New businesses given Space to grow
Mar 30 2009 by Alun Thorne, Birmingham Post
The new general manager of one of the West Midlands’ leading charities has urged the region to ‘enterprise’ its way out of the current economic downturn.
Breathing Space’s Glennys Davis is adamant that the best way to emerge from the recession is by encouraging more people to start their own companies and in helping young businesses expand and create jobs.
The organisation, which has helped more than 1,500 disadvantaged individuals develop new skills and secure self-employment, is looking to drive this vision by increasing the number of people it can support, providing more on-the-ground advice and developing a dedicated ‘enterprise hub’ for Walsall.
“We have just moved into new offices at 34 Green Lane, which is part of our commitment to improving the depth and quality of the service we offer,” explained Ms Davis, who takes over at Breathing Space from Mike Lee.
“This gives us a lot more space to serve our existing 70-plus clients, not to mention an improved image, more car parking and a positive environment to spark those moments of entrepreneurial creativity.
“More importantly, the new facility provides us with additional capacity so we can offer to local entrepreneurs and young dynamic companies a professional home from which to ‘start in’ or grow.”
Located just minutes from Junction 10 of the M6, 34 Green Lane is a 17,500 sq ft enterprise hub, comprising up to 20 offices that are all air conditioned, fully furnished and equipped with high speed internet access and VOIP telephony.
With incubator units starting from as little as 100 sq ft and more established offices touching 5,000 sq ft, the modern complex is suited to both early stage start-ups and growing companies looking for new premises and Breathing Space is keen to ensure that tenants receive more than just ‘bricks and mortar’.
“34 Green Lane is going to be much more than a run-of-the-mill business centre,” explained Ms Davis.
“Everything has been put in place to create an environment that allows enterprise to flourish, from the landscaped water garden and secretarial support, to the virtual office capability and the host of business support and mentoring readily available.
“We also recognise that finances are tight and have made sure that rents start from as little as £150 per month – there’s also no long term expensive agreements so there is unrivalled flexibility for the tenant.
“As part of our relocation, we are also looking to find an occupier for our previous site at Central Hall in Walsall Town Centre, which boasts 4,000 sq ft of prime office space and parking for up to nine cars.”
Established in 1989, Breathing Space offers practical business training, advice and expert mentoring, giving individuals from the Black Country the chance to develop the attributes needed to run their own business, sharpen up their basic skills, and to get ongoing one-on-one support during the start-up stage.
72 individuals, many from disadvantaged areas and with some form of barriers to overcome, successfully became self employed in 2008, with the Charity looking to pass the 100 mark for the first time in its history this year.
In addition to self-employment support, the organisation also provides one-to-one assistance in job search skills, reading and writing and personal development. Our excellent training course has helped more than 1500 entrepreneurs to start their own firms and we are urging anyone who wants to be their own boss to talk to us,” said Ms Davis.
“All you really need is the energy, determination and passion to succeed. For details visit www.34greenlane.com
