Support offered for creative and cultural businesses in Coventry
Support offered for creative and cultural businesses in Coventry
Small businesses in the creative and cultural sector in Coventry were offered support to build on the legacy of Coventry 2021 and Birmingham 2022.
The package of support saw creative businesses and freelancers offered the opportunity to attend workshop sessions to help improve their social media and marketing capabilities, as well as one-to-one sessions with a specialist advisor to look at a range of key topics such as business planning and sales and marketing.
The support programme is delivered by the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce as part of the Coventry City Council-led Coventry Creative Growth & Cultural Tourism Recovery Programme, which is funded by the UK Government’s Community Renewal Fund, through the West Midlands Combined Authority.
The programme supported creative, tourism & hospitality businesses across Coventry and the development of new employment and training opportunities in these sectors.
Hartley Consulting & Events were responsible for the project management of the workshop sessions, and the recruitment of speakers and coaches – the sessions were all delivered online, and topics covered included social media and digital marketing top tips, how to build a Google Profile, SEO, email marketing and much more. Sessions were highly interactive, and participants got to meet fellow business owners in the creative and cultural sectors.
Eligible businesses also benefitted from one-to-one advice with Chris Hartley – Business Advisor to the Chamber across tourism and hospitality, where he had the opportunity to explore the business in more detail, including opportunities for growth, challenges and how to overcome these, marketing and sales and planning for the future.
Keely Hancox, operations manager at the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, said a range of businesses could access the support available as the city looks to grow the creative and cultural sector on the back of two major events for the region.
She said: “It has been an incredible period for Coventry and the wider region, with City of Culture and then the Commonwealth Games.
“It’s vitally important that we build on that success and, so, we were delighted to be able to offer small businesses and freelancers across the sector this chance to access a series of workshops and one-to-ones delivered by experts in their field.
“The scope for which businesses can access the help is quite wide and includes everything from advertising and marketing through to museums, galleries and visual arts.
“This is a real opportunity to build on the success of the past couple of years by equipping businesses with new skills to help them grow.”
The full list of sub-sectors eligible includes advertising and marketing; architecture; crafts; design; film, TV, video, radio and photography; IT software and computer services; museums, galleries and libraries; music, performing and visual arts; publishing; animation and visual & special effects; video games; and heritage.
Councillor Jim O’Boyle, cabinet member for jobs, regeneration and climate change, said: “These workshop sessions were extremely helpful for small businesses, equipping them with the right tools and training they need to be able to grow and flourish. Supporting businesses in establishing themselves and growing helps create jobs for local people and adds to the local economy too, which is exactly what we want.
Working with Hartley Consulting & Events
Hartley Consulting & Events were proud to work with the Coventry & Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce and Coventry City Council to market the programme to Coventry-based creative businesses and support eligible businesses through a programme of one-to-one business support meetings and online workshops.
If you would like to discuss how we could work with your organisation contact Chris via email chris@hartley.events or call 07736107770.