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Business Support

Setting up and running a business is a huge committment and the Economic Development Team at WODC are here to help you and direct you to a range of other organisations who are there to give specialist advice and support. Please see the Environmental Support to Businesses, Starting a Business and Trading Overseas pages for further specialist support.

BUSINESS LINK
A direct route for help and advice on all aspects of running or starting a business. Business Link operates in 45 local areas across England and helped over 300,000 businesses in the last year. The service is free and can be accessed via their website or over the phone.
Business Link: 0845 600 9 006

OXFORDSHIRE BUSINESS ENTERPRISES (OBE)
Oxfordshire Business Enterprises provides a high quality free counselling service to people, from whatever section of the community, who wish to start up their own business. OBE will continue to provide ongoing mentoring and a comprehensive range of business services throughout the first two to three years of business development.
OBE: 0870 2403686

BUSINESS BOFFINS
Business Boffins provides mentoring and support to new and young businesses. Business Boffins has developed a unique three-year business mentoring programme suitable for all small businesses which draws upon knowledge from the Oxford Brookes Business School backed with online and in-person mentoring supported by 34 professional advisers including lawyers, accountants and human resource experts.
Business Boffins: 01844 278448

PRINCES TRUST
The UK's largest youth charity. Through a variety of programmes it helps 14-30 years olds build confidence, gain skills and get into work and start their own business . The core programme is:
Business Start-up: low interest loans, grants, mentors and other support for 18-30 year olds who want to start a business.
Personnel Development through a unique training programme called Volunteers. Unemployed and employed alike work as a team on community projects and other challenges, helping them develop skills, build confidence, get job opportunities and have fun.
Clubs for underachieving students The network of xl clubs give young people the confidence and motivation to continue in education.
Group Awards of money grants for groups of 14-25 year olds with ideas for projects to help their communities.
Princes Trust: 01372 844101

READY TO START
Ready to Start is an initiative aimed at encouraging and providing support for disabled people to start their own business. The programme is run by Leonard Cheshire in partnership with Barclays. Ready to Start combines a unique understanding of disability and enterprise which is ideal for disabled people who are thinking about going into self-employment. There are no fees for being part of Ready to Start.

To get help, please visit the Ready to Start website and complete the online application form to. You will then be contacted by your regional coordinator who will discuss Ready to Start and your application with you. For further information, contact Beccy Clacy, regional co-coordinator for the central region.

CO-OPERATIVE FUTURES
Co-operative Futures provides free business advice and support service to groups of people wanting to set up a co-operative or other form of social enterprise. It covers the whole of Oxfordshire and its advisors will travel out to see people. It is one of the leading policy promoters in the field of social enterprise. It is involved in national networks and is able to use its experience of working with social enterprises and co-operatives on the ground to influence the policies and strategies that are developed. It also believes that this is a two way process and that the policies highlight the strengths of the sector and accurately reflect its needs.
Co-operative Futures: 01865 242206

ETHNIC MINORITY BUSINESS SERVICE
The Ethnic Minority Business Service's (EMBS) key aims are:

To help members of ethnic minority communities to start new businesses in potentially viable market areas with the assistance of existing services.
To encourage and promote the expansion of existing ethnic businesses through the provision of specialist advice and assistance from existing services.
To provide skills training to improve access to the labour market specifically in Business Start-Up Skills, Information Technology, Sewing, Basic Literacy, Numeracy and Communication Skills.

EMBS provides: