Yesterday evening I joined in with a workshop held by the Rugby branch of Coventry & Warwickshire's Chamber of Commerce concerning the needs of business to succeed in Rugby. The execrcise involved an updating of a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis carried out a couple of years ago and I was able to contribute not only as a potential MP for the town, but also as a local business owner. I was keen to stress the opportunities afforded by Rugby's location in the centre of England, 90 miles or one hour by rail from london with exellent road links at the heart of the UK's motorway system. That's certainly been the basis of the sucesss of my business as we distribute products across the Midlands. Many other factors were discussed including the new shopping development and relief road both currently under construction; proposed new housing, commercial & industrial developments; the new college site; and the opportunities provided by being the home of the game. In response to the weaknesses and threats identified such as a percieved poor image of the late night economy and over reliance on the warehousing and distribution sector, it took a visitor to put these in prespective and tell us that as an outsider he was unaware of such issues. Sometimes the view from outside can be better and the broad conclusion of the evening was that from a business perspective, Rugby is certainly a good place to be.
Wednesday, 16 January 2008
Rugby's Future Prosperity
Yesterday evening I joined in with a workshop held by the Rugby branch of Coventry & Warwickshire's Chamber of Commerce concerning the needs of business to succeed in Rugby. The execrcise involved an updating of a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis carried out a couple of years ago and I was able to contribute not only as a potential MP for the town, but also as a local business owner. I was keen to stress the opportunities afforded by Rugby's location in the centre of England, 90 miles or one hour by rail from london with exellent road links at the heart of the UK's motorway system. That's certainly been the basis of the sucesss of my business as we distribute products across the Midlands. Many other factors were discussed including the new shopping development and relief road both currently under construction; proposed new housing, commercial & industrial developments; the new college site; and the opportunities provided by being the home of the game. In response to the weaknesses and threats identified such as a percieved poor image of the late night economy and over reliance on the warehousing and distribution sector, it took a visitor to put these in prespective and tell us that as an outsider he was unaware of such issues. Sometimes the view from outside can be better and the broad conclusion of the evening was that from a business perspective, Rugby is certainly a good place to be.
