DEVELOPING YOUR RURAL BUSINESS
When you need advice and support to respond to the challenges facing the rural economy, ARC stands ready to help. Our rural business development experts focus on improving the economic, social and environmental well-being of people working and living in rural areas. Their core experience is in the East of England, which is home to around 600,000 mainly small and medium-sized enterprises, but we work with organisations across the UK.
Whether promoting sustainable development or helping businesses to adjust to a post-Brexit world, our consultants have the experience you need to succeed. Their extensive knowledge of the rural business development landscape enables them to identify opportunities for rural enterprises across all sectors. Their experience includes helping retailers such as farm shops, tourism businesses and heritage destinations, and specialist food and drink producers.
HOW WE WORK
Our first step is to meet with you to identify your needs. We will use this information to develop proposals, including costs and timescales, and agree these with you. Our consultants will then work closely with you, either one-to-one or as part of a bespoke team of ARC specialists, to deliver each project.
ARC’s consultants work with both private and public sector organisations. They all have at least 20 years of experience in their specialist fields. They combine practical skills with up-to-date knowledge and insightful business management.
BESPOKE PROFESSIONAL ADVICE
Successful rural business development is complex. Start-ups and established enterprises face many challenges; our role is to help you overcome them. We offer a range of services to help you plan for a sustainable, successful future, including:
- Sourcing agricultural finance – including loans, grants and government subsidies
- Developing a robust business plan
- Strengthening profits and return on investment (ROI)
- Identifying opportunities for farm diversification
- Planning for farm succession
- Managing the environment
- Creating marketing strategies for farm, hospitality and tourism businesses
- New product development
- Innovation, such digitising farming data and smart specialisation
- Market research and marketing programmes
- Recruiting employees with farming skills
- Performance management training
- Food industry advice
