Your Business Boost is a cohort-based programme, designed to help those in retail, hospitality and leisure achieve their business ambitions.

The programme starts with a group session bringing all participants together. From there, participants can access masterclasses on subjects such as Marketing, HR, Sales and also receive more bespoke support through 1-2-few sessions and 1-2-1 support with a subject expert.

The first cohort starts on Wednesday 18 October, with fiver further cohorts scheduled through to March 2025. The programme takes 8 weeks to complete, with each week offering 3 hours of learning opportunities for participants to access.

Visit Business Lincolnshire for more information and to register your interest.

Sleaford is taking part in this years Magic Tenner event, a new Totally Locally national campaign for independent high streets and businesses taking place on 7 October until 21 October.

The aim of the campaign is to show how spending £10 in a local independent can mean up to £50 going back into the local economy (based on this study from The New Economics Foundation). It really is like magic!

There will be lots of amazing £10 offers from local shops and businesses in Sleaford, follow @BusinessNK on twitter for regular updates.

Businesses wanting to take part can access the free materials in this shared folder. Our team will be going around Sleaford with posters and a selfie frame, if we haven’t got round to you email [email protected] to let us know.

For online sharing visit Create Your Own – Totally Locally, here you can edit the text to easily share your offer and the number of businesses you support through your suppliers.

New fire safety guidance and regulations will come into force Sunday 1 October and are relevant for small accommodation businesses that take paying guests. Check if the new guidance applies to your business, and if so see below for some support on ensuring you meet the new regulations.

VisitEngland have support available, including a Fire Risk Assessment Template, which is fully compliant with the new regulations. They have also released a  free to watch webinar as well as other guidance and support.

The National Fire Chiefs Council provides a Guide to choosing a competent Fire Risk Assessor, which includes links to different professional associations.

North Kesteven District Council has launched a short survey, inviting people to share their priorities and wish lists for the District’s visitor economy to help form the North Kesteven Tourism Survey 2024-2029.

We want to hear from businesses and visitor attractions, as well as residents and visitors. The closing date for the survey is Tuesday 31 October, you can complete the survey by clicking HERE.

If you would prefer a paper copy, please email [email protected] or collect one from one of our visitor venues:

• Mrs Smiths Cottage, Navenby
• Cogglesford Watermill, Sleaford
• Navigation House, Sleaford
• Cranwell Aviation Heritage Museum, Sleaford

Phoenix Kitchens, a kitchen manufacturer and retailer, has opened a new showroom and created two new jobs since moving to North Kesteven District Council’s Scoley Court business park.

The new showroom has resulted in additional sales and continued expansion, leading to needing more warehouse space. The business has now taken on unit 4, as well 5, 6 and 7. The business celebrates its 20th anniversary in October, so it is perfect timing.

The Government has announced a ban on a wide range of plastic items that will come into effect from 1 October 2023. It means that from that date, businesses across England will not be able to buy or sell certain single-use plastic items.

The ban includes all single use plastic cutlery, trays, plates, bowls, and balloon sticks, as well as certain types of polystyrene cups and food containers. From October, people won’t be able to buy these products from any business. The ban will apply to online and over the counter sales and includes the supply of items by businesses from new and existing stock and will cover all types of single-use plastic.

For more information on the ban, including exemptions, you can view the official guidance HERE.

See HERE for more information on Sleaford Moor Enterprise Park.

The Quarterly Economic Survey is now open. The survey is an opportunity to share what’s affecting your business and what your struggles and successes are to help influence the next wave of national policies.

Have your say today, fill in the survey HERE.

One month to go until the Threekingham Viking Festival, taking place on Saturday 16 and Sunday 17 September. Over 300 Vikings will recreate the Battle of Stow from 870 AD. There will be an archaeological dig, as well as a programme of free lectures. There will also be plenty of food and drink stalls to choose from. Entrance is free so why not bring the family along for a weekend of fun.

The Threekingham Viking Festival has recieved £6,000 from the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. This money has been distributed by North Kesteven District Council as part of its Events Programme through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, which includes funding for new events in North Kesteven.

There is additional funding for first time events in North Kesteven, if you are interested in running an event, you can find more information HERE.

More businesses in North Kesteven have joined Zellar and received their live sustainability score, along with a sustainability plan suggesting improvements. To qualify for a free one-year Zellar license a business must be a micro-SME (up to 10 employees) or SME (under 250 employees) with a base in North Kesteven. The offer is available to the first 300 qualifying enterprises that apply before 31 March 2024. This Council-led programme is part-funded by SSE’s Sustainable Business Communities project with Zellar.

Claim your free access to Zellar HERE.

See below for a selection of responses from businesses that have recently joined Zellar, sharing their thoughts. For more information on our Zellar offer see here.