That’s right, your good friend Buckinghamshire Business First is 10 years old!

Where to begin?

The story of Buckinghamshire Business First’s formation has become legend: 10 local entrepreneurs and business leaders banded together to meet a shortfall and encourage business growth in Buckinghamshire, and this ‘doing-it-for-ourselves’ mentality has cultivated and supported a thriving business community that now stands at over 13,000 members. 

Our own team has grown in that time from a handful to more than 50 people, proudly supporting the whole of our beautiful county with advice, grants, networking and a whole lot more.

Reflections, achievements, impacts...

And now as we celebrate our 10th anniversary throughout 2021, we can reflect for a moment on what has been achieved so far.

You can measure impact in numbers, like the:

• more than £10 million in grants we have awarded to businesses
• 1.2 million tonnes of CO₂e we have helped save by funding sustainability projects
• 2,500 jobs created through our grant and project activity

And you can measure impact by:

• the fast response to a desperate email from a business owner
• the phone call answered two minutes before the end of the day
• the workshop where a finance officer learnt all about a game-changing reporting system
• the networking event where a PR firm showed a small business how they could elevate their profile

And you can measure it by the responses we get from businesses that we have supported:

However you like your impact, Buckinghamshire Business First delivers it.

Whether you have attended or hosted an event with us, received a grant or great advice, learnt something from our newsletter, or interacted with us on social media, we hope that you value the support we give you and that you got value out of it. Share your success stories with us and the world using #BBF10YEARS on social media.

Here's a great collection of stories of support we've provided to the Buckinghamshire business community.

And here's a list of the accreditations we are proud to have received over the years, showing our commitment to, among other things, paying the living wage, cyber security, prompt payment of suppliers, supporting the armed forces and local charities, and creating an inclusive workplace.

The past, present and future...

At the 10-year mark, we're just getting started. Our anniversary is not a one-day event, it’s a year-long celebration that:

• takes a trip down memory lane to show who we’ve supported and how
• gives us focus as we remain in the present, supporting and promoting our brilliant members every day
• looks into the bright future as we support businesses through the next stage of recovery and growth, post-pandemic

So keep an eye out via our social media channels (see all of our handles here), website, newsletters and emails over the course of our 10th birthday year as we let you know all about the new ways we can support your business.

Our climate commitment

Speaking of the future, there's nothing bigger than the future of the planet. The Buckinghamshire Business First Group has officially made an SME Climate Commitment, recognised by the United Nations Race to Zero campaign, to help reduce climate change by halving our greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050. Read all about our Climate Commitment here >

Here’s to you…

We set our template from the beginning to be business-led and business-focused, helping new, established and growing businesses across Buckinghamshire.

And that’s the template for our next 10 years. Here’s to them, here’s to us, and here’s to you.

Need support or advice?

It’s all in the name: we put Buckinghamshire’s businesses first.

Get in touch on 01494 927130 or at info@bbf.uk.com to find support for your business.

Kicking off our birthday celebration

See what happened as we got the ball rolling on our 10-year anniversary celebration by bringing lots of members and partners together at a Business Leaders’ Dinner event.

Highlights from the night:

• Our members and partners had a lot of wonderful things to say about Buckinghamshire Business First. We’re normally quite bashful, but not this time, so check out the montage of great comments here!
• We shared the impact that we have had as a top performing Growth Hub serving businesses in Buckinghamshire with knowledge, support and opportunities. Check out this animation for an overview.
• A who’s who of Buckinghamshire Business First’s past, present and future shared their highlights of the last 10 years.

This is the kind of thing you miss if you don’t attend a Business Leaders’ Dinner. Luckily, we have another of these events on January 20th 2022.