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Getting started with the latest trends in the UK market

    At the moment there are, of course, huge doubts about what the future holds. But that doesn’t stop us being able to assess the current business market to explore new trends and behaviours - insights that could help your business flourish, even in the most uncertain of times.

    Mintel is the world's leading market intelligence agency. Our guest presenter, Jack Duckett, Mintel’s Consumer Lifestyles Analyst, will distil the biggest trends, especially in today’s changing climate. In these recent times, Mintel has been helping their clients understand the impact of COVID-19 on their markets. Tune in on Start-up Day to hear about the effects on consumer behaviours and how key markets will fare over the next few years, including food and drink, beauty, leisure and more.

    The Mintel sector reports can be accessed for free in our National Network of Business & IP Centres, based in libraries around the UK. Before you start exploring the databases yourself, this is your guide to figuring out what the stats actually say.

    Understanding these trends gives valuable insights for new businesses looking to stay relevant in today’s increasingly competitive marketplace. Don’t start your business without this insider guide to understanding and capitalising on the key UK business trends today.

Speakers

Jack Duckett

Associate Director

More Events

Community as a service: a model for enhancing sustainability in business


This talk looks at the need to connect with community and other business owners during difficult times. When things became challenging, the panel had to quickly learn to lean on their communities. This helped them build a network to sustain their businesses, but also share knowledge, skills and experience with their peers.

Each of the three speakers on this panel has a compelling story about how their community helped them pivot and build resilience through a network. Find out how communities generate value and how to build your own community-as-a-service network, whether you’re just starting or looking to grow your business's activity.

Inspiring Entrepreneurs: High street heroes


High streets are the beating heart of our local communities. Having a presence on the high street gives businesses a unique opportunity to connect with their customers, and the responsibility to meet their needs as these change and evolve. What additional service could you offer to those who interact with your brand in person? What extra impact could you generate by sharing your spaces with neighbours and fellow makers?

We have brought together a panel of three loved and respected local businesses, our high street heroes. Their founders will share practical tips through their inspiring stories and tell us more about their individual journeys.

Mary Otumahana, award-winning musician and founder of The RecordShop; a grassroots independent organisation based in Wood Green, that focuses on making an impact with a multipurpose music space located on the high street. By providing access to a recording studio and music career training, Mary is leading a mission to educate, inform and inspire inner-city youths to connect to their community through music.Hellen Stirling-Baker, founder of children’s store, Small Stuff, has led her business from an experimental pop-up shop to a successful, eco-friendly bricks and clicks model at the heart of her high street in Crookes, Sheffield. A perfect example that being a small shop doesn’t mean you can’t have big values; Hellen is a local leader who champions ethical suppliers and supports other retailers, often sharing her shop for community-building events. Hellen is the deserved winner of this year’s High Street Hero for the Small Awards 2022.Carolynn Bain, founder of Afori Books, the first Black-owned bookshop in Brighton. Carolynn almost did the opposite of most during the pandemic; inspired to stock only Black authors in response to the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement, she started her business as an online shop. Demand was so high however, that Afrori Books was approached to open a physical bookshop in Lighthouse, a local Arts-based charity, with fit-out costs successfully crowdfunded.

We are running this event with the British Independent Retailers Association (BIRA) who are also champions of high street businesses and are here to help, all year round.

BIPC Glasgow's Resources for business start-ups

This special Start-up Day workshop, delivered as part of BIPC Glasgow's PowerUp project, will explain how to make best use of free online resources at BIPC Glasgow to support your business start-up, expanding business, or develop your own digital business skills. Delivered by Kavan Stafford, Information Officer at BIPC Glasgow.

BIPC Newcastle's Social media for business

Join BIPC Newcastle’s social media and PR expert, Jodie Balmer, for this engaging presentation on social media for business.

Navigating the world of social media can be a minefield. In this session, you will learn the basic foundations to help build a social media strategy and understand the importance of social media within the marketing mix.

Who is this session for?
Business owners wanting a basic grasp of social media, organic growth, community management, and engaging contentThose working in the marketing realm that wish to develop new social media knowledge and skillsCreatives who have skills in content creation but lack a strategic mindset and approach.
Simply put, if you would like to raise brand awareness, connect with more potential customers, and standout from your competitors then this talk is for you.

Getting started and seen by your new customers

This session will help you think creatively to generate the visibility and traction to establish your new business in the market.

With thousands of new businesses launching every month and more information consumed around the clock than ever before, to get your start-up noticed, you will need to cut through the noise. We’re here to tell you that although it doesn’t necessarily require a large budget, it will require planning and the ability to seize the moment.

Karen Campbell from The Small Awards will be on hand to outline some tips to help you identify what are the special and differentiating factors about your business, how you can get these messages out, and, most important of all, how to ensure those messages get noticed.

The Small Awards showcase the variety and quality among small start-ups and Karen will be joined by Fran Gubbay, co-founder of Stamptastic, winners of Best Digital Business in 2019.

When you have a clear voice about what your business does and what it stands for, it increases your chance of being heard. 18 months ago Fran decided that they as co-founders, and their personalities, needed to feature more in their business, which led to news interviews, new leads and a couple of awards as well.

Listen in to learn some practical advice on how to make your own luck for exciting marketing opportunities.

If this session is of interest then do also look at the earlier free-to-watch presentation at 09:45 – 10:30 on the latest consumer trends from market research analyst Mintel. This can help underpin any marketing strategy you develop for your business.

Michael Cashman

Speaker Position

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