Big House offers business support for creative or digital enterprises
As part of a new programme called The Big House, Nottingham Trent University (NTU) is supporting the growth of creative and digital businesses in Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire.
At NTU, The Big House runs the Elevator workshop series. The series supports businesses refine areas such as growth planning, marketing strategies, digital marketing practices and client relationships. Along the way, participants can have 1-2-1 mentoring sessions with creative and digital business specialists.
Events in the local area include:
Business Refresh – North East Derbyshire Council Offices – 26 January 2018
Refresh your business plan and ideas for growth using the Business Model Canvas. Clarify what works, what doesn’t, where you want to get to and how you will get there.
Building Stronger Sales – North East Derbyshire Council Offices – 21 March 2018
Improve your capacity of gaining new clients and potential investors through writing effective sales proposals and delivering knock-out pitches.
Creating Content for Digital PR – North East Derbyshire Council Offices – 15 May 2018
Successful marketing is underpinned by great content. This practical workshop will teach you how to make video and write copy that is appealing, engaging and useful to your target audience.
Elevator grants are also available for businesses bringing in external expertise for their projects.
Erica Horne, set up her own CAD for Fashion business in Derby three years ago, running training sessions in computer-aided design packages for those working or hoping to work in the fashion industry.
Most of her clients have been in the education sector which can leave her with little work during the holiday periods. She says:-
“The Big House came at the perfect time for me as it was approaching the summer holidays and I knew I needed to explore other opportunities because I couldn’t rely solely on work within universities during the holiday period.”
As a result of the individual mentoring advice and workshop series, Erica is now reaching out to new, larger clients.
Dan Lamoon’s video production business, Colab Creation also benefited from the Big House support at NTU. He signed up to the Elevator programme which he heard about when he was establishing Colab’s Nottingham office.
Dan said:-
“The business has recently undergone quite a lot of growth and I really wanted to make sure I was investing and focusing on the right areas to expand the business.”
From the support he received, Dan was able to put into practice some of his new plans and insights he developed during the series, particularly around staff mentoring.
The Big House is delivered by several partner organisations who between them provide a diverse range of support to different types and stages of businesses within the creative and digital sectors in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire. Partners in The Big House programme are Nottingham Trent University, Creative Quarter, Derby University, Derby Quad, Nottingham Business Ventures and Derby Theatre.
The programme is part of a £5 million investment in the creative and digital industries in the D2N2 Local Economic Partnership area. It is part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund and will run until 2019.
