Looking back: #StartUpSeptember 2023!
Let’s Do Business Group celebrates the success of the 2023 Start Up September campaign, which supported hundreds of aspiring and new business owners in their journey to starting up and growing their enterprises.
Let's Do Business Group, a leading business support organisation in the South East and East of England, is dedicated to fostering entrepreneurship and business growth in the region. The annual #StartUpSeptember campaign, pioneered by Let’s Do Business Group is designed to empower and support aspiring entrepreneurs and new businesses, with a dedicated programme throughout the month with a focus on free skills-based workshops and support sessions.
“We’ve been running the Start Up September campaign for a few years now, and it gets bigger every year. It’s fantastic that this year we were able to incorporate free marketing support into the available programme to entrepreneurs and businesses under Let’s Do Marketing, our new subsidiary, to offer a fully comprehensive range of help to them.”
The 2023 Start-Up September campaign brought together seasoned entrepreneurs, industry experts, and aspiring business owners in a collaborative effort to promote entrepreneurship and provide valuable resources to start-ups. This year's campaign featured an array of workshops, webinars, networking events, 1:1 support opportunities and free resources - all aimed at equipping entrepreneurs with the knowledge and tools to succeed. New this year was the extension of the campaign to cover support for businesses in the districts of North Essex under the North Essex Economic Board, which included funding to extend services to new and budding businesses in the area from Let’s Do Business Group’s subsidiary contract, Backing Essex Business. Partner organisations from across the South East and East of England also got involved in the campaign, providing workshops and events in their respective districts and ‘hubs’ of support for their local aspiring entrepreneurs to get in touch with.
Highlights of the campaign's success include;
£544,000 approved and lent under the Start Up Loan Scheme to fuel the start-up ecosystem in our coverage areas
During the month of September, our team at Let’s Do Business Finance were able to approve and lend a massive £544,000 in funding to new businesses under the Government-backed Start Up Loan Scheme. As an official Business Support Partner of the Start Up Loan Company, Let’s Do Business Finance are proud to have had such an impact on the communities in our region.
520+ Enquiries received for Start Up Support and finance under the Start Up Loan Scheme
Our teams received a large volume of enquiries throughout the month of September from new and aspiring business owners about securing finance under the Start Up Loan Scheme and additional business support for their new business. This mean we were able to make a huge impact by giving these entrepreneurs the support they need to move forward.
60 entrepreneurs supported to learn new skills through our free workshops
Throughout the month we delivered a range of free skills-based workshops, with the aim to give aspiring entrepreneurs and new business owners the tools to take control of their journey. We covered Social Media Marketing, Business Planning, Finance and Accounting through programmes delivered by expert business coaches, giving our attendees the opportunity to learn the skills to make their new businesses a success.
25 free 1:1 consultations delivered
Another feature of the campaign was the ability for business owners to book a free 1:1 consultation with an expert business coach or professional to receive guidance or fill in any skills gaps. On offer were free sessions with Business Coaches and Finance managers from Let’s Do Business Group and Let’s Do Business Finance, marketing experts from Let’s Do Marketing, and accountants from Hastings-based accountancy firm Ashdown Hurrey. These sessions gave new entrepreneurs and business owners the opportunity to ask any questions they might have about starting or growing their business, and gain guidance on how to move forward.
With the end of the #StartUpSeptember campaign for 2023, Let's Do Business Group is enthusiastic about the seemingly upward trend and renewed sense of entrepreneurial spirit felt in the South East and East of England following a difficult period for enterprises in the last year. With the pandemic in the rearview mirror, it’s hoped that the conclusion of the recent campaign will help to spur further creation of new businesses and innovation in the United Kingdom, and fuel prosperity and economic growth in our communities.
As Let's Do Business Group looks to the future, we are already planning additional initiatives and programmes to continue nurturing and promoting the success of start-ups into 2024 and beyond, with #StartUpSeptember2024 hoped to support even more entrepreneurs than ever before.
