WiseUp2's New Programme Launching Soon!

WiseUp2

Worthing and Adur Chamber is launching a new programme its highly successful WiseUp2 training sessions. Following on from the success of last year, the programme has been expanded to include topics suggested by members and also been expanded to delve deeper into high-demand areas such as Marketing.

What is it?

The new programme is offering over 20 different training sessions, all working with highly experienced trainers from the local area. The majority of sessions will be between 2 and 3 hours and based in Worthing town hall. They are kept deliberately small to offer a better learning experience to attendees. In most instances, this allows them to get a personalised experience from the trainer and really get what they need out of the session.

How do I find out more and book on?

The whole programme will be on the Chamber website www.worthingandadurchamber.co.uk or call the Chamber office on 01903 203484 to find out more. Chamber members receive special discounted rates of only £35 per session, and for non-members it's £75. You simply cannot get training at these rates anywhere else.

Watch this space!

The Chamber will also be putting together some bigger 'meet the professionals' days which will offer a whole day focusing on a particular topic, allowing attendees to attain a much clearer understanding of the subject and leave with some practical solutions to any specific problems. These will be announced shortly.

Free Business Support with Business Navigator

Coast to Capital’s Business Navigator Growth Hub is a free service that signposts all businesses to the vital support that helps business owners achieve their objectives and growth.

Your local Business Navigators are, Amanda Geel and Ryan Davies, who cover the Worthing, Coastal and Rural West Sussex areas. They can research potential funding options, help you find a business mentor/advisor, assist with recruitment, find support for website development, and much more.

Amanda will be holding free information, guidance & support clinics in conjunction with Worthing & Adur Chamber of Commerce at the Sphere Business Centre in Broadwater

These sessions will focus on discussing your business needs whether it is access to finance, new routes to markets or training and development.

These sessions will run in the afternoon on:

• 25^th April
• 23 May
• 20^th June
• 18th July
• 19th September

Please contact Tracie Davey to book your free 1hr with Amanda:

T: 01903 203 484 or E: tracie@worthingandadurchamber.co.uk

Are you a charity or community group that needs funding for a project? 

Worthing and Adur Fund is open for applications – deadline: Friday 5^th May 2017

The Worthing and Adur Fund gives up to £500 in grants to small charities and community groups working in Worthing and Adur. The next deadline for applications is Friday 5^th May 2017.

Established in 2010, the Fund was set up in partnership with the Worthing and Adur Chamber of Commerce, under the umbrella of Sussex Community Foundation. A number of local Worthing people and businesses were founder donors and these donations established a core endowment fund. The income has since grown and enabled the Fund to make 29 grants worth £16,422 to 23 charities and community groups from Worthing and Adur

Recent groups supported by the Worthing and Adur fund include:

Worthing Town FC The Club has recently introduced a development team training opportunity for local under-5s keen to learn football. The response exceeded expectations leaving the Club without sufficient equipment to actively involve all of the children at each session. The Club used their £500 grant to buy four Junior goals, 20 Junior Lite balls and two packs of training bibs

Sussex Martlets Trampolining Club (pictured) used their grant to help buy additional floor safety matting and other safety equipment

Worthing Speakabout, an advocacy group run for and by people with learning difficulties. Grant went towards running costs, office rent, mini bus and hire of meeting room at Buddy's Cafe.

Worthing Gymnastics grant helped to fit out their new venue with essential apparatus.

Storm Ministries serves the local community through various activities, clubs and events. Their funding provided disabled access via a ramp with hand rails.

For more information and to make an application to the Worthing & Adur Fund, visit www.sussexgiving.org.uk/worthingadur

BITE – an event aimed at helping you work on your business, not in it!

‘Entrepreneurial’ is easier said than spelt, but what does it mean? BITE 2017 aims to answer that question amongst a whole host of others as it explores and educates Sussex-based businesses around the theme of making business better.

One of the keynote speakers at the event will be Marnus Broodryk, who is a shark in ‘Shark Tank’ - the South African equivalent of Dragon’s Den. Marnus will talk about “The Mind of a Successful Entrepreneur”, which is exactly what he is, having started his first business at the age of 14, becoming a self-made millionaire by the age of 24. For Marnus, making money is great but it’s just as important to empower others with the knowledge and resources to create their own successful enterprises, which is why he is the perfect fit for BITE.

Another theme of this free one-day conference is Alternative Funding. Whilst many will have heard the term, BITE aims to educate around its possibilities. The afternoon keynote session will see industry experts forming an Alternative Funding panel taking questions from the audience around funding in general and alternative funding in particular.

Panel members include Andy Davis, former FT journalist and author of ‘Beyond the Banks’, Jonathan Sharrock, CEO at Coast to Capital, Megan Reynolds, from crowdfunding platform Crowdcube, Steven Renwick, CEO and founder at Satago, Nigel Simkins, Senior Consultant at Touch Financial and Terry Porter, who has worked for a number of the top five banks and is a funding consultant at MHA Carpenter Box.

In addition to the keynotes, there will be six breakout sessions covering a number of important business themes as well as a business exhibition featuring companies offering software and services and whose aim is to help businesses to become more productive and stand out against their competitors.

Sussex-based chartered accountants, tax and business advisers, MHA Carpenter Box, will be hosting BITE 2017 (Business, Innovation, Technology & Efficiency) and it takes place on Thursday 27 April at the Amex Stadium, Brighton.

MHA Carpenter Box Practice Director, Chris Coopey, commented: “BITE provides attendees with a chance to learn from business experts and meet exhibitors whose objective is to make business better. From tech companies to alternative funders, BITE aims to open eyes to what’s out there to help businesses grow. The last event attracted over 200 attendees and this one promises to be even larger, so some great networking to be done!”

To register your interest or book a stand at the event, please visit www.bite2017.com.

WCHP Upcoming Events in 2017

March

Suspiciously Elvis – Thursday 23rd from 7pm  *FULLY BOOKED*
Suspiciously Elvis at Food Restaurant in Worthing. £29 for a three course meal and a fantastic evening’s entertainment. Call Food Restaurant on 01903 227780 to book your space.

Horsham Sleepout – Saturday 25th from 7pm
Horsham Sleepout, held at St Roberts Southwell Catholic Primary School

May

Pamper Evening – Thursday 11th

Shoreham Friends Group are hosting a Girls Night In Pamper Evening at St Peter’s Catholic Primary in Shoreham. Tickets are £20.00 and available from our charity shops or by calling the office from the end of March.

Skydive – Saturday 20th
Sponsored event held at Skydive Netheravon – email info@wchp.org.uk for more information!

June

Worthing Artist Open Houses – Weekends 17th - 18th and 24th – 25th
The theme of this year’s Worthing Artist Open Houses is “Safe Spaces”, held at Colonnade House in Worthing – email info@wchp.org.uk to get involved either as an artist or to contribute your own description of a safe space.

July

Worthing Artist Open Houses – Weekend of the 1st – 2nd 
The final weekend of this year’s event.

Worthing Summer Busk and Street Collection – Saturday 22nd
Street collection in Worthing, with musicians

August

Carboot Sale at Broadwater Green – Saturday 5th August

Shoreham Street Collection – Saturday 12th

Street collection in Shoreham

September

Thames Path Challenge – Saturday 9th and Sunday 10th  

Walk, job or run 100, 50 or 25km from Putney Bridge to Henley. More than 3,000 challengers will take on the main Thames Path Challenge following England's greatest river. Visit http://www.thamespathchallenge.com/the-main-challenge for more information and to sign up!

October

Taylor Maid musical evening – Saturday 14th from 7pm

Organised by the Goring Friends group, held at the Warren Ballroom. Tickets TBC

December

Christmas Tree Festival – Saturday 2nd and Sunday 3rd

Our annual Christmas Tree Festival will be held at St Mary de Haura Church in Shoreham.

For further details of our events please contact the Fundraising Team on 01903 680740 or email info@wchp.org.uk 

If you would like help at any of our events please contact our Volunteer Co-ordinator on 01903 680740 or email helping@wchp.org.uk

Please visit our website www.wchp.org.uk or follow us on social media @WCHPnews

Charity No: 1027832

Key points affecting small and medium-sized firms and the self-employed include:

Investment and productivity

·         A £400 million Digital Infrastructure Investment Fund will launch in spring 2017 to accelerate the deployment of full-fibre broadband networks.

·         The National Productivity Investment Fund (NPIF) will invest £740 million in digital infrastructure by 2020/21.

·         The NPIF will provide £250 million of investment to support the development of highly skilled research talent.

·         A further £40 million will be made available to test different approaches to help people to retrain and upskill through their working lives, while a £5 million fund will support people who have taken career breaks back into work.

Business growth and support

·         A new £270 million Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund will support the development of disruptive technologies, particularly robots, driverless cars and biotechnology.

·         Further details of the Midlands Engine Strategy and measures to support the development of the Northern Powerhouse are to be published shortly.

·         The Government will make changes to the Research and Development Expenditure Credit to increase the certainty and simplicity around claims, and will take action to improve awareness of R&D tax credits among small firms.

·         A review will explore access to long-term capital for high-growth firms, as well as the effectiveness of existing tax reliefs aimed at encouraging investment and entrepreneurship.

Taxation

·         From April 2018, Class 2 National Insurance contributions will be abolished. The main rate of Class 4 National Insurance contributions for the self-employed will increase from 9% to 10% from April 2018, and to 11% from April 2019.

·         From April 2018, the dividend allowance will be reduced from £5,000 to £2,000.

·         As announced in the 2016 Budget, the main rate of corporation tax will be reduced to 19% in 2017 and to 17% in 2020.

·         Small businesses and landlords with a turnover below the VAT threshold will have until April 2019 before the requirements of Making Tax Digital are mandatory.

·         The turnover threshold for which co-operatives are required to carry out a full audit will increase from £5.6 million to £10.2 million, and the assets threshold from £2.8 million to £5.1 million.

·         The Government will consult on changes to benefits in kind for employees and employee expenses.

Business rates

·         From 1 April 2017, transitional relief for small businesses losing Small Business Rate Relief will be introduced, meaning their business rates bill will not increase by more than £50 per month.

·         Pubs in England with a rateable value of up to £100,000 will receive a £1,000 business rates discount from 1 April 2017.

·         A new £300 million discretionary relief fund will be set up to support businesses affected by the revaluation of commercial properties.

Consumer law

·         The Government will bring forward a Green Paper to examine the markets that are not working effectively or fairly for consumers.

·         Consumer enforcement bodies will be granted the power to ask courts to order civil fines against traders that break consumer law.

·         The Green Paper will explore how to make terms and conditions clearer, simpler and shorter for consumers.

The Chancellor's speech in full and the Spring Budget documents are available here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/spring-budget-2017-documents

To read the Federation of Small Businesses' reaction, go to:
http://www.fsb.org.uk/media-centre/press-releases/immediate-budget-reaction-from-fsb

To read the British Chambers of Commerce's reaction, go to:
http://www.britishchambers.org.uk/press-office/press-releases/british-chambers-of-commerce-full-reaction-to-spring-budget-2017.html

To read the reaction of IPSE (the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed), go to:
https://www.ipse.co.uk/news/self-employed-hit-hard-budget-tax-rises

Exciting New Business Show launched for local businesses…

A great opportunity is coming to West Sussex in the form of a new business to business exhibition, to benefit small and medium sized businesses.

The inaugural West Sussex Business Expo is being organised by Mike Monk from Monk Marketing who recently partnered with the Basingstoke based events firm, Memo Events, who founded the nationwide network of business expos back in 2011.

The event will feature a packed exhibition hall with over 70 stands, Network Fontwell Breakfast meeting, Keynote speakers, Free seminars, and endless Networking Opportunities.

Event Organiser and local entrepreneur, Mike Monk ran the successful Brighton Expo last October and has decided to launch the Expo in West Sussex as he feels there is a requirement for this type of event in the area.

The premier business show, which will take place on May 25^th at Fontwell Park Racecourse, will benefit all types of businesses in the region and local firms are encouraged to get involved. We are delighted to be involved as a partner of this exhibition. Chamber members are being offered an exclusive 10% early booking rate on stands. If you would like to find out more about the event please visit www.b2bexpos.co.uk/westsussex  or call 01273 286133.  It’s going to be an unmissable event for local businesses, so don’t leave it too long to book your stand or get the date in your diary – we’ll see you there!