Hello and welcome to ISSBA’s November newsletter. It has certainly been a busy month and we have lots to share with you!
Thank you to everyone that attended our October networking event and huge thanks to BME Suffolk for sponsoring and hosting us. It was fantastic to find out about all of the support they offer the community. You can find out more at https://www.bmesuffolk.org/.
We are excited about Anglia Business Spotlight which takes place at Suffolk New College on 27th November and we have a fantastic mix of organisations on our interview panel this year. We are delighted that Georgy Jamieson will be conducting the interviews again this year so it is sure to be an entertaining evening. Join us for what promises to be a fantastic event.
On Tuesday 10th December, we’d like to invite you to join us at The Dove Street Inn, Ipswich for pre-Christmas drinks. We will be there from 7pm and there is no charge to join us. Drinks and food will be available to purchase as you wish. Book your place here.
Remember to secure your spot at Anglia Business Exhibition 2025 as they are getting booked up quickly! Stands start from just £225 + VAT for a 2m x 1m space and we also have some amazing sponsorship opportunities available to suit all budgets. The earlier you sign up, the more time there is to maximise the opportunity so, get in touch on contact@angliabusinessexhibition.com to find out more. Read our ABE update here.
Our November Member of the Month is 101 Websites, Apps & Email Marketing who are celebrating their 25th anniversary this year – a fantastic achievement! Read about their journey and how they are looking forward to helping even more people in the future.
One of the big stories recently has been the first Labour budget for 14 years. ISSBA Treasurer, Jamie Steel, explains how the budget will affect businesses.
ISSBA member, Suffolk Libraries, is partnering with our charity of the year, Suffolk Mind, to deliver some free online courses to help employers and employees deal with the menopause. Find out more here.
We have another ISSBA member celebrating an anniversary too! Fleximize are celebrating 10 years of SME lending solutions. Find out about their celebrations here.
Would you be interested in joining the ISSBA committee? If so, let us know on mail@issba.co.uk. We are a friendly bunch and usually meet once per month (via Zoom currently). As well as having a say in how the organisation is run, this is a fantastic opportunity to build your profile in the local area. Get in touch if you’d like to know more.
Don’t forget our Recommend a Friend scheme, it is great to see ISSBA members benefiting from this. Any current ISSBA member will get one month's free membership for each new member they recommend, plus the new member also gets one free month, so Win-Win! There are no limits to how many referrals each ISSBA member can make as long as you have a current, paid up membership, so if you bring in 12 new members, you'll get a whole year for free!
GoCardless is making the renewal process much easier for many of our members. If you haven’t signed up yet, either let us know on mail@issba.co.uk or keep an eye on your inbox for an authorisation request. GoCardless is a direct debit system fully protected by the Direct Debit Guarantee and means that you never need to worry about forgetting to renew again. By signing up to this you will help your committee save valuable time in chasing renewals, so please, if you aren’t already signed up, please do!
Graham Barton, ISSBA Chair