A giant industry has grown up to service the needs of people starting up in business. Various agencies are falling over themselves and each other in order to give you advice and support, and if you’re patient, grants and loans.You could sack all the pen-pushers and return the billions saved straight back to the people. But the Countryside Agency does point out that new businesses stand a better chance of succeeding if they’ve received professional advice first.

Many agencies are also working to dispel the idea that the rural economy is only about farming, food and tourism, leaving everyone else to battle on alone. So perhaps it’s money well spent after all.The many groups, bodies and organisations are funded in different ways, but almost all get their money from the government, Europe, local authorities or the private sector, or any combination of those. Some work behind the scenes formulating policy and you’ll probably never have to deal with them.

Others provide the upfront services and deal directly with the public.It’s impossible to compile a definitive list of organisations that can help you. Names and aims change almost daily and new ones spring up all the time. There are national, regional and local organisations. But the following should at least provide you with a starting point.

Organisations That Help You Directly

• Its network of offices (known as operators) around the country mean its staff have local knowledge and can offer relevant local advice.
• Its services are usually free.

• Because Business Link operators have no affiliations, they offer impartial advice and have no commercial axe to grind.
• Business Link offices have up-to-date lists of grants available in your local area.

Business Link Grants

The lists provided aren’t definitive because they only include government-funded grants but they do give a good idea of what’s around. As examples, here are three plucked at random from the Devon Business Link list of November 2004:

• Community Services Grant. Available to anyone who provides the sole shop, pub or garage in a rural settlement unless there are two enterprises clearly doing different things, e.g. butcher and baker, in which case they can both apply. Grants of up to 50 per cent, or £500 to £25,000, are available. The grant money has to be spent on things like improving access to the premises, modernising the sales area or buying essential equipment.
• RABBIT – Remote Area Broadband Inclusion Trial. This promotes the use of broadband internet in areas not covered by ADSL or cable. The small business or trader can apply for £700 or the fees for the first 12 months, whichever is the lower.
• Sub Post Office Start Up Scheme. A fund that can provide up to £20,000 if alternative funding isn’t available. The proposed sub post office must be in a community of less than 10,000 people, where a sub post office has closed in the last 18 months or is likely to do so in the next six months.

The Business Link offices around the country are autonomous and don’t always provide the same services. It’s worth asking if they offer a personalised grant search facility. Devon does, and charges a reasonable £50 plus VAT for it.

To contact your local Business Link office, log onto the website www.businesslink.gov.uk and enter your post code (top left of the page) to show the area you’re in.