People interested in becoming self-employed or starting their own business can now get information and advice from their local library.
Each library has its own Staffordshire Start-up Hub where visitors can access self-employment resources including books, fact sheets, business plan templates and information.
During March, additional drop-in advice sessions will also be held at selected Libraries. Self-employment coaches from Business Enterprise Support (BES) will be on hand to provide one-to-one advice and talk through people’s ideas. No appointment is necessary.
Victoria Wilson, Cabinet Member for Culture and Communities at Staffordshire County Council said: “Our new Start-Up Hubs are a great way for people interested in becoming self-employed to find out more and how to take that first step.
“Our libraries offer a dedicated space, allocated for start-up promotional materials, leaflets, business related reading books and information fact sheets. And, for our start-up sessions running in March, we’ve teamed up with Business Enterprise Support who will be able to provide information and signpost people to other sources of information and agencies.
“We have a strong record for start-up survival in the county, which is higher than the national average and it’s great to see libraries playing their part in this. It’s really encouraging that Staffordshire is providing the right environment for start-up businesses to grow and thrive and vitally, to operate successfully through the difficult first few years.”
A Start-up Hub session is being held at Leek library on Wednesday 15th March from 10:30am – 12:30pm
According to recently published data from the Office for National Statistics, Staffordshire’s three-year business survival rate in 2021 stood at 61.9 per cent, which was higher than the UK survival rate of 57.6 per cent.
Further information about the hubs and sessions are available at
https://www.staffordshire.gov.uk/Libraries/whatson/Start-Up-Hubs.aspx or ask at your local library.
