Pictured above: Tony Poulsom
Shropshire businesses entitled to thousands of pounds worth of
Government funding could miss out due to confusion over deadlines,
it has been revealed.
County business owners and directors are entitled to
£1,000 grant funding towards their development needs but with
Government cutbacks this funding will soon cease.
Funding has to be used by March 2011, but what is less clear to
many business owners is that they must have made their applications
by November 25, 2010 in order that those applications can be
approved by the approval deadline of December 17.
Toby Poulsom, a Shrewsbury-based business consultant, today said
that with more than one deadline there is some confusion among
businesses as to when to act.
He said: "The reality is if business owners want to avoid
missing out they have to act immediately.
"Accessing funding has never really been straight forward for a
business owner. With as many as 260 different sources of grant and
loan available at any one time it is often difficult to know what
to apply for.
"But the standard of living in a region depends on the health of
its business community and its economic development pivots on the
ability of local entrepreneurs to turn their ideas to profits.
"As a region it is critical, if we are to bring money and jobs
into the area, that the business owners of today access the support
that is available to them while it is still there."
Mr Poulsom, of www.8020psl.co.uk, said that even a modest
financial input to a business can really make a difference.
"My clients tell me that it gives peace of mind, allowing
investments that otherwise might not. Coupled with the right
consultative advice these investments can have a transformational
impact on a business," he adds.
"The DDP programme is flexible enough that funding can be
tailored to meet individual needs."
The funding is part of the Director Development Programme (DDP)
and is available to any business with between five and 249 staff -
with some discretionary leeway on numbers.
The grants can fund development of directors as well as other
key and principal decision makers in the business.