{"id":19481,"date":"2022-03-14T13:32:11","date_gmt":"2022-03-14T12:32:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesscenterbornholm.dk\/?p=19481"},"modified":"2023-10-19T10:05:43","modified_gmt":"2023-10-19T08:05:43","slug":"restart-street-level-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesscenterbornholm.dk\/en\/aktuelt\/genstart-erhverv-i-gadeplan\/","title":{"rendered":"High street business restart: 100 shops on Bornholm have gained new ideas and stronger skills."},"content":{"rendered":"

Bornholm's retail sector has welcomed the EU project \u201dRestart high street business\u201d. Around 100 shops are receiving help to update their businesses for the post-COVID-19 era \u2013 both physically and digitally.<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u00a0<\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n
\r\n

'A consultant came through the door and spoke a language I could understand. And he brought some tools with me that I can actually use.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

So says glassblower Pernille Bastrup, who owns the small glassblowing workshop Gudhjem Glasr\u00f8geri. She is one of around 100 business owners on Bornholm whose skills have been strengthened by the EU project \u201dRestart Business at Street Level\u201d (GEIG).<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

This is the first time that the dyslexic Pernille Bastrup has plucked up the courage to take part in a development project: \u201dI\u2019ve always just sat and blown my glass, which is what I\u2019m good at. Now I\u2019ve gained skills in social media and started making videos for customers. It has been an absolutely fantastic journey for me.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\r\n
\r\n

The goal is to strengthen companies' competencies within areas such as digitalisation, green transition and process optimisation.<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

At the end of 2020, GEIG was launched with 5 million DKK from the EU Social Fund and 1.4 million DKK from the decentralised business promotion funds to restart and strengthen local street-level businesses following COVID-19. Bornholm Regional Municipality also supplemented the initiative with approximately 1.6 million DKK.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

In GEIG, each participating company receives a hands-on and individually tailored action plan. The aim is to strengthen the companies' competencies within areas such as digitalisation, green transition and process optimisation, so that the number of jobs can be maintained in the post-COVID-19 era, which is characterised by new customer habits and changed market conditions.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Hand-held and individual offer<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The concept is a handheld and individually tailored skills-upgrading scheme for management and employees in shops, restaurants, and accommodation businesses. The project is inspired by a similar project in South Funen, which also includes networking activities and courses, but on Bornholm, the project has turned out a little differently.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Christa Lodahl, Head of Business at Business Center Bornholm, which runs GEIG:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u201dWe have learned a great deal from the first year and it has been confirmed that what brings value to the participants is a flexible framework for the project, allowing the initiatives to be tailored individually. The business owners want to acquire knowledge about e.g. Facebook via workshops. However, most of them only truly translate this new knowledge into action through their collaboration with the consultant, who guides them. The reason is that a great many high street businesses have so few employees that the management handles everything themselves and really has no one to bounce ideas off, e.g. regarding business development.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

She adds: \u201dAt the same time, we have also experienced that many people are very ready to learn new things and have a desire for development. Driven both by the experiences with COVID-19 and the general development within retail and the experience economy.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

GEIG's two consultants have spent the vast majority of their working hours holding meetings with the 100 business operators. So far, this has resulted in more than 400 meetings, and satisfaction is high, an external evaluation shows: No less than 85 per cent say that the ongoing sparring with a consultant has to a high degree or a decisive degree created great value.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

This applies, among others, to Ditte Marie Koudal, who single-handedly runs the business Klodek\u00e6r in R\u00f8nne, where she sells and promotes works by more than 20 local arts and crafts makers. She was visited by GEIG consultant Jakob Pindstrup von Cappeln:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u201dIt is fantastic to get so much sparring on the development of my business, and I am very pleased with the conversations with Jakob. He has pushed me forward in a good way.\u201d <\/em>She explains:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u201dNow I've had my webshop developed further, so I have both a strong physical and digital leg in the business. I've especially received great sparring on advertising on social media.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

At the women's clothing shop sNoir in R\u00f8nne, GEIG's second consultant, Cindie Dahl Hiort, has long been a regular guest. The owner, Susanne Kofoed S\u00f8rensen, who owns the shop with five employees alongside Anja Hjorth Pedersen, is pleased about this:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u201dWe have worked with platforms and strategies, and Cindie has been a huge help in figuring out where we are going. We do not have a definitive answer key, but have decided to develop our webshop and have also upgraded the physical store, among other things with a new point of sale system.<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\"\"\r\n
Anja Hjorth Pedersen (left) and Susanne S\u00f8rensen jointly own the women's fashion shop sNoir in R\u00f8nne. Photo: sNoir<\/em><\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The high level of interest in consultancy visits and sparring within retail meant that a few months ago GEIG took action and adjusted its offerings. Among other things, networking activities for which there was little demand have now been scaled back in favour of more consultancy visits. At the same time, the project's two consultants are being supplemented by external experts in relevant fields such as social media, sales and web optimisation.<\/p>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\r\n

Head of Business Christa Lodahl explains: \u201dWe must deliver what businesses demand, and we are experiencing that businesses have a great need for meetings with their advisor and one-on-one side-by-side training in the areas they need to implement in their businesses. Many business owners feel they have lacked the opportunity for sparring regarding everyday life, operations, development and challenges, because the vast majority are both managers and on the floor.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The GEIG project has placed great emphasis on ensuring that all businesses have a hands-on solution that suits the company, management and employees precisely. If, for example, the shop is busy, holding hour-long meetings during opening hours is no help, and meetings are therefore often held before or after opening hours.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u201dI got help to think it over\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

At Langskov Optik in R\u00f8nne, owner Lea Langskov is enthusiastic about the project's customer-friendliness: \u201dIt is truly embracing and offers great flexibility \u2013 you can pick what you need for the project. And we hold meetings when it fits into the business.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Lea Langskov has primarily used the consultant to handle a generational handover in the business: \u201dI got help to think things through, and now we've written down how it's going to proceed. In the beginning it felt a bit like a counselling session, but today it's a relief that we've talked about it.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

At her home in Gudhjem Glasr\u00f8geri, glassblower Pernille Bastrup today feels like an ambassador for GEIG: \u201dI talk a lot about it, and I recommend it to everyone who asks me. I\u2019ve had a fantastic 2020 and 2021, and I find it hard not to attribute that to my participation in GEIG. But on a personal level, it has made a huge difference \u2013 I\u2019ve learned to think things through and do something smart for my business.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\"\"\r\n
Glassblower Pernille Bastrup took part in a development project for the first time when the offer from \"Restart High Street Business\" came along. And she hasn't regretted it. Photo: Gudhjem Glassworks<\/em><\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

GEIG is continuing for the rest of 2022, and at Business Center Bornholm, Head of Business Development Christa Lodahl is pleased that the project will not end until the close of 2022:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\u201dWe can really sense that there is a strong desire to continue the mentoring with our consultants and participate in the activities. The participants in GEIG are not just involved for a few months \u2013 they want it as a permanent part of their development. After all, they are helping to create a vibrant island for both tourists and locals, and it is crucial that they are supported in their development for the benefit of our island. Therefore, we are now looking at what options we have to continue the project in a \u201dversion 2.0\u201d.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

FACTS About \u201dRestarting high street business \u2013 Responsible Island Bornholm\u201d (GEIG)<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

GEIG is to restart and strengthen local street-level businesses on Bornholm with new skills. In the short term, the project is to support businesses' business development following COVID-19 and under changed market conditions, and in the long term, GEIG is to support businesses' commercial development and job retention in the future market situation.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

GEIG began in June 2020 and will end at the end of December 2022. GEIG is supported with DKK 5 million from the EU Social Fund, DKK 1.4 million from the decentralised business promotion funds and DKK 1.6 million from the Municipality of Bornholm. The project is run by Business Hub Greater Copenhagen with Business Center Bornholm as the practical operator.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Read more about \"Restart high street business\" in the business promotion board's project database<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

FACTS About the EU Social Fund<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Between 2014 and 2020, the EU's Social Fund, Regional Fund and Danish partners are investing DKK 1 billion every year in activities that create growth and employment throughout the country.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The 2014-2020 Social Fund programme is targeted at entrepreneurship, education and social inclusion. We need more new businesses and a more skilled workforce. These are essential prerequisites for increased productivity, competitiveness and growth. Therefore, the EU Social Fund co-finances projects to:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n