Help for Braintree District businesses
Where can Braintree businesses get business support?
Running a business comes with plenty of challenges - finding customers, managing cash flow, taking on staff, going digital and, ultimately, figuring out how to grow.
The good news is that business owners of Braintree are not alone. There are a number of programmes offering fully funded support to businesses across Braintree, wider Essex and nationally, giving you access to advice, training, networking opportunities and funding.
We have collated together some of the programmes that may be of interest to you.
Braintree Business Growth Services
Braintree District Council offers a range of practical services to support local businesses including
- Meeting rooms and venue hire
- Low-cost industrial units
- Advertising and sponsorship opportunities
Businesses can also access council print and graphics, commercial pest control and waste services, as well as information on opportunities to supply goods and services to the council through its procurement process.
NEEB Link is a fully funded programme for businesses across Braintree and the other five North Essex districts.
Support currently includes:
- 12 expert-led 90-minute masterclasses
- personalised 1:1 advice
- local pop-in clinics
- access to specialist business experts
- a business support app with resources, events and opportunities
- a personalised Growth Action Plan.
The programme covers practical areas of running and growing a business, with support available online, in person and on demand. Workshops and events are held predominantly in rural areas, to provide greater accessibility for rural businesses.
Ambitious Essex is a good starting point if you aren't quite sure what support you need.
It provides free business support, including a business diagnostic, specialist guidance, mentoring and workshops.
Rather than having to work out which programme is right for you, Ambitious Essex identifies what your business needs and point you in the right direction.
The Essex Growth Agency provides an Essex Funding Finder, bringing together funding opportunities available to Essex businesses.
Funding can change frequently, so it's worth checking regularly rather than assuming there isn't anything available.
EssexWorks - Sales Skills Business Programme
Build a stronger sales pipeline and turn more opportunities into sustainable growth with the EssexWorks® Sales Skills Programme. This practical four-week online course is designed for SME owners and leaders who want a clearer, more consistent approach to winning new business.
Across four focused sessions, you will:
- Define your ideal customer and priority markets
- Identify and target the strongest sales opportunities
- Create a compelling value proposition and sales message
- Build a repeatable prospecting routine
- Improve discovery conversations and objection handling
- Develop a practical 90-day sales action plan
Each session combines expert guidance, peer problem-solving and practical templates that can be used immediately. By the end of the programme, you will have a sharper market focus, a stronger proposition and a better-qualified pipeline. You will also leave with clearer sales targets, practical performance measures and greater confidence in moving prospects from first contact to committed next steps.
Open to people and businesses in Greater Essex.
National Support
GOV.UK's Business Support Finder
The government's Finance and Support for Your Business database currently lists more than 100 schemes and can be filtered by business stage, sector, region, number of employees and type of support – including grants, loans, finance and expert advice.
It's a useful place to search when you're looking for something very specific.
Help to Grow: Management is a national programme designed specifically to develop leadership and management skills in SMEs.
It's aimed at businesses with 5–249 employees that have been operating for more than a year. It includes structured learning, 1:1 mentoring, peer learning and support to develop a business growth plan.
There is currently a £750 joining fee, so it isn't a fully funded programme, but it is government-backed.
If you're starting a business – or have been trading for less than five years – Start Up Loans could be worth investigating.
They provide government-backed finance from £500 - £25,000 per director alongside support to help new businesses get started and grow.
For more established businesses looking to invest and grow, the Growth Guarantee Scheme can help businesses access finance when mainstream lenders are unable to support.
The current scheme can support businesses with finance for a variety of purposes and businesses with turnover up to £45 million may be eligible, subject to the scheme's criteria and lender assessment.
The accredited lender for the Growth Guarantee Scheme in Essex is Let’s Do Business Finance who offering financing from £25,000 - £250,000.
Got an innovative product, service or technology that you're looking to develop?
Innovate UK provides a range of support including grant funding, innovation loans and expert support for innovative UK businesses.
Their funding finder tool, is particularly useful when requiring investment into innovation.
Not sure where to start?
If you're a Braintree business looking for help with growth, funding, marketing, digital, recruitment, skills or simply working out your next step, the best place to start is with NEEB Link or Ambitious Essex and explain what you're trying to achieve.
They can help point you towards the most appropriate support.
And it's worth checking regularly. Business support programmes change, funding pots open and close, and new opportunities come along throughout the year.