Frome Chamber of Commerce is to re-launch its successful drop-in advice clinics for budding entrepreneurs in the town.
Under the Discuss and Do banner, two free sessions will run from 3.00pm to 7.00pm on Thursday 26th March and Thursday 30th April at the Cheese and Grain.
Mentors will be on hand to give advice on anything puzzling people who have thoughts of setting up their own business, are in the early stages of doing so or who have been up and running for a year or two.
Chamber president Nigel Harris explained, “Frome seems to have plenty of people who want to strike out on their own so we thought it would be good to run another two sessions to help people take the next step towards starting their own business.”
The Chamber has again secured money from the Enterprise Mendip scheme, which supports small businesses in the district, to run the sessions.
Nigel added, “The sessions are free and people can just drop in to talk to the mentors we’ll have on hand to help them with anything that they might need advice or support on, whether that’s finances, marketing or the law for example.
Karen Baker, from Norton St Philip, was one visitor to the sessions last year and is now in business with her husband Phil. They set up The Counting House in October 2014 offering accounting, book-keeping and payroll services to local businesses.
Karen said, “I’d been thinking of working for myself for some time but I didn’t have a firm idea of what I wanted to do. The session really helped me think about the areas I needed to focus on, as well as just giving me the confidence to think I really could set up my own business.
“So when my husband was made redundant I suggested we use his qualifications and experience along with my organisational skills to go out on our own. I used the advice from the session about target markets, how to structure a business and focusing on what you know. And look where we are now!
The two Discuss and Do drop-in sessions are free and will run from 3.00pm to 7.00pm on Thursday 26th March and Thursday 30th April at the Cheese and Grain. More information about Discuss and Do can be found at www.discussanddo.co.uk