In this video, Chris MacNeil of Cobblestone Chronicles urges anyone thinking of starting a business in London to seek support from Grow London Local.

Profit from your passion and grow a successful business

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Turning your passion into a business is both fulfilling and rewarding. It allows you to do what you love and potentially make a living from it.

As with every small business, it requires hard work, dedication and really good planning. But what's great is the vast amount of help and support from organisations and people who want to see you succeed.

 urges anyone thinking of starting a business to seek out this support and make the most of it.

My name is Chris MacNeil and I'm director of London Discovery for Cobblestone Chronicles Limited.

We specialise in delivering walks across anywhere from Kensington straight through to East London.

I needed help with turning my passion into a structured business. About three months ago, I had a word of mouth recommendation for the business support programme. I went onto the London Business Hub site [now Grow London Local] and scanned through all the information there. And eventually I was in contact with one of the advisers.

There's no cost to the business owner and it's really good value what we can tap into. So far I've spoken with about five or six different advisers.

It just helps to get out there and talk to other people who have had similar challenges, or indeed been able to rise above those challenges, and say "right, there is a way forward for you. Have you considered X, Y and Z going forward?".

Grow London Local: Support for London's small businesses

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A young black woman in her home office doing her finances using a calculator and notepad

Chris MacNeil of Cobblestone Chronicles urges anyone thinking of starting a business to seek all the support they can.

I’ve always had an entrepreneurial spirit. I’ve been an angel investor to many where il exchange the use of my skill sets towards their businesses over income and watched many flourish. I’ve always enjoyed growth through the bootstrapping methods and being as resourceful as possible. My greatest interest from my studying in business innovation and entrepreneurship management was social capital, system networks and policies. They are vital indeed.

Lunch and Learn: Discover your small business's uniqueness

Uncover your business's unique strengths and reignite your creativity with practical insights on goal setting.

Hello! I am a Programme Manager at Enterprise Nation, with a passion for providing support for small business owners through digital campaigns with our partners. I have a particular love for all things marketing, online and in-person events and strategy!&nbsp;

Programme Manager

Next Generation: Market and access customers for your service

A group for all Next Generation participants. Join other likeminded entrepreneurs and trainers to learn how to stick to weekly goals and be held accountable for your business! If you’re not part of the Next Generation Bootcamp but would like to connect with like-minded business owners, don’t worry, there’s a group for you too!

Kathie O&apos;Donoghue is a recognized business leader, Master Business Mentor and Coaching Supervisor specializing in the personal and professional growth of the Business Mentor/Coach. She also facilitates and trains other Mentors through the Help to Grow scheme.
With bases in Gloucester and West Sussex, Kathie is also the owner and Director of Mode Business Training &amp; Prosperon Networks, a Fellow of the Institute of Leadership, a Full Member of The Association of Business Mentors, a Member of the Association of Coaching Supervisors and a Master practitioner of the EMCC. Kathie is also a qualified CBT &amp; DBT therapist.
With a focus on accountability, constructive challenging skills and taking ownership of self-development. Kathie’s aim is to help individuals and businesses grow both organically and strategically using a range of techniques to uncover untapped potential.
Outside of the business arena, Kathie has an ongoing love of learning new, and sometimes bizarre skills. She has trained as an Opera singer, swum with Stingrays, has a full motorbike license, and considers herself a bit of a Sci-Fi geek.
Book a free discovery call with me <a href=&apos;https://calendly.com/kathiecranecoaching/30min?month=2024-04&apos; target=&apos;_self&apos;>here</a> :

Executive Business Mentor Supervisor and Trainer

Consultancy and Training

Do you require ad-hoc or ongoing help with your Personal and Business growth ?
All consultancy and training services can be booked in one-hour sessions or cost-effective blocks to suit your business needs. 
Typical consultancy can include:
Business Planning and forecasting.
Company Health check
Team or individual leadership training. 
Facilitating Board or Company meetings.
People planning, induction and onboarding.
Skills gap analysis
Review of Company processes and procedures

I&apos;m an experienced technology executive and trusted advisor to startups and small businesses. With over 20 years of experience in the tech industry across e-commerce, telecom, fintech, construction, edtech, renewable energy and agetech, I provide strategic guidance to help companies leverage technology to achieve their goals.
As a founder myself and through my work as CTO for numerous startups, I deeply understand the challenges of building and scaling technology-driven businesses. I&apos;ve led the development of award-winning platforms, built high-performing tech teams from the ground up, and created IT strategies that enabled 50% year-over-year revenue growth.
Beyond the hands-on work of developing solutions and leading technical teams, I specialize in aligning business and IT strategies. I serve as a bridge between the business and technical sides, making sure technology investments support the company&apos;s short-term and long-term objectives.
In advisory roles, I provide CTO services including:
<ul>
<li>IT assessments</li>
<li>Technology roadmaps</li>
<li>Vendor selection</li>
<li>Team building and&nbsp;</li>
<li>Project oversight&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
I also host two podcasts, the Atom CTO Podcast, where he shares insights from interviews with industry leaders and specialists and the Real World Entrepreneurship Podcasts where he and his co-host speak the truth to budding entrepreneurs.
If you&apos;re looking for a seasoned executive to provide an independent perspective on your technology strategy and execution, I&apos;d love to discuss how I can help. With experience across multiple industries and business stages, I can quickly assess challenges and opportunities and provide recommendations to accelerate your progress. Let&apos;s discuss your business and technical goals and explore working together.

Managing Director

Bhairav Patel

I&apos;m an experienced technology executive and trusted advisor to startups and small businesses. With over 20 years of experience in the tech industry across e-commerce, telecom, fintech, construction, edtech, renewable energy and agetech, I provide strategic guidance to help companies leverage technology to achieve their goals.
As a founder myself and through my work as CTO for numerous startups, I deeply understand the challenges of building and scaling technology-driven businesses

Profit from your passion and grow a successful business

Transcript

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