If you’re running your own business, you know the challenges and you know the opportunities too. You know that it pays to learn from experts and to get advice and support as early as you can. The gaps in your knowledge could be about anything from business planning to raising finance, marketing to IT.

That’s what CBASS is all about – straightforward guidance, templates and online resources combined with access to expert consultants across a range of day-to-day business needs and services. We aim to be with you at every stage of your business. You might be a start-up or a successful organisation that wants to keep growing.

Business owners can’t have all the knowledge and all the skills from the outset. CBASS aims to offer the combination of business advisory solutions that you need with clear resources online as well as access to expert business advice. We understand that having a business adviser on call can make all the difference.

We also work hard to put you in touch with other business owners who share your values. That might be through our networks, peer-to-peer support or networking. Some will be at a similar stage and sharing your business challenges; others will have tackled the same issues already and be in a place to mentor you through it.

To use our fish analogy, it’s hard to be a small fish in a big ocean but much easier (and safer) to be part of a bigger shoal.

The sea bass name and fishing analogies link to our background and expertise - matching a typical business story from start-up to successful SME, from small fry to big fish, from lonely swimmer to part of the shoal.