Free seminars for budding Berkshire & Wiltshire entrepreneurs

Have you got what it takes to start up a new business? Business Link in Berkshire and Wiltshire (BLBW) will help people find the answer at two free events being staged next month (November).

The seminars – under the banner Let’s Start Talking Ideas - have been organised through a partnership of BLBW with the University of Reading and Enterprise Gateway Slough. They are being staged as part of National Enterprise Week, which runs from November 14 to 19.

Aimed at anyone thinking of starting up a business, the seminars will comprise speakers, presentations and one-to-one sessions to help potential entrepreneurs assess whether they can make a go of being in business. And they are being held at two different venues in the county to ensure people can have access to any one of them.

Andy Reeve, Business Start Up Manager for BLBW, said the seminars were aimed at anyone and everyone who had the germ of a business idea.

“You don’t have to be an academic, so all are welcome and don’t be put off by the fact that the events are being held at university and college venues,” he said. “We want people, of any age, who have a bit of a business idea to come along, so we can help them formulate their thoughts and move their idea forward.”

Mark Janes, Research and Enterprise Services Events Manager for the University of Reading, said the events were both “open for business and open to business”.

“We want people, if they have a business idea, driving ambition or even an inkling, to come along and find out what is on offer for them,” he said. “All universities, not just here at Reading, are so much more now than academic seats of learning and we have a lot to offer businesses and potential business people.”

He said he hoped the event at the university would also appeal to some of the students. “The seminar is open to anyone and I hope attendees will leave thinking rather than what can University offer me, what can’t the University offer me! I want them to know we can help them, be it through our business advisors, our resources or through courses that we have to offer.”

The Let’s Start Talking Ideas events are free and are on:

November 16, 6.15-8.30pm, University of Reading
November 17, 2-4pm, Crossbow House, Slough

Each has a presentation which will help budding business people decide if their ideas can succeed, followed by question and answer sessions, refreshments and the opportunity to seek advice from business advisors.

Anyone interested in booking a place should call 0845 600 4141 or send an email to info@blbw.co.uk

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