Business Support

Start-up scheme extended until 2023

Ramy Sabri, owner of The Village Café in Bulkington, with Hardeep Sandhu, Enterprise Manager for the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce.

A free business support scheme for new start-ups in Coventry and Warwickshire has been extended until 2023.

The Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce has run the Business Start Up Programme since 2019.

Over the three years it has supported over 400 new businesses through workshops, masterclasses, and one-to-one mentoring from experienced business coaches.

The scheme is part of the CW Business: Start, Grow and Scale Programme which is funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), Coventry City Council, Warwickshire County Council and the 5 Warwickshire District and Borough councils.

Hardeep Sandhu, Enterprise Manager at the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, said: “The Business Start-Up Programme can provide vital help, support and guidance in those difficult first few months and the news that the funding has been extended until 2023 means we can support even more people make that transition to running their own business.

“We know first-hand how challenging starting a business can be and are delighted to know that our experienced team have been able to contribute to so many success stories, whether that’s providing a sounding board for ideas, answering practical or technical questions, or up-skilling knowledge.”

Ramy Sabri is one of the most recent participants of the programme after taking over The Village Café in Bulkington in May, and as a result of the support he is already drawing up expansion plans.

The 32-year-old bought the well-known café after an 18-year career in hospitality, during which time he ran restaurants at a number of top hotels in the UK and mainland Europe, including one that held a Michelin Star.

Under his ownership The Village Café has five staff, including his wife and brother-in-law, and is serving almost 500 customers a week in the café and through deliveries.

Ramy said: “My business Advisor from the Chamber, Rita Booth, has given me some valuable insights into marketing and how to make incremental decisions to help grow the business, and has encouraged me to experiment which I’m doing with extra opening hours.

“It’s been extremely important to be able to talk to someone who will question and challenge what I’m doing.

“My long-term plan is to grow this into a chain of café and coffee shops, and I’m already looking at a second location. I’m also working with someone who Rita introduced me to build a website that will mean we can start to manage our own online orders and deliveries, which as a result of the lockdown is a growing part of the business.”

Ramy accessed support through the CW Business: Start, Grow and Scale project which is funded by the European Regional Development Fund, Warwickshire County Council, and the county’s five district and borough councils.

Mirani De Silva has set up Paradise Tea, a unique tea subscription business, from her home in Tile Hill, Coventry, after spotting a gap in the market for Sri Lankan Pure Ceylon tea.

The tea is known for its distinct flavour and antioxidants, but Ms De Silva, 49, found it hard to come by in the UK after moving to the UK from Sri Lanka in 2008

She began importing shipments from her hometown of Colombo at the end of last year with the help of Business Start-Up Programme and signed up her first customer in July.

Mirani said: “The help I have been given by the Chamber has been enormous.

“My Advisor, Sarah Humphreys, has helped me with promoting Paradise Tea on social platforms, guided me through each step and has always been there to give advice when I needed it.

“Without her support and guidance, I do not think I would be here now.”

Mirani accessed support through Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce’s Start-Up Business Start Up Programme, part of the Coventry & Warwickshire Business Support Programme, which is part funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

To find out more about the Business Start Up programme and other support that is currently available to independent businesses in the tourism, hospitality or leisure sector, visit www.cw-chamber.co.uk/businesssupport or call 024 7665 4321.

Mirani De Silva who set up Paradise Tea from her home in Coventry

Bringing nature to the home

Louise Leng (left) with Keely Hancox of the Chamber

Two Coventry sisters have planted the seed for a new business that will help bring nature to the homes of young children all over the country.

Louise Leng and Nicola Shingler are combining their skills and experiences of horticulture and teaching to create My Nature Table, a seasonal nature inspired gift box and gift bag business offering three to eight-year-olds a range of activities from growing food and flowers through to quizzes and crafts delivered to their door.

The idea was born during a holiday getaway September 2020 when Louise, who has 30 years’ experience in horticulture including working with the National Trust and Warwickshire Wildlife Trust, had a lightbulb moment.

After having the initial idea, they sought help from the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce start-up team through the Coventry & Warwickshire Business Support Programme, which is part funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

They then created trial boxes in February 2021 which were tested by families and then launched in November 2021, during Coventry’s year as UK City of Culture.

Louise said: “I’d always wanted to start my own business but wasn’t really sure what route to go down. We were away staying in a shepherd’s hut in Norfolk for my 50th birthday in September 2020 and I realised that it had to be something that came naturally to me and something that I loved. It was my lightbulb moment – or my midlife crisis!

“I have a degree in Countryside Management, Royal Horticultural Society certificates and 30 years of hands-on experience. Nicola has been a teacher for 30 years and now runs her own tutoring business.

“By combining our skills and experience, we can bring the fun and excitement of our British flora and fauna to children through nature boxes and bags, but also ensure that it is educational and follows the new 2021 Early Years Foundation Stage Framework (3–5-year-olds) and the National Curriculum (years 1-4).”

Louise contacted the Chamber the day she got back from her holiday and was immediately assigned an adviser, who has helped nurture the business idea.

She said: “I knew all about the Chamber’s services because I had attended a start-up course eight years ago and decided I would get back in touch.

“I sent an email and they got back to me that week and put me in touch with an adviser, Wendy Brown, who has been so helpful.

“Wendy and I had weekly video calls and she guided me through the initial stages of starting the business - including brainstorming ideas, product feedback, how to purchase a domain name, setting up an email address and registering with Companies House – all the basics that you need to do when starting out.”

“I was also able to access online workshops too such as: Thinking of Starting a Business; Writing Your Own Business Plan; Introduction to Marketing; and Getting Started with Finances, to name a few.

“This knowledge and support was invaluable in getting us underway.”

Keely Hancox, Operations Manager of the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, said: “We often find people coming to us either after their summer holiday, Christmas or a key moment in their life because they have had time to think and have decided they want to start their own business.

“Very often, that is around a passion or interest they have and our team can then help with some of the fundamentals of starting a business to ensure it gets off on the right footing.

“This is a great example of individuals using their creativity and skills to launch a business, which is something we really want to see more of.

“It really is going to be a year to celebrate for the whole city and we want to support more and more businesses to start-up and leave a positive legacy of more creative companies on the patch, which will be great for the local economy.”