Due to the national lockdown, only some of our libraries and services are available. Head to nottinghamcitylibraries.co.uk/coronavirus to find out more.
Help and support for anyone thinking of starting or developing their business, from idea to implementation.
The Business & IP Centre (BIPC) is a partnership between Nottingham City Libraries and the British Library, supported by D2N2 Growth Hub.
We’re here to help you with your business journey from idea to implementation. Click on the links below for more information about the support and services we offer.
Managing your business during the pandemic
British Business Bank – CBILS Loan Scheme
COBRA – access our business reference tool remotely with your library card for information across a wide range of topics and sectors including COVID-19 advice
COVID-19 Self Employment Income Support Scheme
GOV.UK Guidance for Employers and Businesses
HMRC Tax Helpline for Small Businesses
Wondering how to take your business forward after lockdown? Need to change your model to suit the changing times?
Our Reset. Restart programme is designed to help you explore how your business can survive and thrive. Working with expert business mentors Smorgasbord, we’re excited to be able to offer you 1:1 advice sessions, peer to peer learning and webinars on a range of topics.
The programme is funded by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport through the British Library, enabling us to offer this valuable support free of charge to businesses.
The team at Smorgasbord have worked with the BIPC network for several years both at Business & IP Centre Nottingham and at the British Library in London. We are delighted to be involved in the Reset. Restart Programme because it allows us to deliver on one of our key purposes, providing a range of business tools and advice with real outcomes, free and effectively, for people in businesses of all ages, types and sizes.
Smorgasbord are a team of business experts, all of whom have previously owned and run businesses themselves. We do not pretend to know everything about a client’s business, or their startup idea, but there is often a combination of challenges to address so we help to identify, decide and take prioritised action.
1:1 sessions: every Wednesday morning
From Business Idea to Business Model – 11th March, 3rd June
From Start Up to Scale Up Funding Options – 25th March, 17th June
Getting your Business Online – 8th April, 1st July
A2B Accelerator – 22nd April, 15th July
Plan Your Post-Lockdown Recovery – 6th May, 29th July
Digital Marketing & Social Media – 20th May, 12th August
Book your 1:1 or webinar place here
PLUS:
Our local programme runs alongside a series of 10 monthly Reset. Restart webinars from the British Library, covering everything from mindset to sustainability – see the programme and register your interest here: https://www.bl.uk/events/reset-restart
All sessions are currently being delivered online.
IP Clinic: to arrange an appointment with Potter Clarkson for advice on Intellectual Property, please email us on bipc@nottinghamcity.gov.uk and a member of the Potter Clarkson team will be in touch.
The following three are currently on hold:
Accounting and Finance Clinic: 1:1 appointments with our partners Rogers Spencer Chartered Accountants on the third Tuesday morning of the month – Book Accounting and Clinic.
Business Advice Sessions: Online 1:1 appointments with advisors from Smorgasbord are available on Wednesday mornings – Book Business Advice Sessions.
D2N2 Growth Hub: Online 1:1 appointments for businesses looking to restart, pivot or grow. Alternate Thursday mornings, Book D2N2 Growth Hub.
Open to all business owners, especially those in the first years of trading, our free Reset. Restart programme is here to help you transform, future-proof or grow your business through the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.
See the Reset. Restart. section above for all the details or visit them directly.
How to satisfy your customers: first time, every time.
More dates coming soon…
Help your business stand out from the crowd with top-quality customer service! Book your place at this free online workshop to find out what ‘Quality’ actually means (in plain English) and how it can benefit your organisation.
Thanks to our membership of the Business & IP Centres National Network, you can access lots of webinars and online workshops to inspire you and help you upskill your business, from business planning to bid writing and attracting investment as well as mental resilience and emergency planning.
See upcoming webinars on their website – please note that some of their workshops which are being delivered online instead of face-to-face are charged for, but there are plenty of free sessions too.
We offer a range of market research and company information tools to help you plan your next move.
COBRA (or Complete Business Resource Advisor) is an online resource packed with information about setting up in business. It includes:
Access it in the library or at home. (City library card needed for remote access).
If you’re not a member you can join online, check how to Join the Library here.
Coming soon:
A range of market research and company information resources, available to use in our main centre at Bulwell Riverside Library and satellite sites in Inspire Libraries.
Our delivery partners
D2N2 Growth Hub: D2N2 Growth Hub supports business growth across Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire. The Nottingham team run fortnightly surgeries on a Thursday morning. D2N2 Growth Hub also runs a wide range of webinars from digital marketing to exporting and people management.
Inovra: Inovra Group is a business consultancy, serving small and medium businesses with a focus on the implementation of best practices. They run a workshop on ISO 9001 Quality Accreditation in the Centre once a quarter.
Potter Clarkson: Potter Clarkson is a firm of Intellectual Property specialists based in Nottingham City centre, able to advise on patents, trademarks, copyright, how to protect your ideas and how to stop someone else using them! The IP Clinic runs on the first Tuesday of the month.
Rogers Spencer: Rogers Spencer is a highly regarded Nottingham based Independent Accountancy Practice. Their team of 30 staff provide a full range of accountancy services for small and medium sized enterprises in and around Nottingham. They have dedicated accounting, payroll, tax and bookkeeping teams who can offer all the accountancy related support a growing business needs. They run a monthly Accounting and Finance Clinic on the third Tuesday of the month.
Smorgasbord: Smorgasbord helps people who want to start or grow a business. They can help people get funding for their idea or new business as well as providing mentoring and a variety of other advice and services for people with a business idea, or a business that is new or needs advice on next steps. They run a surgery on Wednesday mornings.
A small business or charity is looking for something. They will provide a swap offering services or goods in return. Whether it’s social media, accounting, translation, funding bids or press releases that you need help with, Swap Shop can help you find someone to swap with.
Now covering the whole of the UK, this free online platform gives you the opportunity to find a swap and build connections with businesses locally or nationally. Brought to you by the award-winning Derby Swap Shop team, supported by local partners including Business & IP Centre Nottingham.
Check out the swaps on offer and add your own: https://theukswapshop.co.uk/
The Big House Programme: The Big House Programme supports creative and digital businesses across Nottingham and Derby. It is delivered by a number of local partners including Creative Quarter, NBV, Nottingham Art Exchange and NTU
Creative Quarter: Creative Quarter is based in Sneinton Market and encourages the growth of Nottingham’s creative and digital economy by supporting people to start and grow creative and digital businesses.
East Midlands Chamber: Business organisation covering the East Midlands and providing information, support and training.
Federation of Small Businesses – East Midlands: The FSB is a membership organisation providing advice, financial expertise and support for small businesses and a regular programme of events across the region.
First Enterprise: Provides business support, advice, business loans and new start finance to start ups and SMEs across the East Midlands.
Food and Drink Forum: Supports food and drink manufacturing businesses across the East Midlands with a range of training and events, funding and technical support as well as lease of food grade facilities in Nottingham and Leicester.
University of Nottingham Business Network: Offers events and networking to businesses interested in connecting with the university and a directory of local businesses.
My Business My Way: A toolkit developed by the University of Nottingham and local entrepreneurs to help women feel confident about their way of being an entrepreneur. We have a monthly Meetup in the Centre based on the themes covered in the toolkit and hosted by its creators.
NBV: NBV supports business start up through start-up workshops, one to one advice, provision of office space, start-up loans, training and events.
Nottingham Insight: Nottingham Insight provides access to information, data and original research about what it’s like to live in Nottingham, and is curated and maintained by Nottingham City Council.
Nottingham Markets: Information about trading on Nottingham’s markets.
Prince’s Trust: The Prince’s Trust runs an Enterprise programme supporting young people aged 18-30 in exploring self employment and gaining the tools and knowledge to run a successful business.
NTU Enterprise: Nottingham Trent University Enterprise is primarily for NTU students and alumni but will support anyone with a viable business idea through mentoring and training programmes.
