Sevenoaks Business Show - Friday 11th October

The Sevenoaks Business Show on Friday 11th October aims to provide a protective umbrella of support and advice to local businesses. Entry is free with a wave of a business card, taking away the tedious queues and formalities associated with exhibition registration.

Opening the show at 10am is the RT Hon Michael Fallon MP, Minister of State for Business and Enterprise, Energy, and patron of the Sevenoaks Town Partnership. As a keen supporter of local business and the Sevenoaks community, Michael takes a personal interest in this event and his opening address is sure to be relevant and interesting. Kent County, Sevenoaks Town and Sevenoaks District Councils will have a presence emphasising the theme of local business collaboration and 'community'. Kent Invicta Chamber and Sevenoaks Chambers of Commerce, with the support of West Kent Partnership, and the Centre for Micro Business will offer free advice and guidance.

Delicious breakfast muffins from XyloBrit, sizeable canapés from Cote Brasserie Sevenoaks and speciality teas from Blends for Friends will satisfy hungry souls searching for added value throughout the day. Discounts and show only offers will be plentiful making this event a bounteous outing.

Tickets please! We have a big red bus for our social media workshop which will travel around town. The Number 7 will be home to ZC Social Media for the day.

On legal issues the event has Brachers LLP as main sponsor. Together with two other legal firms - Devonshires and Warners Solicitors - delegates can have a field day getting to grips with legislation affecting their businesses.

Other sponsors include CCLA a specialist investment management company for charities, faith organisations and local authorities, Sevenoaks Town Council, Sevenoaks District Council, Sevenoaks Chamber of Commerce and Stag Community Arts Centre.

Cooper Sevenoaks MINI will be showing some perfect companions to the business motorist, both trade and executive. If it's human resources you need, Office Angels will be on hand to solve temporary and permanent recruitment solutions.

New and new-to-Sevenoaks companies have chosen the business show to introduce themselves.

Telecoms provider, Connect it Communications from Chatham bring creative solutions to give businesses the edge over their competitors. They provide mobile phones, tracking, Sat Broadband, business broadband, phone systems, lines and call rental, VoIP and hosted phone systems.

In the wonderful world of the web, Andy Olsen from Zine UK in Gillingham is a wizard of SEO, website design and affordable solutions for small businesses. His free website evaluation tool is a practical way to test how effective your current site is performing before making a decision about improvements.

If you are managing a fleet of vehicles, Webworks Multimedia in Shoreham will be showcasing their 'Smartt' apps with intrinsic websites. The recently launched 'Smartt-Vehicles' app is the most comprehensive vehicle management app available. More product launches are on their way.

In the world of finance, Handelsbanken offer a bespoke banking service. The decision making is in the branch, so a swift response is assured.

Also offering financial advice is Sevenoaks based Mike Fisher at Evolve Financial Management Ltd who has 30 years experience advising clients on a wide portfolio of financial issues, educating clients for their future.

The Federation of Small Businesses protects the interest of the self-employed and those who own or run a small business. They will be highlighting their package of legal, tax and other benefits offering real and tangible commercial advantage for the business owner.

Pro-Actions business improvement specialists take business coaching to a new level. Hugh Fenton's workshops are the perfect tonic for new and old hands wishing to focus on business and marketing plans, time management, finance and other key skills. Where would businesses be without the networking breakfast? Alternative Breakfast Club members will represent the collaborative aims of the group and encourage visitors to join them at the Mercure Hotel, Pembury every three weeks with no joining fees or membership charges.

Francis Chappell & Sons, will also be exhibiting, showing the friendly and professional face of funeral directing. Established in 1840, the firm continues to serve generations of families in the south east.

At the Sevenoaks Business Show the atmosphere and sense of supportive collaboration will put the buzz back into your business. Speaking about the event, Stephen Arnold, Chairman of Sevenoaks Town Partnership says:

"We are delighted with the support from our sponsors and suppliers and urge sole traders, business owners, managers and start ups to pop along to see what is on offer.

Companies, recognising the benefits of collaborating to increase their target markets, are choosing to introduce themselves to the wider business community in Sevenoaks.

With free entry, free workshops, free seminars and free refreshments - there's nothing to lose."

Website: www.7oaksbiz.com
Twitter: @7oaksbiz
More information from the organiser: gabrielle@gmppr.com

Darent Valley, Mums Mean Business Festival

Darent Valley, Mums Mean Business Festival
Sat June 29th - 2pm-5pm
Eynsford Village Hall

The first ever showcase of small businesses run by Mums in and around the area.

From beauty to baby ballet and up-cycled home- ware to yoga and lots more in between.

Taste, Try, Discover and Buy

Free Entry 

Free art and craft activities for children 

Delicious tea and homemade cakes

Website: http://mumsmeanbusiness.net/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Darent-Valley-Mums-Mean-Business-Festival/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/mumsbizfest

Walthamstow Hall Young Enterprise group celebrate win

Local students from Walthamstow Hall, who are running their own business under Young Enterprise's Company Programme, are celebrating after their successes in the Young Enterprise West-Kent Trade Fair competition and speaking competition.

Nova, Walthamstow Hall's Young Enterprise Company, comprised of 13 students aged 16 and 17, sell 100% cotton tote bags with unique black ink designs professionally printed on the front, mixing fashion with practicality.

The Trade Fair competition required knowledge of the company; members had to answer questions at their company display stand to impress three Young Enterprise judges and compete with other strong companies from schools in the local area, so the team were thrilled to win 1st place.

Elizabeth Brightwell-Gibbons also managed to gain second place in the tough speaking competition, making a compelling argument on the topic 'brand is no longer what we tell the consumer, it is what consumers tell each other it is - How has social media and the internet affected customers and businesses?'

This year has been very successful for the young entrepreneurs who are busy enjoying the many challenges the scheme offers.

Website:  http://novayecompany.wix.com/fashion

Local Crafters Show their Wares

Saturday 28th July saw the first Kentish Craft Fair come to Riverhead.

Helen Cook is the mastermind behind Kentish Craft Fairs, she says: "The crafters and food producers are out there. What they need are markets and outlets to get their great items out to the public."

We asked her about her aims with the Fairs: "We run craft fairs with an ethos to promote and provide an outlet for handmade, artisan crafts and regional delicacies from independent or small producers from the county of Kent. We also want to make each fair into a genuinely enjoyable community event for all ages, that’s why we had free children’s games and activities at the first Riverhead Kentish Crafts Fair on Saturday. And it seemed to work because so many people said what a nice atmosphere it was and how relaxing and friendly."

Was it successful? "It was a great success! Especially as it was the very first one. We had around 33 stalls of crafts and food and it was a lovely sunny day which helped. A constant flow of visitors came all day right up til closing time at 4pm which was great."

With high street landlords struggling to rent their retail properties it would first appear that the current economic climate has put off many would be small business owners. However, the opposite seems to be true. There are plenty of small local businesses springing up and flourishing but they are choosing to use alternative methods to achieve their goals.

The success of events like the Kentish Craft Fairs also shows that the public want what these local producers have to offer and are willing to support them. Locally sourced goods not only support the local community and economy but are also friendlier to the environment as they travel shorter distances to market. This ticks a lot of boxes with those who dislike global big business.

Nevertheless, the question remains whether enough local people will go out of their way to find these products or whether the crafters will need to make them available in more prominent locations. Cost will be a strong factor in this equation. We shall continue to follow how things progress.

The next Kentish Crafts event will be:

Date: Sat October 20th 
Time: 10.30am to 3pm 
Location: St Mary's Church Hall and grounds, London Road, Riverhead Sevenoaks, TN13 3DR.

An indoor craft fair with stalls of fine crafts and gourmet foods plus an outdoor fresh foods and bakery harvest food fair, crafts and free activities for children and refreshments all day.

www.kentishcraftsfairs.co.uk
Kentish Crafts Fair on Facebook
Kentish Crafts Fairs on Twitter