As a not-for-profit company we have been providing business support and serviced offices in Haverhill for almost ten years now, having been in existence for 25 years in Suffolk. We are delighted that we can now announce a further strengthening of our services in Haverhill.
We are delighted to announce that we have just signed a new lease on the Menta Business Centre, 21-27 Hollands Road, Haverhill.
From there we offer easy in/easy out serviced office space, as well as Virtual Tenancies and other office services. It is ideal for a new or small company that needs office space without a long lease, or just somewhere to use as a business address. We provide a central reception, meeting rooms and other services as and when you need them, and at a terrific price.
We have now celebrated our first year of providing free one-to-one business advice from The Menta Business Centre by confirming that from now on there will always be a fully qualified advisor on hand on the first Thursday of every month. If you need some business advice, or simply need to talk about starting in business, call 0800 085 5090 to make an appointment.
We are pleased to announce a new series of courses to be held at the Menta Business Centre, most of which are FREE. These are aimed mainly at those either new to business or just thinking about it β have a look at www.menta.org.uk or call 0800 085 5090 for more details.
Finally, in early October we are launching a new Breakfast club for exiting and aspiring business-people in Haverhill: the Haverhill Very Early Lunch Club. This is being launched in association with the Chamber of Commerce; there will be no membership fee, and no commitment to attend each meeting; all will be welcome and you need only pay for the breakfasts you attend. Booking in advance will be vital, however.
We will meet once a month for a first-rate breakfast, a chance to network and an interesting talk from a visiting speaker. The programme is about to be announced, and if you are interested in knowing more, why not register on our web site http://www.menta.org.uk/ or call 0800 085 5090 and tell us who you are, so that we can send you full details.
We are thrilled to report that we have just been awarded full accreditation under the prestigious Customer First scheme - this means that we have been assessed under 32 (yes, 32) different measures to make sure that we are providing a good and well thought out service.The big news is that we passed on all 32 measures - no surprise to us, of course, but very good news.
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Achieving a level of careDedicated carers, who look after the elderly and people with learning disabilities, have achieved level two NVQs in their chosen profession.
Gemma Seale, Hayley Watkins, Angela Hay, Nicola Millington and Esther Gould, who all work for Eve Personal Homecare, in Bury St Edmunds, have been given their certificates for care after studying for the last year, at a ceremony at MENTA.
Their boss Eve Hayes said: "We are very proud of all our employees, but it is especially pleasing when so many of them develop their professional qualifications."
Eve Personal Homecare was formed eight years ago and in 2005 it won a prestigious Investor in People award. Eve Hayes added: "We have been helped greartly by MENTA, who have provided practical support as we grow the business."
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As well as our own business advisors, we were joined by Peter Davis from Foundation East, the not for profit lending organisation, and Michael Bishop from Stacey & Partners, the Newmarket accountants.
Peter Davis, Susan Hurst and Alwynne Handshaw
This is the start of a programme of similar events that are planned across the region, aimed at taking MENTA's relaxed but focussed style of business advice directly to those who need it.
We are grateful to Forest Heath District Council for their generous sponsorship of this event.
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MENTA is inviting people either new to business, thinking about starting their own business or becoming self employed, to visit a free drop-in session at Palace House, Palace Road in Newmarket, behind the Rutland Arms Hotel on 22 November between 4pm and 7.00pm.
You'll be able to meet some specialists who can give you some sound advice on how to set yourself up and what pitfalls to avoid, or just talk generally about the ins and outs of being in business for yourself.
whether you need help researching a business idea, or raising the funds to start, or how to market you business, come and see us.
Our service is free and confidential. We look forward to seeing you there.
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]]>MENTA, the Mid Anglian Enterprise Agency is supporting Enterprise Week 2006. The week long event is reportedly the UK’s biggest ever celebration of all things enterprising and takes place between 13-19 November 2006.
Locally, MENTA is inviting people either new to business or even just thinking about starting their own business to visit a free drop-in session at Palace House, Palace Road in Newmarket, behind the Rutland Arms Hotel on Wednesday 22 November between 4pm and 7.00pm.
In harmony with both the Enterprise Week and the year round Make Your Mark campaign, MENTA works to inspire every one of all ages, including the young. It supports and informs with next steps information and advice. It encourages networking and connects people to each other and aims to guide and prepare small businesses through core skills training courses.
Enterprise Week supporters state it is y oung talent that helps the British economy, diversifies our commercial offerings, and moulds our future society. Indeed, according to the Northeastern University, School of Technological Entrepreneurship Survey, 42% of business people questioned set up their first venture during childhood, with a further 33% starting up between the ages of 18 and 30.
With thousands of events planned across the whole country, this year’s Enterprise event is likely to be bigger and better than ever with new initiatives, challenges and opportunities for schools, colleges, businesses and anyone interested in encouraging young people to make their ideas happen.
Highlights of this year’s events include:
Last year Enterprise Week reported that over 408,000 people attended 2,215 different events across the UK, which were supported by 3,874 businesses.
Kevin Steele, Chief Executive of Enterprise Insight who runs the Make Your Mark campaign, said “Enterprise Week is about inspiring young people to turn their ideas into reality. In the future their passport to success will be a sense of adventure. The danger is not that they aim to high and fail, but that they aim too low and succeed.”
]]>The aim of the awards is both to highlight and celebrate the wealth and diversity of business expertise in Newmarket and to reward the high standards attained. The awards will be presented at a special ceremony at the Millennium Grandstand, the Rowley Mile Racecourse, on December 15th, sponsored by chartered accountants Price Bailey. Other sponsors of the awards include: - Barclays Bank, Newmarket Racecourses, Atkinson Bolton, JRD Rubber Mouldings and Forest Heath District Council.
It is the fourth year of the awards, which are presented in 11 individual categories, with a special NBA Judges’ Award selected from all entries.
This year’s 11 award categories are as follows: -
Large Business of the Year
Small Business of the Year
Retailer of the Year
Customer Focus Award
Innovative Use of New Technology Award
Health & Safety Award
Entrepreneurial Spirit Award
Employee Development Award
New Business of the Year Award
Best Community Engagement Award
Business Personality of the Year
The 2005 Judges’ Award was presented to telecommunications firm Factotum Ltd who also picked up the prize for the Small Business of the Year.
Last year’s event raised more than £1,682 for the children and families charity ‘The Ormiston Trust’.
Entry to the awards costs £50 per category, to include a £10 deposit against one place at the Awards Dinner. The deadline for entries is 20th October.
For entry forms or details about the awards and the dinner, contact Jo Morgan on 01638 565880. Entry forms are also available on www.newmarketbusinessassociation.co.uk.
20th September 2006
]]>The BAA Stansted Meet the Buyers is an annual event which gives local companies face-to-face sales meetings with up to 30 key local buyers of their choice.
The event represents a highly cost-effective way of generating new leads and customers, potentially saving days of research and cold calling, and has generated £10million of income for local businesses over the last five years.
For the first time, this year's event is being subsidised for any company based anywhere in the East of England region, including Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk.
BAA is staging the event in conjunction with Business Link, with the cost to businesses of attending being reduced by £200 through sponsorship to just £100 plus VAT.
The event works by bringing together a group of 30 buyers who all have a large annual spend over a wide variety of goods and services and are committed to local procurement. It reverses the traditional business exhibition, it is the buyers not the suppliers who have stands.
Suppliers attending are given a list of all the buyers along with their detailed purchasing requirements and then get to select their own sales appointments. This means that local businesses will get guaranteed face-to-face appointments with buyers of their choice.
This year's Meet the Buyers event takes place on Wednesday, September 27. Businesses interested in attending should call Shamaine Watson on 020 7700 0008 or email shamaine@business-business.co.uk .
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