Community Shops Networking Event: Somerset 10th November - NOW FULLY BOOKED!!

Hosted by the Plunkett Foundation in partnership with Somerset Rural Community Council, we are delighted to present this Community Shops Networking Event in Somerset as the latest addition to the popular series of national networking events for community shops.

Focussing on the importance and value of continually refreshing and developing your community business, this event will provide support to communities with the ambition to revive and invigorate shop sales, operations and finances of their business.

Training sessions from experts will cover:

• Financial Management
• Community Share Issues
• Business Planning
• Store Layout & Merchandising
• Good Shop, Bad Shop
• Sourcing Local Produce

 Event Fully Booked!

The day will also explore ways to encourage and maintain support and engagement from your wider community. As well as being an ideal opportunity to provide training for your staff, volunteers and committee members, this event is the perfect place to network, create links and share good ideas with other community shops.

You can download the event flyer here.

Held at the fabulous Dillington House in Ilminster, Somerset, the event is suitable for both established community shops as well as communities in the setting-up stages of their project.

Agenda

10.15 am : Arrival, refreshments, networking
10.45 am : Welcome and introduction
11.00 am : Workshop Session One (see below for workshop details)
12.30 pm : Lunch
 1.45 pm : Workshop Session Two
 3.20 pm : Plenary Session
 4.00 pm : Question and Answer Session, chaired by Peter Couchman
 4.15 pm : Afternoon Tea, networking

Workshops

1. Community shares: invite your village to invest in its future

Join Helen Melia, Plunkett Foundation Community Retail Advisor and specialist in Community Shares, to explore the potential for Community Shares as a way to attract extra investment in your community enterprise.

Aimed at those wishing to raise a substantial amount of money, £10,000 or more, from their village to purchase, build or renew a community enterprise. This workshop will explore the general principles involved and will provide participants with the framework and tools for a share offer, including example documentation, essential actions and best practice.

2. Good Shop, Bad Shop

Charlotte Foster, Plunkett Foundation Community Retail Advisor will be joined by Stawley Village Shop to explore the importance of evaluating your store.

You may consider yourself a critical shopper, but when it comes to your own store, you may have a blind eye in evaluating its strengths and weaknesses. Using photographs, commentary and a case study from Stawley Village Shop, this interactive workshop will help you to improve the standards of your retail business.

3. Financial Management

Good financial management and planning are fundamental to any enterprise. Join Maurice McCartney, Plunkett Foundation MLFW Business Support Advisor, for this financial management session which will provide you with effective techniques to take back and implement in your shop. The session will cover; the key financial documents: what to look for and where to find it; how to measure and assess the performance of your shop; and tips on common areas for improvement in community shops.

4. Planning for growth

Join Simon Michaels, MLFW Business Support Advisor at the Plunkett Foundation in this session focused on planning for growth. To survive and flourish, businesses often find that there is a certain level of turnover which is required to ensure that the future is secure. A more significant business operation may also secure the social benefits too. Many village and community shops may fall short of this target. So if growth is needed, how can it be done? What areas of the retail mix need to be grown, and how can you be sure that you choose the right areas to focus on? This workshop will make practical recommendations to address these issues.

5. Refreshing shop layout and keeping displays looking fresh

Join Sarah Mayell, Look for Local Consultant for the Plunkett Foundation, in this session designed to inspire delegates with fresh ideas for reinvigorating the layout and displays in their shops. This workshop will look at how to review the key elements of merchandising, starting with first impressions and following through a customers’ journey to the interaction at the till when the sale is complete. Merchandising is concerned with influencing what your customers buy so there will be examples of best practice from other Community Shops around the country, as well as plenty of opportunity for discussion.

6. Stocking local: Growing sales

Join Nicole Hamilton, Project Officer for Look for Local at Plunkett Foundation in this session which will explore the importance of stocking local produce in your shop, and demonstrate the tools available to help you raise awareness of your local ranges.