The Love Local Hub, which provides free space for small businesses, has seen a turnover of almost £300,000.
It follows MK Council's £35,000 investment into the project just a year ago. The Council decided to invest in the Love Local Hub as part of its £3.1m Covid Economic Recovery Plan.
The Hub, based in centre:mk, gives local entrepreneurs a free temporary space to showcase their products and build their brand name.
100 entrepreneurs have also enrolled onto business development bootcamps to develop their skills as part of the Hub’s offer.
The unique course offered by Love Local Hub covers everything from goal setting, profit and loss, cashflow, pricing and creating a 12 month business plan to help them grow their business beyond the course.
Since the initial funding, MK Council has invested a further £55,000 in the Hub to provide mentoring, support and more start-up spaces. The small businesses can attend drop in sessions to speak with an expert and get real time support to help run their business.
The Love Local Hub has also expanded to Watford and has made a total turnover of £469,000, with almost £300,000 coming directly from MK.
Sam Poole, Co-Founder of Love Local & Incubation Nation said: “Watching Love Local go from one store in Milton Keynes to two shops in fantastic shopping centres has been incredible. As well as mentoring 100 small businesses and helping them restructure their business with a 12-month plan, and seeing their success has been incredible. Sadly, we have seen some businesses close or fail, but we have been there to support them, and some are now developing better business ideas based on the same strategy, which is why this training is so vital.
“After going through the pricing practical session, Paula at Suds has been a real success story for us, and she now has a much better understanding of pricing and how it can transform her profit. We can't thank Milton Keynes council enough for their support in making this possible.”
Any small business owners interested to learn more about the Hub should contact: Niki @ join@lovelocalhub.com
