Thinking of starting your own business locally?

BizFizz Can Help!

By Clive Gross

Unlike many towns in the South East, Hastings and St Leonards have not been entirely overwhelmed by national brands and can still offer affordable locations for local independent entrepreneurs.

Over the past couple of years, clusters of new independent businesses have been springing up around the town. High Street and George Street in the Old Town have seen new restaurants, bars, galleries and shops come in to complement many of the established traders there. On either side of the town centre, Queens Road and Claremont continue to develop their distinctive range of retailers. Over in St Leonards, as the feature on Norman Road in the September issue of the Hastings Handbook highlighted, a cluster of new retailers have moved in to make this one of the rapidly changing up-and-coming areas in town (see the feature on QOL). Add to this the new galleries and bars around the Marina, and you can see there is creative activity from east to west.

As the BizFizz Coach for Hastings, I am part of a national business coaching network and of the Hastings LEGI (Local Enterprise Growth Initiative) which is designed to help new businesses set up and to offer support as they become established. In nine months, I have helped over 100 people with a huge range of different ideas! BizFizz starts with the passion for an idea and works on a one-to-one basis, helping people to overcome barriers or gain skills. As an outreach coach, I am able to offer support through those tricky early months and years.

Success in business can never be guaranteed, but by helping people to develop their ideas, research their market, identify their customers and plan for the best and worst case scenarios, BizFizz and the other business support services available in Hastings and St Leonards - such as Ten Sixty Six Enterprise, the eBiz Centre, Food Local, Baird Film & TV or Thriving Construction projects – can help reduce risk and give new businesses the tools they need. All this helps to make Hastings and St Leonards great locations for being in business, so if you have an idea and want to make it happen, get in touch!

t: 01424 205 509
clive.gross@bizfizz.org.uk www.bizfizzhastings.org.uk