Tackley Business Group

 The group was originally set up by Paul Ryan and Robert Scott in response to the perceived needs of Tackley business people. In a news article in July 2006 “Village People Unite” the Tackley Business Group is described as “a shining example of how self-help can lead to better business”.

From conversations with friends in the village it became clear that there was valuable knowledge and experience embedded in people working in the village which they did not know existed.

Paul says that the group enables people in business to get relevant help, to build confidence in their decisions and to take more risks because they are mentored by the group.

With a colleague, he decided to get together an initial meeting. The first meeting was in 2003.  They brainstormed what they wanted from a group and decided to share profiles of 100 words. There were around 15 members which rapidly grew to 37. Initially, they decided to meet bi-monthly. They met at the offices of a couple of local members.

At each meeting they would spend most of the session focusing on one key issue/ common problem. Simplicity was the key.  We used a flipchart with titles such as  “The problems of ….”  

A six month programme of issues evolved and then another six month programme evolved after that.

They felt they needed to provide more detail about the businesses so they developed a website (cost £10 to promote your business). This served the purpose of advertising the business and its products or services, of giving information on the Tackley Business Group, an online newsletter and a list of recommended suppliers referred by the members.

Paul told me that by 2007, after a four years running the group once a month it became time to change. Individuals had moved on in their companies and needed something different. Once they had exhausted the list of business topics they stopped having formal meetings and the group became a virtual group.  There was still a lot of knowledge passing around the group. Queries, information and request for advice could be answered by posting to the members. Someone who knew the answer would be able to answer online.

To contact the group info@tackley.biz