Celebrating Business Finance Week 2024
From 24th September – 3rd October 2024, Let’s Do Business Finance took part in the British Business Bank’s #BusinessFinanceWeek campaign for the third year running – joining the mission of the British Business Bank and other financial institutions across the United Kingdom in promoting financial literacy and awareness of the options available for businesses to grow.
The campaign, designed to inform and educate SMEs on the range of financing options available from a multitude of lenders and avenues in the UK, once again provided a platform to widen awareness for budding, new and established business owners to brush up on their understanding of available finance options, and where to go for help if they need it.
Business Finance Week 2024 covered themes spanning from start up, debt and angel finance to business loans, grant funding and responsible lending to encourage business owners across the country to learn more about their options and the opportunities for their businesses to grow. To reach business owners far and wide, content was spread across webinars, in-person workshop and panel-style events, as well as through a social media campaign, and this year invited lenders and partners of the British Business Bank from across the UK to participate and create partnered events under the Business Finance Week banner.
As part of the campaign, Let’s Do Business Finance participated in an event organised by The British Business Bank and Responsible Finance alongside BCRS Business Loans, to highlight the role that Community Development Finance Institutions like Let’s Do Business Finance play in assisting businesses in securing funding to grow when they are unable to access finance through traditional routes, like their bank. An informative session that covered what CDFI’s can do and why they are playing an ever-more important role in the business finance sector, our Business Manager Lisa Young led a segment on how businesses can become ‘Finance ready’ and how to prepare a finance application for the best chances of success. Other topics included the pros and cons of debt finance, as well as a testimonials from previous business clients of CDFI’s.
“We were delighted to take part in the Business Finance Week campaign again this year – it’s so important for business owners to know their options and have access to all the information that they need when it comes to their finances, and having the spotlight shone on the topic helps to spread the word.
Let’s Do Business Finance have a mission, alongside other CDFI’s in the business finance sector, to help break down the barriers to finance for businesses that are unable to access finance from mainstream and traditional lenders – and taking part in an event highlighting CDFI’s with Responsible Finance, the British Business Bank and BCRS Business Loans was a great milestone for us.”
Also taking to social media throughout the 2024 campaign, Let’s Do Business Finance shared information of upcoming events as well as fun bitesize videos from their team, who answered some of the most common questions we receive as a business finance provider. Everything from ‘How do I apply?’ to ‘Is anyone eligible for a Start Up Loan?’ featured in our mini campaign, and this year also included video testimonials from some of our previous Start Up Loan and business clients; telling us how they found applying for their loan, and the impact that securing finance had on the growth of their business. One such business was Hastings-based clothing store RD1, whose owner Mickey Whiteman received a Start Up Loan from Let’s Do Business Finance in 2022, and has seen incredible business growth since using the funds to secure and open a premises in Hastings Town Centre.
Business Finance Week 2024 showed a growing appetite from UK businesses to learn about how and where they can access support and finance to grow – and as a Community Development Finance Institution, Let’s Do Business Finance is dedicated to helping businesses that might struggle to secure funding and investment from traditional lenders. Passionate about empowering businesses and helping them to grow, Business Finance Week offered the perfect opportunity for Let’s Do Business Finance to showcase our expertise, our experienced and helpful team, as well as success stories from the clients we’ve supported along the way. Now, we just have to think about how we’ll do even better next year!
