Are you thinking of starting a business or becoming self-employed? Do you have an Intellectual property question? Would you like to know what resources are available to help get your business idea off the ground or help grow your business?

Let us assist you in finding the answers to your business questions in our FREE 60 minute one-to-one sessions with our Business Information Specialist. These sessions give you the opportunity to ask questions, learn about our resources and find out about upcoming events.

Time not convenient? If the available slots don't suit you, we'll strive to arrange a more suitable day and time. Please email us at YmlwYyB8IGJyaXN0b2wgISBnb3YgISB1aw== with your preferred availability, and we'll do our utmost to accommodate you

During these 1-to1s, we can help you by providing:

Business

• guidance for those first key steps
• outline how to build a business plan
• show you how to use our specialist online business resources covering market research and funding support
• highlight and signpost you to further business support from BIPC and our partners that is available to you.

Intellectual property

• If you have a business idea and are not sure if there are any IP aspects you should be considering or if you have a query about copyright, trademarks, patents and registered designs, our BIPC staff can discuss with you the steps you can take to protect your IP. We can give you an overview of IP in the UK, provide you with information on how to apply for rights and help you with basic searches.

This session is delivered by our BIPC staff, we can offer free, confidential one-to-one sessions on a range of IP topics to support you with your business planning. We are not IP attorneys and therefore cannot give you legal advice.

Bristol and the surrounding area.

Please note that we are not able to give legal or specialist advice, but we will talk you through the sort of information you may find useful and help you get the most out of the Business & IP Centre library resources.

This appointment is with a member of our BIPC team. Your session will last for about 60 minutes. Sessions are available on multiple dates and multiple times.

We can offer one-to-one sessions by Zoom if you prefer, please book your time slot here on Eventbrite and email YmlwYyB8IGJyaXN0b2wgISBnb3YgISB1aw== to ask for your appointment to be held over Zoom.

In advance of the meeting we will send out a brief questionnaire so that you can tell us some background information on your business idea, to help us tailor the session and to confirm your business details or pre-start plans.

All of our support is fully funded and is therefore free to access.

It is a requirement of our funding body that we record every organised interaction with pre-start and start-up businesses at BIPC Bristol. Please therefore take a few moments to provide us with the relevant information needed so we may provide our service.

Helping you to start and grow your small business with free resources, 1:1 support, advice clinics & workshops

The Business & IP Centre Bristol supports people to start, protect and grow their businesses. We offer a range of free events, workshops and clinics at our main centre located in Bristol Central Library as well as Junction 3, Southmead and Knowle Libraries. You can also access our free market research and intellectual property databases at all BIPCs.

What is your refund policy?

Our events are free, but places are limited and events are usually oversubscribed. Please give two working days’ notice via email if you wish to cancel.

Can I attend if I'm not a member of the library?

Absolutely! Any Bristol based business or person with a business idea is welcome. Though we always recommend joining the library as it's free and will make accessing our databases, books and publications much easier.

How can I find out about any news & upcoming events?

Follow us on Eventbrite and you can also follow us on Twitter and Instagram for the latest news and events. For more information on BIPC Bristol check out our web pages: https://www.bristol.gov.uk/BIPC

After you have attended one of our events we ask that you complete a short feedback form. We will use the information you provide to improve the services we offer in line with our legitimate interests. This information is collected and transferred to us by our third-party processor, Impact Reporting using their Impact Assessment Tool. Impact Reporting will retain your data to save time when completing any future feedback forms we may send you. For more information about how they use personal information, please see their privacy policy online at https://impactreporting.co.uk/legal/privacy-policy/

For information about how the British Library will use your personal data, you can view our Privacy Policy at https://www.bl.uk/about-us/privacy-policy

For information about how Business & IP Centre Bristol will use your personal data, you can view our privacy policy at: https://www.bristol.gov.uk/about-our-website/privacy