West Lindsey District Council has been offering fully funded one-to-one support to more than 40 businesses in its area for a year, made possible thanks to the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.
The Council commissioned Clare Bailey, Founder of the Retail Champion, and her dedicated team to support business on a range of topics including marketing, graphic design, social media, book keeping and accounts, finance and business improvement and wellbeing.
Businesses supported so far include bed and breakfasts, an outdoor adventure park, a distillery, and an arts centre. Clare Bailey said: “I’ve had the pleasure of taking the first call from a whole host of different businesses across West Lindsey. I always complete the introduction and initial diagnostic, agreeing priorities / focus areas and introducing the right members of the team to complete the delivery for the client.
“In some cases, I complete part of the work myself, in many cases the client will get to meet 3 or 4 members of the team, each with their own unique expertise and skills, who can support them in a diverse range of business areas.”
Book Keeping and Accounts Specialist Catherine Smith is working with a distillery and a new performance arts centre to help them manage their ongoing accounting needs. She said: “From start-ups needing guidance to keep paperwork in line and deadlines met, to advising the best practises to making your money work for you. Sometimes all that’s needed is a friendly face that tells you ‘everything is OK’, we just need to tweak this particular area and we have got it.
“Accountancy can be overwhelming when you’re starting out and is often the first thing people put on the back-burner, I aim to make it less of a burden and a panic, meaning the clients can focus their energy on growing the business.”
Kim Hulse – Marketing and ecommerce expert has been supporting business owners of bed and breakfasts with brand positioning and marketing messages. She has been helping them showcase not just what they have to offer, but the attractiveness of the local area too. She said: “The strategies developed have helped those with great programmes for local residents and visitors to enjoy, reposition how they present themselves on their websites and on social media.
“I have worked with a number of retail businesses too on sales and marketing strategies, focused on generating online sales. Other service-based businesses now have customer profiles and a marketing plan to reach more customers. Overall, it’s been about helping businesses understand their marketing objectives, their customers and their key marketing messages and helping these businesses to communicate these messages effectively.”
Social Media Specialist Frances Brown has helped businesses explore effective social media strategies to reach new audiences. She said: “Working with West Lindsey based small businesses has allowed me to support so many people with social media – an area which is often overwhelming to business owners. We go into more detail than just what does this button on Instagram do exploring what holds them back from being visible and into how to tap into the psychology of the audience to create content that will stop them in their tracks rather than continue to scroll.”
