Support group offers inspiring words of advice

More than 250 creative businesses looked for help and advice from a business support group in its first year.

The firms turned to Creative Industries Regeneration Team, set up by Business Link Leicestershire and Leicester City Council and backed by European Union funding.

The designers, artists and web developers were helped with planning, finance, technology, staff issues, marketing and management.

The team is based at the LCB Depot in Rutland Street, Leicester.

Most customers so far have been small firms or start-ups.

However, Liz Foxwell-Canning, a creative industries business adviser, said the team would also like bigger creative firms to work with it.

"Larger creative companies perhaps don't realise we have a complete range of services that could benefit them.

"Sometimes it's useful to have an objective view of a business from outside. The service is specific to the creative sector, so it's very relevant, and it's free."

The businesses that have worked with the team so far include Inspiring Words, run by copywriter and trainer Gillian Heggs.

She said: "One of my main business aims was to expand the training that I offer - they even arranged for me to run a copywriting seminar."

As featured in the Leicester Mercury 15th March 2006