The Covid-19 crisis led to a jump in the number of people starting a business in Coventry and Warwickshire.
The Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce’s start-up team helped more than 300 new start businesses since April 2020 and it is expecting another influx as 2021 begins.
The Chamber also delivered more than 50 online workshops in that time, with around 550 individuals attending to get help and tips on what to do when starting a new venture.
New businesses started during the pandemic included everything from an interiors business through to a company delivering nature boxes for children. Many were being started because of either redundancy or uncertainty around employment due to Covid-19.
The Chamber always sees a rush of individuals looking to start a new business in January and that, coupled with the ongoing Coronavirus crisis, means the team is preparing for a busy start to the year.
Hardeep Sandhu, Enterprise Coach Team Leader at the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, said: “Once the crisis took hold and people began to either lose their jobs or started to feel uncertain about their existing employment, our start-up service saw a real increase in demand.
“In some cases, people had been thinking about setting up on their own any way and all of the uncertainty had acted as a spur for them to get in touch with the team at the Chamber to access our free help.
“That said, establishing a new business is not easy and should never be taken lightly – even at the best of times – so our team will always go through the reasons for an individual starting up on their own and offer help and advice.
“It’s been great, even in these incredibly difficult times, to help people achieve their dream of starting up a business and becoming their own boss.
“We expect another rush in January. This is already a very busy time for us as people have had the break to consider what they want to do and have a plan for a ‘new year, new start’.
“Our team is prepared for that and will talk through those plans and ensure that each individual goes into it with their eyes open. From there, we can help with everything from business planning through to marketing and sales to give each business not only the best chance of getting started, but flourishing too.”
The Chamber is holding 11 workshops in January for those individuals looking to start up, or those that have been trading for less than twelve months, from business vision and strategy through to creating a brand. For more information or to book on go to https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/coventry-and-warwickshire-chamber-of-comm...