Entrepreneurs are flourishing in the SW

Summer in the SW is always a time of renewed life.  The influx of people, surfers on the beaches, walkers on the moors and, yes, even the jams of campervans on the A303 demonstrate just what this corner of the UK is all about – a welcoming, vibrant and varied region.

And, to my mind, these attributes drive the business scene in the SW.  It’s no surprise that the SW is a hotbed of entrepreneurship; we’re home to start-ups, shed workers, small manufacturers, inventors and more.  People move here for the lifestyle and adapt their work to fit.

Cities across the SW are doing their utmost to support this backbone of the private sector.  The region’s new Enterprise Zones will give a boost to business in the SW.  The Bristol EZ is up and running and it’s no surprise that Plymouth is vying to be the next one.  Plymouth prides itself on being a City of Enterprise and all it does feeds into this feeling of regeneration and growth.

So, from a Flagship South West point of view, it’s fantastic to start the summer with two new clients signed up and ready to go.  The first is an exceptionally beautiful wedding venue in the Teign Valley just outside Exeter, called The Great Barn.  Flagship has been charged with reviewing all of The Great Barn’s marketing activities – from media buying and social activity to media relations and SEO.  The key aim is to help to position The Great Barn as a stand out wedding venue in the UK, raise the profile of wedding weekends as an alternative to weddings abroad and showcase the venue to new audiences.

The second assignment is to help Honiton-based, Cosmic Ethical I.T. (a social enterprise providing IT services and also working heavily in the arenas of digital inclusion and social enterprise leadership) pave the way for its unique partnership with Plymouth University.  Cosmic is now an accredited college of Plymouth University and is launching its Pioneer Programme – helping businesses and individuals to develop leadership skills in social enterprise.  Flagship will be working with Cosmic to grow awareness of the course amongst potential social entrepreneurs across the UK.

In addition, our first two Communications Studio clients will be SW trailblazers.  There will be more on this in the next issue…

If you would like details on the services we offer in the South West or would like to find out more about what we are doing in the region, please contact me.