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Vistaprint to hold third ‘Night School’ event in Winchester in response to new small business research

Vistaprint.co.uk, the UK’s leading provider of marketing products and services for small businesses, is bringing the ‘Vistaprint Night School’ to Winchester on Wednesday 11th June, with a special mentoring event dedicated to supporting business owners. The event comes following recent research conducted in partnership with PopUp Britain, which revealed that 93 per cent of small business owners would benefit from free marketing advice and 68 per cent would like access to experts.

As an ambassador for the Vistaprint Night School initiative, one of the country’s leading entrepreneurs, Jo Fairley, Co-Founder of organic chocolate empire Green & Black’s, will speak at the event, which is taking place at Winchester Guildhall. Jo, who is also an award-winning author and journalist and has built her business into a global brand now approaching £100 million, will share her insights into ‘What makes a successful entrepreneur?’

Jo Fairley comments, “I have always been inspired by other business people and am pleased to be able to offer my support to the Vistaprint Night School initiative, which is dedicated to helping our small businesses in the UK. I know how it feels to start and grow your own business and hope sharing my experiences will be beneficial for the guests.”

The free, registration-only event is open to small businesses in the local area and aims to provide practical advice through expert talks, one-to-one sessions and networking. Vistaprint.co.uk is partnering with Winchester BID to bring this special evening to Hampshire following similar events in Dunstable and Ashford in late 2013. With more than a third of small businesses (38 per cent) saying they find the lack of support network a major disadvantage to owning their own business and nearly three quarters (74 per cent) admitting they feel alone in their working life, the event will offer the opportunity for local entrepreneurs to meet experts and other local business owners.

There will also be short talks from Winchester BID (Business Improvement District), PopUp Britain - part of The Association of Town & City Management (ATCM) – and Andrew Miller, Head of UK Marketing at Vistaprint, who will share some useful hints and tips into small business marketing and business communication. Following the talks, attendees will be offered one-to-one sessions with each of the guest speakers and the chance to network with like-minded business owners.

Vistaprint has supported small businesses for nearly 20 years through its wide range of products that make it simple and cost effective for companies to market themselves through business cards, flyers, leaflets and more. The ‘Vistaprint Night School’ events began in 2013 and sit alongside other initiatives to support small businesses including product grants, mentoring sessions and a new dedicated blog www.mybizhub.co.uk.

Steve O’Brien, Global PR Director at Vistaprint, comments, “The Vistaprint Night School initiative was launched to provide small business owners with access to experts and inspiration as well as practical advice and we’re delighted to be able to bring the concept to the businesses of Winchester. Having Jo Fairley on board is a real coup, with her vast experience and insight into the world of entrepreneurship. We’re sure she will inspire those who attend, along with our other guest speakers.”

Chris Turner, Executive Director, Winchester BID, comments, “We’re pleased to be partnering with Vistaprint to help bring this special evening to Winchester. We strive to help local small businesses and this event will be a valuable and worthwhile few hours for any business owners or would-be entrepreneurs in the area.”

Becky Jones, PopUp Britain, comments, “We’re delighted to be involved with the Vistaprint Night School initiative for a second year. We are passionate about supporting and promoting small businesses across the country and this type of event provides access to valuable resources and advice.”

The Vistaprint Night School event takes place on Wednesday 11th June 2014 from 18:00 – 21:00 at King Charles Hall, Guildhall Winchester, The Broadway, Winchester, Hampshire, SO23 9GH. Small business owners wishing to register for this free event can email vistaprintnightschool@iris-worldwide.com with a name and contact details.

Additional event information and updates can be found at:

www.facebook.com/VistaprintUK and

www.mybizhub.co.uk

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Vistaprint.co.uk .