'chelle
Well-Known Member
Hi
I just wanted to let you all now about this funding.
My local council operates a small business development fund, they call it "Kickstart". Since I left my job and opened my salon, I'm earning nothing for the forseeable future so I went to my benefits office to apply for council tax rebate. I picked up this leaflet while I was there for kickstart and I'm so glad I did.
Basically, as a small business with development plans I am eligible to claim a grant of £1500 (although for some it can be up to £3000) for what they call professional services. This is anything you need to promote and develop your business, eg leaflets, shop signs, a book keeping system, a website etc. You dont actually get the money, they have appointed companies who do the work and they are paid directly, but this is money that you dont have to pay back.
In addition to this, I am also eligible to apply for a loan. This is a government loan, not a bank loan. Its for up to £5000, and the repayments start low, and increase over the loan period, the theory being that the payments increase in proportion to your increased takings. They did say that they can work with your business, so eg if you have a really quiet period and cant afford the repayments, provided you stay in touch with them, they can re-adjust the payments so its affordable. The whole point of this is that they are there to help your business develop.
As part of this, you get someone to do your book keeping for the first 12 months of your business, and you get a monthly mentoring visit from a small business advisor who has particular knowlege about your area of business (so I get visits from the bloke who knows about the beauty industry).
We all know how hard it can be to start a new business, and things like this can be invaluable. I wanted to let you all know so you can see if your local council runs a similar scheme, you dont have to be a new business, it just needs to be a small business that wants to develop.
So, if you need some extra business funds at the moment, give them a ring!
I just wanted to let you all now about this funding.
My local council operates a small business development fund, they call it "Kickstart". Since I left my job and opened my salon, I'm earning nothing for the forseeable future so I went to my benefits office to apply for council tax rebate. I picked up this leaflet while I was there for kickstart and I'm so glad I did.
Basically, as a small business with development plans I am eligible to claim a grant of £1500 (although for some it can be up to £3000) for what they call professional services. This is anything you need to promote and develop your business, eg leaflets, shop signs, a book keeping system, a website etc. You dont actually get the money, they have appointed companies who do the work and they are paid directly, but this is money that you dont have to pay back.
In addition to this, I am also eligible to apply for a loan. This is a government loan, not a bank loan. Its for up to £5000, and the repayments start low, and increase over the loan period, the theory being that the payments increase in proportion to your increased takings. They did say that they can work with your business, so eg if you have a really quiet period and cant afford the repayments, provided you stay in touch with them, they can re-adjust the payments so its affordable. The whole point of this is that they are there to help your business develop.
As part of this, you get someone to do your book keeping for the first 12 months of your business, and you get a monthly mentoring visit from a small business advisor who has particular knowlege about your area of business (so I get visits from the bloke who knows about the beauty industry).
We all know how hard it can be to start a new business, and things like this can be invaluable. I wanted to let you all know so you can see if your local council runs a similar scheme, you dont have to be a new business, it just needs to be a small business that wants to develop.
So, if you need some extra business funds at the moment, give them a ring!
