Business support
We offer free, impartial advice and support tailored to your business needs - whether you’re just starting out, expanding, or re-locating we can help.
We can also advise on skills development and adapting to the climate crisis - we want to help you so together we can keep Chesterfield a thriving place to live and work.
Find out about:
- starting a new business
- business support, events, and workshops
- Chesterfield Accelerator
- find sites and premises for your business
- improve energy efficiency in your business
- upskill your workforce
- Chesterfield Champions
Vision Derbyshire
The Vision Derbyshire business start-up and business support grant scheme is open to people that live in Chesterfield and are starting their own business, or have recently set up a business in the last year.
A team of local expert business advisors are in place to offer free advice and support and funding of up to £10,000 per applicant is also available.
Networking opportunities and help in securing a wide range of services necessary to help entrepreneurs turn their venture into a success are also part of the support package on offer.
Find out more about the Vision Derbyshire scheme or email business@derbyshire.gov.uk to request support.
Prince's Trust
If you’re aged between 18 and 30, you could consider approaching the Prince’s Trust for training and mentoring support. The Prince’s Trust have already helped over 86,000 young people to start their own business.
Find out more about the Prince's Trust.
Start-up loan fund
The fund aims to provide individuals with access to business start-up funding and expert personal support from business mentors to help develop business plans and access training.
Find out more about First enterprise business loans.
Business support, events and workshops
We have business advisers providing a range of advice and guidance to help support your company to grow and adapt to changes. We can help you access grants, identify support programmes, become digitally efficient and we host regular workshops to boost collaboration and help your business to flourish. We have both a dedicated business adviser providing one to one support and access to through our innovation support programme and have a range of workshops and specialist advice through the East Midlands Chamber Accelerator Programme.
For further information, please contact Adrian Williamson, innovation support project manager at adrian.williamson@chesterfield.gov.uk
The programme has supported hundreds of businesses just like yours; working with people who want to see a change in their enterprise. The key to its success is that assistance is not prescriptive but rather acts as a catalyst to stimulate decision making and planning for the future.
Here are some comments from businesses who have worked with the programme:
“I’ve had the pleasure of collaborating with Adrian for several years, and his guidance and support have made a substantial impact on our business as well as on a personal level. His expertise has played a crucial role in enhancing our operations and successfully securing grants. Adrian is also a personable and professional individual, and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend him.”
Dr Gavin Smith - Phoenix Sealing
"Adrian has been pivotal in guiding our start-up business back in 2016 to where we are today. His professional approach and wealth of business acumen has been invaluable in our decision making and risk taking giving us the confidence and support to move forward.
Adrian always offers constructive advice in an effective and non-assertive manner allowing us to ultimately make final decisions. His feedback following our meetings is prompt and concise, an accurate summary of our discussion.
We fully appreciate Adrian's support over the past six years which has helped drive our business forward and look forward to continuing our excellent relationship"
Brian Quinney - Quinney's Pet Supplies.
This project is part-funded by the UK government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.
Businesses can access events, workshops and networking to assist them with growth and maintenance of their competitive position. The subjects can be diverse - recruitment, skills, marketing, lean manufacturing to mention just a few. The links below should act as a useful starting point.
For forthcoming events, including those offered through innovation support, please visit Destination Chesterfield.
Further information and support
The Business finance support finder is a government tool to help you access information about potential wider funding options in your area.
HM Revenues and Customs
HM Revenue and Customs offer on-line guidance and support to help people in business get their tax affairs right. HMRC's aim is to build confidence on tax matters by providing accessible support in a variety of different formats.
Derbyshire County Council Trusted Trader scheme
Trusted Trader scheme can help individuals find honest and reliable traders who commit to doing a good job for a fair price. It includes plumbers, builders, roofers, decorators, joiners, electricians, gardeners, retailers and many more.
Businesses can use the trusted trader website to find out more about the benefits of being a Derbyshire trusted trader and learn how to sign up. Visit the Trusted Trader website.
Chesterfield Accelerator is a business support project designed to help businesses at all stages of development across the area to sustain, grow and innovate, with an additional focus on decarbonisation.
Through the project businesses can access one-to-one business advice, training workshops, support with funding applications and energy saving audits.
The Chesterfield Accelerator is delivered by East Midlands Chamber with funding through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.
Find out more about the Chesterfield Accelerator on the D2N2 Growth Hub.
The Chesterfield Accelerator will also host training events both online and in-person. Find out more about these on the D2N2 Growth Hub events page.
Find sites and premises for your business
We have a wide range of business premises available to rent, including office space, retail and industrial units.
Stalls are also available on our open air market and Market Hall.
We offer a free, efficient service to help you find the right premises for your business.
See our business premises to rent or buy page to help with searching for your ideal commercial property. You can do your own property search using our free and easy to use online business property search.
Improve energy efficiency in your business
As part of Chesterfield Borough Council’s commitment to both the environment and business we support programmes to help your business become more energy efficient. This can help reduce overhead costs as well as reducing your carbon output.
Energy audits and grants are available until March 2025. Sign up through the Accelerator Project or by emailing: economic.development@chesterfield.gov.uk
An adaptable workforce equipped with the right skills is critical to future sustainable growth.
Whether your business is expanding or diversifying, it is likely that the development of your workforce will be forefront in your mind.
We can offer dedicated guidance and support in this area including apprenticeships, recruitment, skills development and redundancy support, and where appropriate, signpost you to relevant specialist advice and funding to support this activity.
Please see the jobs, skills, training and apprenticeship pages for more information.
Are you growing your organisation and looking for marketing or business support?
Would you like to build relationships with like-minded organisations and keep up to date with local news and developments?
If so, the Chesterfield Champions scheme may be suitable for you. Visit Chesterfield Champions | Destination Chesterfield for more information.