• The Bolton Council of Mosques organised and delivered roadshows in three venues of Bolton.
• As the Bolton Council of Mosques has good relations and networks within the BME community we promoted the roadshows. The communities which were targeted were the Pakistani, Indian, Somali, and the new emerging communities, but was open to all communities and cultures.
• The roadshows brought together providers and supporters who support new ideas and new opportunities into business to give support.
• Successful companies from Bolton and the North West presented practical examples and lessons learnt giving an immediate impact and learning outcome to the individuals wanting to go into business.
• University and College students who are typically unaware of enterprise initiatives and activities were also targeted to attend.
• Each roadshow had speeches from some of Bolton’s leading business figures with questions and answer forums.
• The roadshows helped people in preparing a business plan including research, marketing, and finance. It helped in identifying and negotiating the rental/purchase of commercial property. The audience received information in relation to identifying and accessing business support grants and financing and information in finding and opening the right business bank account.

TARGET POPULATION

Our target was for 40 people to attend each roadshow and 10 people from each roadshow signing up to further support provided by Business Bolton.

FUNDING

The funding for the project was received from Business Bolton.

THE ROADSHOWS

All three roadshows were held in the evening after work hours so people who had work commitments during the day wouldn’t miss out. The programme for each roadshow was the same, whereby we had three guest speakers and one compare. Yusuf Pate from Business Link North West kindly helped us in all three events by comparing the road shows. We also had a question and answer forum and opportunities for the audience to network and sign on for support available and a buffet dinner was provided.

Tuesday 22nd January 2008

This was the first roadshow we had. The target audience was people from the Deane, Daubhill and Derby area of Bolton. The roadshow was held at Sakihnas Resturant in Bolton. The number of people who booked on to come to the roadshow was 40 people however over 40 people attended. The number of people who signed up for additional support was 5 people.

There were three quest guest speakers these were, Fazila Malek who gave an inspirational insight into her story from “rags to riches”; our second speaker was Mike Smith who delivered a presentation on the Practical tips of opening a business and finally Yasser Ahmed who also delivered a presentation motivating the audience for them to go into business. The speakers gave and an insight into business knowledge and directed people to the best sources of finance, information or business support.

There after there was an opportunity for the audience to ask any business related questions that they had. They had an opportunity to network and visit the exhibitors who came. There were a number of different organisations and businesses who attended, and who offered advice which included HSK Solicitors, Business Link North-west, Islamic Bank of Britain, Affordable Accounts, and Pioneering potential, Home Owner loans and Mortgages and Pearl Properties.

Thursday 14th February 2008

This roadshow was held at the Nightingale Community Centre and targeted the Great Lever community. The number of people who booked on to come to the roadshow was 30 people however 21 people attended. The number of people who signed up for additional support was 3 people. Again the programme for the event was the same as the previous one, the guest speakers were the same as last time, however Diane Piling from Affordable Accounts delivered a speech on the Practical tips of opening a business.

Different organisations who attended included HSK Solicitors, Business Link North-west, Islamic Bank of Britain, Affordable Accounts, and Pioneering potential, Home Owner loans and Mortgages and Pearl Properties.

Thursday 13th March 2008

This roadshow was held at the Astley Community Centre targeted the people from the Crompton and Halliwell area. The number of people who booked on to come to the roadshow was 40 people however 30 people attended. The number of people who signed up for additional support was 10 people. Mike Smith and Yasser Ahmed delivered their presentations to the audience. We also had Andy Holt and Yasmin Ali from Lloyds TSB Bank come to the front and speak to the audience about the banks support to new entrepreneurs and how they can help new businesses as well as existing business. The audience had an opportunity to network and signup to the support which was available to them.

Conclusion

To conclude this report, the Bolton Council of Mosques with the support of Business Bolton and the other organisations who had a stall successfully helped many people in signing up for extra support. The road shows proved to be successful however suggestions for improvements will be noted and taken on board for future similar events.