Business Action | December 2019 / January 2020

SMALL BUSINESS
Register your business No nonsense health & safety
As a #SmallBiz100 – one
of 100 businesses in the UK
selected to promote Small
Business Saturday on 7
December – Business Action
urges all small businesses in
North Devon to join the campaign
and for all consumers to
support their small businesses.
If you miss it for 2019,
register for 2020 – small businesses
need support 365 days
of the year.
Registering enables your
business to be featured on
the Small Business Saturday
map to promote you, as
well as giving you access to
marketing materials including
a downloadable poster you
can print out. There is also a
Small Business Saturday app
and you can send details of
any special events you plan
for Small Business Saturday to
the campaign to be shared on
social media.
You might even want to
consider applying for the
#SmallBiz100 yourself in 2020
– we are the only business
selected in Devon and we need
more businesses to represent
the county in future years.
Social media
We’ll be tweeting from
@businessactionm before
and on the day and you can
follow @SmallBizSatUK and
use hashtag #SmallBizSatUK.
We’ll also post on Facebook,
Instagram and LinkedIn.
■■Register your business and
benefit from the campaign at
smallbusinesssaturdayuk.com
Health and safety doesn’t have
to be so complicated that it
limits businesses in what they
do, according to health and
safety consultant Jane Bass.
Jane, who moved to Combe
Martin from the Midlands,
has considerable experience
of delivering health and safety
consultancy and training, and
has enjoyed roles with a further
education college, a printing
equipment supplier and with a
national consultancy. Now she
has started her own business:
JI Health & Safety Consultancy.
Jane believes health and
safety need not be a burden
for businesses and applies a
common sense approach. She
aims to build trust with clients
so that she can offer informal,
friendly advice. Her qualifications
include the NEBOSH
National Diploma in Occupational
Health and Safety and
Small Business Saturday is
a valuable initiative and to
maintain support for small
and local businesses all year
round, we’ve launched the
‘£10 to £1 million’ campaign
to encourage buyers to switch
spending to local providers.
Anyone can join in for free
– all you have to do is post on
social media channels whenever
you buy local and add the
hashtag #10to1m.
See details on the back
cover, which you can also
use to display as a poster or
National General Certificate,
and she has delivered training
herself on topics including
manual handling, working at
height, fire warden and fire
safety, accident reporting and
investigation. With a particular
interest in training director and
senior management teams in
legal compliance, she has also
delivered the Institution of
Occupational Safety and Health
(IOSH) Managing Safely course.
Now aiming to focus on
delivering services locally in
North Devon and the South
West, Jane says: “I would like
to expand my business and can
offer a wide range of services
including health and safety
audits, assistance with implementing
tailored management
systems, including the provision
of documentation, and
training and assistance with the
Contractors Health and Safety
Assessment Scheme (CHAS)
and Safety Schemes In Procurement
(SSIP) accreditations.”
While getting to grips with
health and safety may feel
daunting, Jane assures that
“taking a sensible step-by-step
approach will help employers
to fulfil their legal duty to
protect staff.”
■■Details 07732 328222
Support small and local
businesses all year round
download one from the web
site at 10to1m.co.uk
MicroBizMatters Day
Another day that celebrates
and supports small businesses
employing 0–9 people
is #MicroBizMatters Day on
Friday 11 January 2020.
Organised by micro business
champion Tony Robinson
OBE and Tina Boden, this
year’s event takes place in
Hull, but any business can join
in anywhere.
■■Visit microbizmatters.co.uk
4 business action | December 2019 / January 2020 | business-action.co.uk