H & F's First Business Summit Attracts 500 People
Businesses from across borough visit Town Hall event
More than 500 people have attended the borough’s first ever H&F Means Business event at Hammersmith Town Hall on March 27.
Held in partnership with the Federation of Small Businesses H&F Means Business featured more than 50 businesses, from across the capital, showcasing their goods and services.
One-to-one advice clinic, where start-ups and established business owners discussed specific issues and ideas with experts in fields such as accountancy, law and marketing proved popular and speed networking - where business get just minutes to interact with potential suppliers, customers or partners – also proved a roaring success.
The council’s Business Champion, Cllr Robert Iggulden, spoke at the event, saying: " I am delighted to have seen so many businesses represented and I know from speaking to people that they have found it very useful indeed.
" Hammersmith & Fulham is West London’s business capital and this event shows how determined we are to help our businesses to succeed during these tough times."
There are currently 17,000 businesses in the borough, employing 121,000 people and generating £9.3billion towards the borough’s economy.
Toby Thomas, from SEO Web Designs, said: " The event has been good for me, as a Hammersmith-based company running web design courses – including some in the Stonemason’s Arms, Cambridge Grove.
" It’s been a success; people are interested in the courses. They’re often surprised the courses are so cheap.
"It’s good to have something local like this. A lot of these types of event take place in central London, and cover the whole of the UK. This is much friendlier and more community-based."
Nick Attwell, from Attwells solicitors, said: " The one-on-ones have been particularly useful to us because it means we are able to talk more confidentially to people about employment issues, or if they have specific questions about setting up in business.
" This has been a very successful event for us. We’ve come here from St John’s Wood… and this is the nearest event of this kind that we could find! Other boroughs don’t seem to be doing this, so we’d definitely consider doing it again."
Anna Doroba, from Back2 International Ltd, said: " Our business is ergonomics; giving advice about sitting correctly at work stations – at home or in an office, minimising risk and improving efficiency; all that sort of thing.
" I think we’d come to it again. It’s a good way of networking. The footfall here is much higher than it would have been in our showroom."
February 13, 2013
