Time to look ahead and to seize opportunities Future 50 brings

Richard Porritt, business editor. Picture: DENISE BRADLEY (Image: Archant)

Earlier this year we picked 60 businesses which we believe are trailblazers in the Norfolk and Suffolk business community.

Being part of the Future 50 cohort brings with it a range of benefits, including business mentoring from our campaign sponsors as well as exposure in our newspapers' business pages and on our websites.

Every week this very page is dedicated to sharing your news.

So as we start a new year I'm encouraging our cohort members to seize these opportunities.

You don't need to have a press manager to have your story in the paper - it's simply a case of getting in touch with one of the team and sharing your news.

We want to hear from you and we're here to help you widen your network and attract support - or even customers.

But Future 50 doesn't end with press coverage.

I'm also looking forward to catching up with business owners I have met at previous Future 50 events, as well as meeting some new ones.

This year we have a fantastic agenda lined up, courtesy of Archant's fellow sponsors Barclays, Birketts, Lovewell Blake, the University of East Anglia and the New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership.

Chris Starkie, chief executive of the New Anglia LEP, has also encouraged businesses to make the most of the opportunity.

He told me: "Our advice to businesses would be to take advantage of the wealth of support and advice that is available through the LEP and the New Anglia Growth Hub. Companies of all sizes can access a range of funding, including grants from £1,000 to £500,000 to support business development and growth.

"The Growth Hub has a team of advisers with a vast amount of knowledge and expertise who will come to your premises to carry out a diagnostic on your business and provide you with an action plan for growth."