As a member of Visit Buckinghamshire and The Chilterns, you have access to expert advice and practical support to help you run a successful business.
Buckinghamshire Business First
Through our partnership with Buckinghamshire Business First, we are able to offer a range of resources to help you develop your business. We have retail, food & drink and tourism advisers on hand, and an adviser who can offer general business advice, including a business review or health check. We can do this over the phone via a surgery call, or we can come to you.
We have many examples of businesses and owners that have flourished after receiving support including;
- Orchard View Farm Owner Jim Mackellar who gained more time away from day-to-day tasks to focus on business growth. Read more here >
- The Roald Dahl Museum & Story Centre was able to access tourism support and forge local partnerships that have helped the business build a solid platform for growth. Read more here >
You can sign up separately to become a member of Buckinghamshire Business First and also feature on their business directory with over 12,000 other local business. It is free and by becoming a member of both Buckinghamshire Business First and Visit Buckinghamshire you are giving your tourism business the best chance of success.
You can sign up for free here >
Growth Programme - advice and grants available
In addition, tourism and hospitality businesses can access support via the Buckinghamshire Business First Growth Programme. Businesses can access free, practical and high-impact 1:1 support tailored to their business needs via the fully-funded Growth Advice Programme*.
Members can also apply for a Growth Grant* of up to £5,000 to help their business invest in projects to boost growth. Whether you are considering a project to increase sales, productivity or profitability, or to improve business processes, this match-funded grant can potentially fund up to a third of the total cost. Read how Malt the Brewery increased its sales and profile thanks to a Growth Grant >
*Eligibility criteria applies
Events
Our aim is to help you grow your business and to provide you and your team with a range of additional skills which also improve the visitor experience. In partnership with Buckinghamshire Business First we have created a raft of support to help businesses survive and bounce back, including a Power Hour, Mastermind sessions with other business owners and one-to-one strategy surgeries with experts.
Take a look at events specifically for Tourism and Hospitality businesses here >
There are lots of other really useful and often free courses available for businesses, from customer care to business finance and marketing, on the Buckinghamshire Business First website.
Take a look at what is coming up here >
Support from Visit England
VisitEngland’s Business Advice Hub features a dedicated section containing the support available to tourism businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic, from funding to guidance on mental health.
Information signposted to includes:
- Government support finder tool
- Skills Toolkit
- Tips on securing finance
- Decontamination advice for hotel rooms
- Support webinars