FAQ

Nothing whatsoever! The Enterprise Factory is a project financed by the Welsh Assembly Government. We can provide you with support and assistance absolutely free of charge!

Grants are not distributed by the Enterprise Factory. Nevertheless, we always endeavour to provide the best possible methods to assist our clients to set-up their taster-businesses, which can include actively seeking out external methods of financial support.

In some cases, we can provide financial assistance through our development resources. This can include support towards Marketing costs and accessing essential equipment or services.

Our Development Resources are of limited financial means. The purpose of its existence is to facilitate client access to services, materials and necessary equipment required to put your idea into active practice. All applications for financial support are reviewed by our investment panel, which considers the merit of each individual application.

Not at all! Anyone who currently not working and who is a resident in either Anglesey or Arfon can participate - whether it be through the medium of Welsh, English or other languages.

Of course you can! We assist many groups of various sizes – whether it be as an individual, a pair, or a larger group of people.

If you do not match the Enterprise Factory's client profile, there are a variety of other schemes, which may be better tailored to your needs. These include:

Business Eye – a contact point for information, advice and resources for establishing a business in Wales.

A Co-ordinator will be appointed to assist you with developing your business plan. He or she is not a business adviser and will not do everything on your behalf, but will assist you to get the most out of the available methods, and decide on ones which best suit your needs. The Co-ordinator will be your main point of contact throughout the project, helping you to develop your business idea - from day one right up to the taster trading period.

Your local co-ordinator can advise you on other agencies, which may be of use to you either during or after your taster trading period.

We can meet you outside normal working hours (including weekends) if it is difficult for you to do so at any other time. Your co-ordinator could also meet you in a convenient area such as a café or your local pub.

Following your taster-business experience, the following services will be available to you:

• A session with your co-ordinator to evaluate your experience, and to discuss any further steps you could take.
• Advice about where to go for further support, if the taster business is to be developed into a larger-scale enterprise.

It is important to note that the support provided within the framework of this project ends after the evaluation of the taster-trading experience. Following this, your co-ordinator will be more than happy to transfer you to other suitable service-providers in order to ensure that you receive the best possible support for your enterprise.

We do not expect you to produce a full business plan as the nature of your taster-business is likely to be relatively small in scale. However, it makes sense to put your idea on paper – this is often beneficial to clients as it provides an opportunity to think through your idea in more detail; it can also ensure that sufficient research has been completed, and confirm that the financial side of the business is viable.

We provide a taster business template for this alongside the support of a co-ordinator to assist with its completion.

The amount of time for which a business exists can vary in length – from a one-night event to a more permanent fixture of up to three months or more! The length of the enterprise's duration will be decided upon in the first meeting with your co-ordinator. The type of service or product offered is often the most influential factor of the taster-business's time-scale.

The Enterprise Factory is a pre-development programme and its purpose is to provide a 'taster business' service. However, we have close links with a number of business support agencies who can supplement our assistance with additional support, if so required. If you would like to develop your business idea further, post-Enterprise Factory involvement, we can put you in touch with other business support agencies for their assistance.