We spoke to Simon Laing, a business startup adviser for the Enterprising North service, about a typical day working with rural entrepreneurs and business founders in the region. Simon sheds a light on the North East’s wide and varied rural entrepreneurial community, and the diverse range of support on offer to meet each individual entrepreneur’s need.
What does a startup adviser do?
At a very basic level, my job is about providing advice and mentoring to business owners and entrepreneurs. Most of my time as a startup adviser with Enterprising North is spent out in rural Northumberland working one-to-one with people at the very beginning of their business journey.
It might sound old fashioned to some, but most of my conversations with entrepreneurs and business owners start with a coffee and a chat. Together we talk about their specific needs, what they’re hoping to achieve, and importantly how I can help.
The regional business support landscape is vast and it can feel complex to people starting out. As part of my role I do a lot of signposting to people, organisations and services that can provide a range of support - everything from e-learning tools, legal and IP advice, and financial support. There is a lot of support out there; my job is to know what’s on offer and help people to access it.
How does your role differ from a more general business adviser?
A general business adviser tends to work with people that have a slightly higher degree of business literacy. They may already understand rules around intellectual property and tax, for example.
A lot of the people I work with are coming to the world of business ownership from full-time employment, unemployment, or they might be returning to the world of work after a period of absence. As a result, they don’t often have the same level of business literacy as someone that’s already started or run a business. A big part of my role is about building people’s confidence, dispelling fears, and equipping them with the information and knowledge they need for a successful future in business.
As a startup adviser, we have to make sure people have a viable business. We want them to go into their journey with their eyes wide open. Working in the rural sector, many of my clients have very specific challenges, for example: they tend to be far from clients and customers, and they can be impacted by the seasonality of the visitor economy. They need to be aware of all these things and how they can impact their business.
As a startup adviser, it’s my role to help people prepare for their business journey. Whilst there can be lots of uncertainties when starting a business -like how will you find customers, and how will you stand out in the market - there are a lot of tools, like market intelligence databases, that can help people access the information they need.
What does a typical day look like for you?
I usually meet around three clients in a day. My mornings tend to start the same way; I get up, check the diary, and pack my resources ready to get on the road.
Today I’m up in Haltwhistle speaking to a client that’s selling their B&B to start a new business providing tours of Hadrian’s Wall. I’ll be working with them on a business model canvas, which is a bit like a quick-fire business planning tool. Next I’ll be going to Corbridge to work with a farmer who is adapting his farm to include visitor accommodation and activities. I’ll be linking them with technical specialist to support with health and safety planning.
The end of my day is always spent doing my actions from the meetings and ensuring our reporting is up to date. As a government-funded programme, it’s very important that we demonstrate outcomes and show how each business has benefitted from our support.
What trends or common themes have you seen across the entrepreneur community in the North East?
One of the biggest trends is how common it is these days for people to have their own businesses. We’re seeing more and more people running what’s often referred to as 'side hustles', and that’s really increasing business literacy.
That’s lead to the normalisation of entrepreneurship. It’s no longer seen as a risky move to start your own business - more people see it as an opportunity.
In rural areas, we’re seeing more and more businesses diversifying and entering new markets. Farmers are moving into holiday accommodation and high-street businesses are capitalising on ecommerce to expand their reach. Technology is definitely transforming business in rural spaces.
A more challenging theme is the ongoing cost of living and high inflation. This is directing money that used to be spent in SMEs to utility companies and other essential providers. We’re seeing more competition for the pound in your pocket.
How do you support entrepreneurs / business owners with additional needs - like health conditions or impairments?
We’re always guided by the clients we work with and we can adapt our resources as needed. I often find the areas where people with an impairment require additional support isn’t the creative side of developing business, it’s the processes that we as business support professionals ask them to complete - so form filling and information gathering. It’s our job in business support sector to make some of those processes easier for people.
I’m increasingly working with more neurodivergent clients and many enjoy the flexibility and creativity that comes from running their own businesses. For a lot of people, they prefer that flexible approach to work over a ridged 9-5 structure. The nice thing about running your own business is that you have the license to make the changes that work for you and your clients.
Within the North East there are some dedicated business network groups and spaces especially for neurodivergent and disabled entrepreneurs, so we will always signpost people to those services too.
How can we help more people to start and grow a business in the North East?
What struck me when I first started in this role is now much support is out there. I think one of the weaknesses of the business support sector at the moment is that some of the support can be overlapping. What I always say to entrepreneurs is if you don’t find what you’re looking for the first time, try and try again. There will be something that fits your individual needs.
I think established businesses need to become more comfortable with seeking external investment, and not think they need to do it all themselves. Businesses that are high growth (20%+ growth per year) should be speaking to organisations that can link them to investors.
And for entrepreneurs in rural communities, I would encourage them to seek out relationships with other businesses in their local area. Who is successful and doing well? It’s these people that can help you navigate the hyper local scene.
Where can entrepreneurs / business owners access help and support in the North East?
The support finder tool on the North East Growth Hub is a fantastic place to start - I use it regularly. You can search by local authority area and find out what support is available in your area. It’s the only resource in the region where you can get a full rundown of what’s available.
Local authorities are also a good place to access information on business support - most will have a page on their website. It’s worth highlighting that the support on offer will be specific to that borough, and business support programmes tend to change year on year. If you’re looking for support in March or April, you might find the offer changes in the new financial year.
Many local libraries have excellent resources, including dedicated business advisers. You can find this service in Alnwick, Morpeth and Hexham. You don’t have to travel far to speak to someone.
And a piece of advice for new business owners; it’s not uncommon to seek less support as your business grows and workload increases. Book in regular appointments with an adviser or networking group to stay up to speed on all the support that’s out there.