'Menu' of Support with Enterprise Hub

Starting any new business can be daunting, but branching out into the food and beverage world can throw up its own, specific problems. Budding restaurateurs highlight the same key issues when starting out: finance, including VAT and cash flow; legalities; HR procedures and how to grow a ‘dream team’; and marketing. Through Enterprise Hub, our business experts are on hand to help you get to grips with the ins and outs of managing a new food or drinks venture, increase your profits, and create a sustainable business model.

You've got the ingredients, we'll give you the tools you need!

Know your numbers

Our business team provide support to help you to better understand finance and how to access different financing options. Many new restaurant owners underestimate the start-up capital they need to open and run a restaurant, which causes problems in the long run – with 1-2-1 cash flow forecasting and budgeting support, tools to help maximise profitability, plus knowledge on how to register for VAT, our business advisers will help you create the infrastructure for a successful business.

Cross the Ts and dot the Is

The food and beverage industry has some lengthy and complex legalities, with food safety and health and safety regulations to consider. Customers are becoming far more aware of food hygiene ratings, so a thorough knowledge of industry standards is paramount. Our team can provide support with premises considerations and lease agreements, as well as signpost to resources to help demystify some of the industry legislation.

Create and grow your ‘dream team’

Chances are, if you’re running a restaurant, you’re going to have to recruit staff. Hiring the wrong type of people can lead to a high staff turnover rate and bad customer service, which then has a knock-on effect on the rest of the business. Through our support programme, you will learn the practical side of becoming a first-time employer: how to recruit and select the right staff for your business, understand employment contracts, and how to effectively manage people performance.

Make your business stand out!

Consumers are saturated with products and services in today’s climate, so effective marketing is crucial if you want your business to stand out from the crowd. What makes you different? How can you brand yourself to appeal to potential customers? What strategies are you using to put yourself out there? With the help of our business team, you will develop a social media and marketing plan, review which platforms and channels are most suitable for your brand, and curate creative content to promote your business.

These topics are just some of the issues that our business experts can support you with – this isn’t an exhaustive list! Working with you, they will create a tailored programme of support specific to you and your business needs.

This programme, Enterprise Hub Growth Support, is available to any business based in the Liverpool City Region which has been registered with Companies House or HMRC for less than 42 months. Contact us on 0151 706 8113 or enterprisehub@thewo.org.uk to find out more!