Small business Finance and Innovation Support for Solihull SMEs

Welcome to the Small Business Finance and Innovation Support series of events!

It can be difficult sometimes for small businesses in Solihull to get right advice around finance, funding and innovation. Small business have faced tremendous changes and challengers the past few years. Moving to a post covid, post EU era it is very important for SME's to keep up to date with developments in policy, funding and innovation. Be in the loop for current and upcoming trends and opportunities that can be a lifeline for your business. This exclusive event for small businesses from the Solihull area will help demistify the funding and innovation process so you can accelerate the growth of your business, an help you network along the way.

Our support series starts on Tuesday 24 September 2024 at 9:00 AM at Solihull College & University Centre - Blossomfield Campus.

This series of 3 support sessions (each session has two dates available) will be delivered by STEAMhouse Associate , Managing Director at Advantage Creative. John comes from a creative industries background, with over 20 years of senior management experience across theatres, festivals, tourism and events marketing, and is well versed in the challenges and opportunities surrounding small business funding and finance. John represents Advantage Creative on a wide range of investor networks and supports founders to develop their business growth strategy and pitch for investment.

Each session consists of an informative opener, an interactive workshop, and a personal surgery so you can get specific advice. Oh, and did we mention there is a networking lunch provided each day too! All parts of series are tailored and targeting the needs of Solihull small businesses.

We welcome you to drop in or mix and match any of the sessions you are interested in.

Session schedule:

The workshop will explore the funding landscape for creative and innovative companies in Solihull, uncovering valuable insights, tools and resources to help you design your funding strategy. It will help you map the funding options available to you, and gain a deeper understanding of what types of funding are best suited to your business needs.

This workshop takes a deep dive into the different kinds of grant funding available to creative and innovative companies, CICs and charities. You will gain valuable knowledge about how and where to look for grant funding opportunities, and how to align your company with funders’ priorities to craft compelling grant funding applications.

This workshop takes a deep dive into the five different kinds of crowdfunding, illustrated with case study examples that demonstrate the benefits, pitfalls, and top tips for each kind of crowdfunding strategy. It will help you better understand the crowdfunding options available to you.

This workshop is designed to give you insights into how investors and funders think, what they are looking for in a startup, and the information they are seeking to make investment or funding decisions.

This workshop will provide you with a suite of tools and resources to boost your effectiveness in pitching and communication, increasing the amount of cash available to your business. You'll come away from this workshop with the skill to construct effective pitch decks and presentations, with help from insights from investors and funders on what makes the perfect pitch.

Host or Publisher STEAMhouse