Business Link was a government-funded business advice and guidance service in England. It was designed to encourage small businesses to take up external advice and support.

At the time, research for the Competitiveness Agenda advised Government that small businesses were reluctant to invest in growth. They failed to plan ahead and invest in training, were swamped with paperwork and relied on too few customers. These barriers to growth were the main driving forces behind the need for a Business Link type solution.

Michael Heseltine, then President of the Board of Trade, established the concept for Business Link in 1992 when he was in charge of the Department of Trade and Industry. The "One Stop Shop" initiative was launched as Business Link in December 1992 replacing a number of fragmented services. This included the Department of Employment's 'Small Business Development Service'.

Informative training literature targeting new and small businesses

Business Link's face-to-face service operated on a regional basis across the whole of England. The relevant regional development agencies (RDAs) provided the funding. The network employed personal business advisors (PBAs), to work primarily with businesses that employed between 10 and 249 people (small and medium sized enterprises, SME's).

Business Link Bedfordshire ran a number of successful courses and seminars providing advice and support to businesses. These are some examples of the wide range of training literature that I designed to publicise these courses. The leaflets target senior managers and business owners to encourage them to increase their skill sets and plan for the future. All the designs incorporate the strong corporate colours and branding that have become recognisable as the Business Link. Each leaflet details the courses or seminars on offer but more importantly outline the future benefits to the businesses.

CLIENT: Business Link Bedfordshire