Working for our companies - What do we do to develop the business life and support the development of the SMEs in Faaborg-Midtfyn area? The Business Council Association formed by 5 old business associations Contracted by the Municipality of Faaborg-Midtfyn Co-working closely with municipality both at strategic and operational level Provides impartial and free assistance to all businesses and entrepreneurs (do not need to be members) Approximately 500 members Office in Faaborg Also: Administration for the Local Action Groups: LAG Faaborg-Midtfyn and Fisheries LAG Fyn (EU Rural Development Programme axis 3) 2
Employees at the Trade Council John Mogensen Director Sigrun Søgaard Secretary Ide Seidelin LAG administration Morten Lisbeth Olrik Business Consultant Guo Peng Sabina Business Link South Denmark 12 expert consultants 3 What do we do for our companies? We guide and inform on start-up We guide and inform on professionalization, innovation and development on companies and boards We arrange networking meetings, courses and events We keep contact with universities, university colleges and vocational schools We network with other actors and stakeholders in business development and enterprise local, regional and nationwide Proactive visits in companies to know what is going on Company visits with mayor and his staff problems 4
Business service Impartial and free service in the following areas: Entrepreneurship Import / Export Sale of Business Innovation HR and management Sales and marketing Patents and IP Financing Professional Boards, mentoring, advisory boards Official Support Opportunities Coaching or participating SMVs contacts to authorities Bringing in experts Finding private actors 5 Incubator for start-up companies Incubator: 6 offices for start-up companies Experience shows that many more start-ups survive when they are attached to an incubator The reason is that they can share experiences, support each other and draw on our staff and office directly. Also possibilities for start-ups in existing companies Improved survival rate for entrepreneurs drastically from 2006 to now (rated number 9 out of 98 municipalities)(76,2 % survives the first 3 years) by nursing, educating and guiding 6
For entrepreneurs Information meetings Entrepreneurship Courses Guide to do list Networking Business Network, Young Leader Network Follow-up courses (sales, accounting a.s.o.) Follow up meetings Mentoring Global entrepreneur week entrepreneur fair Joint German and Danish entrepreneur fair 2011 External consultants Incubator 7 Projects Engineering student pioneers (attracting engineers) Human Resource project (professionalization) Change Management and Innovation (attracting academics) Future works for creative entrepreneurs Mecatronics project cluster project Food industry project promoting local products Heartblood and bottomline (women entrepreneurs) WellCome (wellness project) Challenges: Many partners and projects leadership and management Small project units sensitive, other tasks Liquidity problems in small units No international projects 8
Financial Crisis and challenges Very few growth businesses and new production units Very few huge companies (+/-) Sensitive: construction, subcontractors, few customers, low productivity, high wages Financial crisis many jobs lost, hard to get capital Sensitive to talk about We are proactive visiting and using network We have Early Warning consultants 360 o analysis Experts: private, knowledge institutions Professionalization of boards, sales and marketing Capital partners Open phone: helping people in crisis 9 What can we do? Co-working with neighbour offices Getting more resources but how? Organise differently making a bigger organisation to strengthen effectivity and having the right competencies and high quality product More focused at customer needs and wishes Evaluate our work better Making better use of our Customer Management System New homepage integrated with the public homepages for innovation, financing, registration, tools a.s.o. 10
Local Action Groups Grants for micro-enterprises, tourism and business in the food They can be supported economically: To establish new micro businesses or develop existing To develop tourism activities Creating new activities on farms Establish or maintain closure threatened service facilities Creating access to information and communication technologies for businesses in the countryside To develop small and medium food industries 11