issues or carry out desk top research. Our on-line services can be accessed 24 hours a day through our website, with 500 downloadable guides and over 40 interactive tools, all designed to help businesses survive and thrive. We are running over 2000 free events this year across the region, specifically targeting companies and people thinking of starting up on their own so they have all the information they need to make well informed decisions and are able to capitalise on market opportunities.

If more in-depth help is needed our adviser services work with companies on a one to one basis; identifying issues and working together to develop solutions, either through Business Link services or by recommending expert support.

Call us on 08456 048 048 or visit our website at businesslinkyorkshire.co.uk

Fantastic Media

Make your business Fantastic

Want your business to deliver clear results? Fantastic Media is a full service agency that, working in partnership with you, creates winning marketing strategies to exceed your business objectives. And because we’ve made it our business to amass a dedicated team with expertise across the full marketing range, from direct marketing to planning, from new media to PR and advertising, we’ve brought success to clients both from Yorkshire and across the UK.

Work with Fantastic and you call upon exact skills whether you’re looking for results with a full strategic marketing partner or you want specific help such as brand development, improved online performance or better marketing collateral. It also ensures whether your brand is firmly established or it’s still an idea, Fantastic can get the customers you want - and help you keep them.

Website: www.fantasticmedia.co.uk

Mid Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce

Founded over 150 years ago, The Mid Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce and Industry Ltd is a membership services company that exists to protect and develop the interests of business in the metropolitan areas of Calderdale, Kirklees and Wakefield.

We are part of the British Chambers of Commerce national network that covers the whole of the UK and work with international Chambers of Commerce in Europe, North America, South America, Africa and Asia. When you join us you have automatic links across the globe for building contacts and enhancing your trade.

Our goals are:

To connect members and customers to local, national and international business opportunities to enable them to compete and grow

To support members and customers by providing a range of relevant, cost-effective and accessible services

To represent the best interests of members and customers with policy-makers at the highest levels of local, regional and national influence.

We are a not-for-profit organisation, accountable to the local businesses that make up our membership.

What We Stand For

At the heart of it all, we are a small business just like most of you. We share the same mind-set, the same values, the same difficulties and the same ambitions. We operate in the same economic climate as you, with a fully commercial business model and no public funding as a safety net.

We lobby constantly to get the best deal for business on the economy, taxation, transport, energy, crime, skills and the European Union. We understand your concerns about regulation and red tape and we tell it like it is.

We’re just like you and we’re on a mission to help you get to where you want to be.

Website: www.mycci.co.uk