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New Year – New Start for Businesses The Covid-19 crisis led to a jump in the number of people starting a business in Coventry and Warwickshire.
The Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce’s start-up team helped more than 300 new start businesses since April 2020 and it is expecting another influx as 2021 begins.
The Chamber also delivered more than 50 online workshops in that time, with around 550 individuals attending to get help and tips on what to do when starting a new venture.
New businesses started during the pandemic included everything from an interiors business through to a company delivering nature boxes for children. Many were being started because of either redundancy or uncertainty around employment due to Covid-19.
The Chamber always sees a rush of individuals looking to start a new business in January and that, coupled with the ongoing Coronavirus crisis, means the team is preparing for a busy start to the year.
Hardeep Sandhu, Enterprise Coach Team Leader at the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, said: “Once the crisis took hold and people began to either lose their jobs or started to feel uncertain about their existing employment, our start-up service saw a real increase in demand.
“In some cases, people had been thinking about setting up on their own any way and all of the uncertainty had acted as a spur for them to get in touch with the team at the Chamber to access our free help.
“That said, establishing a new business is not easy and should never be taken lightly – even at the best of times – so our team will always go through the reasons for an individual starting up on their own and offer help and advice.
“It’s been great, even in these incredibly difficult times, to help people achieve their dream of starting up a business and becoming their own boss.
“We expect another rush in January. This is already a very busy time for us as people have had the break to consider what they want to do and have a plan for a ‘new year, new start’.
“Our team is prepared for that and will talk through those plans and ensure that each individual goes into it with their eyes open. From there, we can help with everything from business planning through to marketing and sales to give each business not only the best chance of getting started, but flourishing too.”
The Chamber is holding 11 workshops in January for those individuals looking to start up, or those that have been trading for less than twelve months, from business vision and strategy through to creating a brand.
For more information or to book on go to https://www.eventbrite. co.uk/o/coventry-and-warwickshirechamber-of-commerce-start-upsupport-11874476531
Latest QES shows Coventry and Warwickshire businesses entered 2021 with more positive outlook
The news of a Covid-19 vaccine gave business confidence in Coventry and Warwickshire a shot in the arm coming into 2021, according to a regional survey.
The Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce’s Quarterly Economic Survey (QES) acts as the barometer for business sentiment across the region and feeds into the national statistics collated by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC).
The survey, which is delivered in partnership with Prime Accountants Group, is analysed by the Economy & Skills Group at Warwickshire County Council. Its analysis uses a similar score to the national Markits Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) where 50 is the balance and anything above means the majority feel positive and anything below means the reverse.
The final survey of 2020 saw business confidence increase dramatically in both the manufacturing and service sectors. In the service sector it jumped to 67.9 from 54.4 and in manufacturing it hit 71.0, bouncing back from 47.7 in the third quarter.
It was a dramatic rise after a year of record low confidence among businesses in the region brought on by the Coronavirus crisis.
All measures that create the overall economic outlook for the region had risen from the previous quarter – although some still remain below the crucial 50-mark.
It meant that the final economic outlook for Coventry and Warwickshire in 2020 was 51.5 which was the first time it was in positive territory since the crisis took hold.
Louise Bennett, chief executive of the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, said: “There is no doubt that the emergence of the vaccine in the final quarter of the year gave businesses more confidence coming into the New Year.
“However, the survey was conducted before the discovery of the new variant of Covid-19 and the chaos that ensued with the UK borders closed and before the final outcome of Brexit.
“So, while it is good to see businesses feeling more upbeat about their prospects in 2021, there is still a long way to go before normality returns.
Steve Harcourt, of Prime Accountants Group, said: “As the toughest year many businesses have ever had to face came to an end, it was clear that the imminent announcement of the vaccine rollout had a positive impact on the outlook held by business leaders in Coventry and Warwickshire, however this was before the new, more infectious strain emerged.
“Assuming the vaccine is effective against this new strain and the spread is reduced by the third lockdown we have entered, we should remain hopeful that this positive outlook will become reality, as we head towards normality, or what will be the new normal.
“With the Brexit deadline approaching during Q4 and a light at the end of the tunnel in regards to Covid-19, we can see that a majority of respondents to the survey predicted business to improve in the next 12 months, and in the short term, 93 per cent of businesses expected their sales to rise, or remain the same.
“With only seven per cent predicting decreases prior to the third lockdown, we can hope that despite the new challenges, the outlook remains
Pictured (taken before the pandemic): Louise Bennett with Steve Harcourt
promising for the majority. Export sales for many were expected to stay consistent or increase, with a third predicting a decrease, a figure that was to be expected whilst uncertainty surrounding the Brexit deal continued throughout Q4. As we head into 2021 with a Brexit deal finally in place and hope that the destruction caused by Covid-19 will begin to be repaired for those who were fortunate enough to continue in business, we can only hope that this year will eventually return to pre Covid levels in the economy.
“However, a few hurdles still remain at present; the impact of the third lockdown, the end to the furlough scheme and other Government support schemes being phased out. With a resilient local economy being more optimistic than the national average, there is a real sense of pent-up demand to be realised and progress to be made in Coventry and Warwickshire.”
Summary of 2020 Q4 Key Numbers:
Economic Outlook:
Overall, 51.5, up from 42.6.
Service Sector 51.4, up from 42.4.
Manufacturing Sector 57.5, up from 43.2.
Domestic Sales:
Service Sector 40.4, up from 34.9.
Manufacturing Sector 73.4, up from 42.2.
Overseas Sales:
Service Sector 41.7, up from 32.1.
Manufacturing Sector 48.3, up from 38.8.
Employment
Service Sector 52.8, up from 49.2.
Manufacturing Sector 54.8, up from 38.6.
Investment & Cashflow
Service Sector 45.4, up from 35.3.
Manufacturing Sector 41.6, down from 45.6.
Business Confidence
Service Sector 67.9, up from 54.4.
Manufacturing Sector 71.0, up from 47.7.
