Workshops offered to help businesses prepare for return of shoppers
Shops in the county town are being offered help to “hit the ground running” when shoppers return to the town centre.
Shrewsbury BID is funding a series of workshops for independent retailers with Fran Riseley, a nationally-renowned specialist who has helped traders all over the UK.
The BID represents more than 500 businesses in the town centre, which will be able to sign up for the sessions that can be run online or within retail premises, when restrictions allow.
Stephanie Mansell-Jones, business liaison at Shrewsbury BID, said the mentoring sessions and workshops were proving popular.
She said: “Fran Riseley has a fantastic reputation for her work coaching businesses, drawing on more than 30 years of experience working in retail, and we are delighted she is able to help our members here in Shrewsbury.
“There are two aspects to the training – one-to-one mentoring and online video group workshops.
“The one-to-one sessions are limited and will cover a wide range of issues, from visual merchandising and marketing to finances and selling skills, as well as any particular topics raised by business owners themselves.
“We can obviously accommodate more people for the Zoom workshops, which will involve discussions around marketing ideas and techniques to boost sales.
“We have had a great response from members already and I would advise anyone interested to get in touch to book a place as soon as possible.
“Everyone knows just how difficult the past 12 months have been, so it seemed a good time to offer traders a boost which will hopefully help them to hit the ground running when restrictions are eased.”
Businesses which have attended coaching with Fran Riseley in other parts of the country say they saw immediate improvements following the sessions, according to the BID.
Gavin Stewart, chief executive of Brighton BID, said: “Fran really got to grips with the issues that many of our small businesses were facing.
“By working closely with the business owners, she put in place simple yet hugely effective measures that saw immediate dividends.
“Every single business that engaged in the programme was very positive about the whole experience and we’d love to run something similar again in the future.”
Businesses can sign up for the online workshop at shrewsburybid.co.uk/events/retailworkshop
