Business Link has today launched its new programme of free workshops and briefings for businesses and entrepreneurs across the East Midlands. 

The events will take place from October through to March, at convenient locations across the county. Aimed at those just starting out, as well as established businesses, they are designed to develop business skills, ideas and knowledge. From business planning, to finding new customers and using social media, there's something to suit every need. 

Several new briefings have been added to the programme. For more established businesses, these cover employment law changes, the VAT increase and pricing strategy, franchising your business, cashflow and forecasting, sales and marketing conferences, workshops for retailers and selling overseas.

That's in addition to the existing, well established workshops, which have been further refined based on customer feedback, as well as current market conditions and legislative changes. 

For those looking to start a business, there's a workshop to provide support every step of the way. Whether looking for business ideas, buying a franchise or simply finding the answer to the question 'is it for me?', Business Link's workshops for new businesses will help get the basics right and provide support every step of the way. 

Last year, Business Link workshops attracted over 10,000 delegates and received an overall customer satisfaction rating of 91%. So far this year, customer satisfaction has risen steadily to 93.5% achieved in September; these figures tell a story of high quality presenters, appropriate content and good locations. 

Stephen Smith, Chief Executive of EMB Ltd, the organisation responsible for delivering local access to the East Midlands Business Link service says: "Our new event programme really does provide something for everyone, whatever stage they are at with their business. We've listened to feedback from customers and refined the programme to ensure that the events we run are exactly what our customers want and need to help them start, run and grow successful businesses." 

More than 100 events feature in this latest schedule, at over 150 locations across the East Midlands. Most are half-day workshops or morning briefings, making them suitable for those running businesses or juggling work-life commitments.