|
Huge Opportunity For Business – We need your views
The FSB in Cornwall often canvasses its membership to confirm our understanding of the pressing needs of the small businesses in our community. Currently, we are looking to present a detailed prospectus outlining the key issues facing our members to "State the Priorities for Cornish Businesses" within an, as yet, emerging "Local Enterprise Partnership" (INFORMATION - What is an LEP?) .
Laid out below is a summary of the key issues identified to us so far. What we need to know is is, in which order you think they should be addressed, if there are any others and where they should be in the order of priority.
1. Access to Business Finance – Members are telling us that banks have frozen finance facilities or reduced the amount of money they are prepared to lend at viable rates. In some sectors the banks have simply stopped lending all together. All this at a low point in the economic cycle, when funds are most needed to re-generate. The FSB is championing a bid which will overcome this issue for a huge number of businesses in Cornwall.
2. Opening Opportunities – New Customers – Cornish businesses need to be more visible to other Cornish businesses and at the same time make us more visible to the world. It is anticipated that this would be delivered through "Next Generation Access" broadband, but is aimed to deliver much more through collaboration.
3. Business to Business Support – Members have told us that business support provision has to be business and demand led, of high quality and delivered when and where businesses need it to provide real value. The FSB is pushing proposals capable of delivering this for businesses in Cornwall.
4. Research and Development – Our businesses need to stay competitive and be kept up to date with market developments. The FSB believes that the Combined Universities of Cornwall are now well placed to help us with our quest to stay one step ahead. We are also keen to promote the development and improvement of our accommodation and infrastructure, to improve the visitor experience and create repeat bookings with a consistently high quality offering.
5. Transport – Our members tell us that high quality road, rail and sea links are vital to physical trade on a peninsula and hence we should constantly strive to improve these.
6. Low Carbon Economy – The ever rising cost of gas, oil and electricity has a growing effect on the viability of running a business in Cornwall. The FSB would like to see assistance for businesses to use their assets for carbon free generation of power.
| Priorities: |
Please simply put in order the above issues as you would prioritise them. e.g. Just note the numbers in your chosen order, separated by a comma (1,2,3,4,5,6,) |
|
Are here any other issues that you think we should cover and where in the list of priorities should it be?
Any other comments?
It helps us to know a little about you - (this is for our information only and will not be divuldged to any third parties).
|