Starting up in business

Some sources of information and support to help you start your own business...

Acas
Acas, specialises in helping firms meet their obligations under employment laws, offers a series of useful training tools on its website and more! All you got to do is register!

Balancing Business
Delivers professional, practical and individual business support to entrepreneurs and existing businesses.

Birmingham Insight
The UK's most comprehensive public business information service for starting, growing and developing your business learning new skills and safeguarding your intellectual property.

Breathing Spaces Ltd
An organisation who aims to help people who are disadvantaged or socially excluded to overcome barriers to progress in their lives and re-connect with the world of work, training or education.

Business Enterprise Support (BES)
Business Enterprise Support Limited (BES) who has over 25 years experience in supporting new and existing enterprises and assisting the development of employees and individuals, with over 46% of our support services delivered to women.  We are a company limited by guarantee and BERR (formerly DTI) registered enterprise agency. BES is also a member of the National Federation of Enterprise Agencies (NFEA). We currently deliver enterprise services across the West Midlands.

Business Link West Midlands
Business Link is here to provide support for women-owned enterprises in the West Midlands. We understand there is no typical business under women-ownership; our aim is to significantly increase the number of women starting and/or growing sustainable businesses across the region.

Business Start-up Community
We have designed an easy-to-use online Community where people can communicate on a daily basis about business matters, problems and solutions;where people can talk on the internal Community Mail;and where help is always at hand from the Customer Relations team.

City Spirit (St Paul's)

This unique serviced office space is set within the peaceful sanctuary of Birmingham city centre’s treasured Georgian Square.  Providing ‘value for money’ options to start or grow your business, you will receive the best grounding for success using the fully equipped business centre providing for all your needs, Just choose what you want to make your business grow.

A Virtual Office is a truly flexible and cost effective way to operate your business.  A ‘start up’, need a UK business location or not quite ready for the big office move yet,  a virtual office will give you just what you need.  Enhance your business image by meeting clients in a quality business environment in a prime city location.

Location is key, you can enjoy the hive of business and leisure activity in and around the square, great road and rail links and easy car parking!  City Spirit St Pauls –  allowing you to focus on what you are good at, your business! And happy to provide unbiased free advice through our coaching service.

We are proud to support WM Women’s’ Business Centre. 

Coaching Mums
Coaching Mums specialises in supporting mums in business to start and grow profitable businesses whilst keeping their lives in balance.  Established in 2002, for the past six years we have helped hundreds of mothers to achieve more than they think they can.  Visit http://www.coachingmums.com/ where you’ll discover “virtual” training for mumpreneurs, our unique Mumpreneurs™  workshops run in conjunction with Business Link.  Subscribe to our popular free monthly ezine, “Inspire”, packed with coaching tips and inspiration especially for mums who want success with balance.

Cobweb Information
Cobweb Information finds and publishes practical information that helps entrepreneurs start up and run their small businesses.

Companies House
The main functions of Companies House are to: incorporate and dissolve limited companies;examine and store company information delivered under the Companies Act and related legislation; and make this information available to the public.

Customs and Excise
We are here to ensure the correct tax is paid at the right time, whether this relates to payment of taxes received by the department or entitlement to benefits paid.

DAWN
DAWN is the hub for the new generation of entrepreneurial and professional Asian women achievers who want to realize their potential and transform their futures. If you are an Asian woman determined to advance your career and passionate about your identity whilst retaining your unique characteristics and values, DAWN is for you.

Enterprise Nation
Enterprise Nation, the home business network website, is a free resource to help you start and grow your business at home.

eOffice Birmingham
Seconds from New Street Station, eOffice is set within Birmingham’s vibrant commercial and retail core. We provide fully serviced and furnished office space which is beautiful yet ergonomic in design. From cleaning to utility bills, to the freshly cut flowers at your desk every week- everything is taken care of with no additional costs.

Free Patent Online Resources
It provides free patent searching, free PDF downloading, allows annoting documents and sharing them, and free alerts for new documents.

Health and Safety - A Safe Start-up
You'll find basic information on how to comply with Health, Safety and Environmental regulations for start-up companies and small businesses.

Make Your Mark
The Make Your Mark campaign gives people in their teens and twenties the inspiration and opportunity to turn their ideas into reality, whether through starting businesses or social enterprises or by making an idea happen at work.

National Council for Graduate Entrepreneurs
Our aim is to raise the profile of entrepreneurship and the option of starting your own business as a career choice amongst students and granduates. NCGE's goal is to influence, and inspire, an increase in the number of students and graduates who give serious thought to self-employment or business start-up. 

NFEA - National Federation of Enterprise Agencies
In particular, we target pre-start, start-up and micro businessess, helping to develop their ability to start and sustain themselves and to encourage growth and stability.

Princes Trust
The Princes Trust gives practical and financial support to the young people who need it most. We help develop key skills, confidence and motivation, enabling young people to move into work, education or training.

Shell LiveWIRE
Information, advice and practical support for 16-30 year olds starting up their own business, a FREE Essential Business Kit to every caller, tailored to their specific business idea,  you get one-to-one advice through a national network of local business advisers and young business mentors PLUS an interactive web service and idea exchange.

SmallBusiness.co.uk
SmallBusiness.co.uk provides useful resources, products and services for small business owners and start-ups.

Start a Recruitment Business

StartARecruitmentBusiness was formed to offer a unique reference point on how to start up and run a recruitment agency. Expert advice on setting up and running a recruitment agency including, finance, promotion, HR issues, day to day operation and growing the business. Our concern was that there was no single UK resource for interesting features and practical advice on this subject.Our features and articles are written by experts - who have experience, or a particular interest in this area.

Start-up's
This is a vast resource for anyone considering starting a business. It features start-up guides, events, newsletter, products, a useful forum and a free directory service.

StartQuest
WCC StartQuest is an online guide which is e-mailed out over six weeks e.g. researching your market, raising money, the legal aspects of start-up, what information and support is available and who to tell before you start etc.

Students in Business
SIB represents the community of businesses at Coventry University being run by Students on campus. SIB provides advice and support for these students and works closely in partnership with the ‘Institute of Directors‘ who provide business mentors and guest speakers at key SIB events.
We meet every Thursday on campus in the ‘Start-Up Cafe’ from 6 - 8pm. Once a month we organise special guest speakers to focus on a particular area of business.

SWEDA
Based in West Bromwich and serving women from all over the Black Country - SWEDA offers a friendly, open door to any woman in business.  SWEDA also offers specialist support to not-for-profit companies or ‘social enterprises’, and those individuals or organisations wishing to set up a social enterprise. This includes support to women-led voluntary and community organisations, as well as to individuals wishing to start up a business to benefit the community.

Tactile CRM
"Tactile CRM is an easy to use,  web-based sales and contact management system designed for small businesses. It's free to sign up, and this free account will allow up to 250 contacts to be tracked. It can be upgraded as you grow to a variety of sensibly scaled pay-plans, so for start-ups its the perfect way to keep track of those precious customers and contacts"

The Corporate Pod

Already established as a top provider of serviced offices and meeting space within the City Spirit group of companies, the corporate pod™ is an expansion of this great product, focusing on providing virtual office solutions for the cost conscious, image conscious and those wishing to enjoy a freedom and flexibility in the way they choose to work.

Working from home can be a great option but is not always the ideal environment to meet with clients; it can sometimes be a lonely environment, missing the interaction with others normally enjoyed in the workplace.  So whether it’s meeting space, hot desking or touching base with others the corporate pod has an option for you to elevate your business to the level it deserves to be.  You will be presenting a totally professional front with solid support behind the scenes

As Members of the Business Centre Association we adhere to a code of conduct that mirrors our core values of integrity, and our intention to provide you with an excellence of service that works to create impact on your behalf.

We are passionate about supporting women in business and providing cost effective solutions to get you started.

The Recruitment Network
The Recruitment Network is a partnership of different organisations in Coventry and Warwickshire who are  committed to helping people into work, education or training.We are working together to be able to offer high quality opportunities and appropriate support to enable individuals to develop the skills they need to get a job and progress in it.

Vision Works
Business Enterprise Works (BEW) is a unique programme of support designed to help people to turn their business ideas into reality and provide support throughout the early years of trading.

WiRE (Women in Rural Enterprise)
WiRE is a national organisation, which helps rural women start, develop and grow their business and delivers a range of services in response to member feedback and the needs of women in rural business.

Women's Business Development Agency

The Women’s Business Development Agency was set up in 1990 in Coventry and Warwickshire to promote, support and develop female-run businesses and to help women into work.
Since then our all-female team has worked with thousands of women throughout the West Midlands and elsewhere, helping them overcome the barriers that prevent them from becoming self-employed. And we could help you too! We can help you get a new business idea off the ground and support you during the all-important growth stages, or you may want advice about an aspect of an existing business – we can provide that too, so you need never feel on your own.

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