BUSINESS ISLE OF MAN AND CHAMBER OF COMMERCE LAUNCH KNOWLEDGE EXCHANGE WORKSHOPS FOR SMALL BUSINESSES

Business Isle of Man, an Executive Agency within the Department for Enterprise, in partnership with the Isle of Man Chamber of Commerce, will host a series of knowledge exchange workshops for on-Island businesses looking to grow and innovate while navigating the current economic environment.

The series of 12 workshops will begin in October 2022 and will be delivered in collaboration with experts across industry, business owners and government specialists, covering a broad range of topics including; Company Structures, VAT, Basic Accounting, Digital Marketing, Scaling up for Export, Accessing Finance, Ecommerce, Payment Solutions and Business Resilience.

Registrations for the first five workshops are now open and participants can access details on the Business Isle of Man website and Chamber of Commerce Events page.

Steve Pickett, Chair Business Isle of Man, commented: 

‘The current challenges facing our economy means it is vital for our businesses to continue to innovate and differentiate themselves from the competition. This year’s workshops have been based on the success of the series conducted last year that attracted 470 plus participants.

‘Alongside providing a platform for businesses to increase their knowledge on the various subjects, these workshops will also offer the opportunity to network with other small business owners to share and gain insight and knowledge, and even form new business to business collaborations.

‘I encourage all small to medium business owners, from all sectors, to register for these workshops.’

Rebecca George, Chief Executive, Isle of Man Chamber of Commerce, commented,

 ‘As the Island’s largest business network, it’s vital that we play our part in helping on-Island businesses grow, learn, and develop new approaches and networks to assist founders, their teams, and their business development.

‘Based on learnings over the last two years, we’ve put together a more cohesive range of workshops around the topics that our members and the business community have asked for most. Each workshop will be delivered by “peers” just ahead on their own founder journey, so the content will be informed, engaging and relevant.’

The workshops will be delivered virtually and in-person and are open to both members and non-members of the Isle of Man Chamber of Commerce.

A representative from the Department for Enterprise will also be present at each workshop to answer questions about the funding and support that is available including the Business Improvement Scheme, Micro Business Grant Scheme and Financial Assistance Scheme.

Other presenters include Kirsty Lawrence (Mann Social), Nicola Bowker (Nicola Bowker & Co), Rhian O’Leary (Regality Ltd), Jessica Jones (Jessica Jones Online), business advisors, specialists from Government and business owners with case studies relevant to workshop topics. Further details on presenters will be released on the Chamber of Commerce and Business Isle of Man websites in due course.

MaryBeth Coll, Co-Founder at Foraging Vintners, who participated in last year’s workshops commented:

‘I attended Kirsty’s Social Media workshops last year and her presentation led me to understand the many underlying elements that work together to optimise a social media strategy. An added bonus to the workshops is the identification of current trends and updates to the ever-changing social media platforms and how to best capitalize on them. I’d happily attend her course again and recommend it for others!’