Who are you calling old?!

Worthing and Adur Chamber’s 100^th birthday

There’s no getting away from it – age catches up with all of us and the Chamber is no exception! This year is Worthing and Adur Chamber’s 100^th birthday but we’re not expecting a card from the Queen or putting ourselves out to pasture – no way! Instead we wanted to use the opportunity to do something good that could show as many people as possible what a fantastic business community our membership is and also help with the local economy. Sounds like a doddle right? OK, maybe not. This is where you – lovely members – show your Chamber mettle and join in!

So what are we doing?

The Chamber is launching a special programme with the aim of helping 100 young businesses become more successful this year. They can receive 20 hours training, mentoring and expert help from those that have been there and done it - all for the price of a £65 start-up membership.

Training

Participants will receive up to 20 hours free training in the form of courses specifically designed to help young businesses. These will be led by Chamber experts.

Mentoring

There will also be access to business mentors who will be able to provide guidance on more specific problems that occur among individual businesses. The Chamber will strive to match mentors to participants according to experience and need.

Expert Help

Programme entrants will also be supported by local bodies such as Adur & Worthing Council and the Adur and Worthing Business Partnership (AWBP). These bodies have committed to offering help through the bureaucracy that can be a minefield for newer businesses. The less red tape the better we say!

What can you do to help?

We need help in a number of ways:

• 1.      Be one of our experts!
• Could your skills be of use to a new business? We’re looking for finance, marketing, admin, legal, recruitment and IT help – plus others too. If you think you can provide a training session or help us write one then please get in touch with the office.
• 2.      Be a mentor
• If you’ve been there, seen it, done it and bought the t-shirt in business, then we reckon you’ve probably got what it takes to help mentor a young business. Mentoring can be as hands on or off as you want it to be and can also be hugely rewarding. We will match your skills to programme entrants.
• 3.      Recruit young businesses
  If you know anyone who has recently started a business then please put them in touch with us. The business just needs to be less than 18 months old and can be from any sector at all; Retail, Manufacturing, Trade, Technical, Service… anything. This programme is not just about digital – it’s for everyone.
• 4.      Help us give this programme a name!
• We’re looking for a great catchy name for this programme. It needs to be something that really fits the bill and is relevant to our 100^th birthday. The name will be revealed at the programme’s official launch at the Better Business Show on February 13^th and the person who comes up with the name will be given the ‘My Business My Story’ page in the next issue of Connect, plus a huge thank you from the Chamber team J

Of course we will be celebrating with a number of other special events throughout the year too (so keep your eyes peeled for more info on these) but we believe this programme could leave a legacy for our local area and even help the local economy. We really hope you want to be part of it too.

More information coming soon keep an eye on the website www.worthingandadurchamber.co.uk