With over 25 inspirational speakers and how-to workshops; there is something for enterprises of every size including start-ups. Speakers are from a range of successful female entrepreneurs including Sarah Cressall who has built a large family-oriented franchise.
Workshops include: How to launch a start up, how to sell anything with confidence, wealth dynamics, access to funding, writing your strategic sales plan and how to start exporting.
Hilary Green, from Government Department UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) South West, assists companies putting together a strategy and action plan for international trade and will be running a session.
Hilary says: “We help with information, contacts, funding. Most services are free or subsidised, especially for SMEs. We have particular support for high growth markets like China, Brazil and Russia. An example of a company we helped recently was one that provides airline snacks and we helped by offering funding to exhibit at trade shows.”
UKTI also run seminars and workshops for businesses and one of their flagship programmes is called ‘Passport to Export’, for inexperienced exporters who would like to enter new markets overseas. They also organise trade missions, which are visits to major cities overseas. They help set up meetings with prospective business partners and even arrange interpreters.
Hilary adds why trading overseas is so important: “The UK market is in decline. So businesses often need to find a new geographical market place to overcome this. We can hand-hold business owners while they do this.”
Joni Farthing, Festival Organiser, adds: “We are very proud to be sponsored by FreeAgent who are also running a workshop. They really understand the reality of being an entrepreneur as their product – simple cloud-based bookkeeping and invoicing – is aimed at freelancers and smaller businesses.”
“We’re delighted to be sponsoring Women Outside the Box and exhibiting at the event. We’ll be explaining how important business information can be extracted from a well-kept set of accounts and highlighting which documents small business owners have to file with HMRC.
