Welcome to the Empower Hub
Providing information and resources to help you and your business become more financially resilient.
Sections
Click below to jump to a section
Stories
Hear stories from other entrepreneurs
Start with Business Planning & Legal Setup
This section walks you through choosing the right structure (sole trader, limited company, CIC, etc.), writing a simple, funder-friendly business plan, and registering with HMRC and Companies House. It also links to trusted templates and explains core legal basics in plain English, so you launch on solid ground.
- Pick your structure
- Simple plan templates
- Key legal steps
Go to Funding & Finance
Here you’ll find live routes to grants, loans, equity, community lenders and ethical options, including Islamic finance-compatible products. It explains when each type of finance fits, what to avoid, and where to search using official tools and local programmes.
Head to Financial
Literacy
This section helps you build a clear cash-flow, separate business and personal money, price properly, and understand tax basics. It includes free calculators, templates.
Check Business Planning & Legal Setup
You’ll find straightforward guidance on registration, VAT, Companies House deadlines, licences, insurance, health & safety, data protection and more—plus links straight to GOV.UK and ICO so you can tick things off with confidence.
Visit Navigating Support Services
This is your route into Business Growth West Midlands, local council programmes, community and ethnic minority business networks, accelerators. Ideal if you want someone to talk things through with, not just read.
Explore Family, Wealth & Succession
Here you’ll find simple guidance on separating family and business money, employing relatives fairly, documenting family lending, and planning wills, LPAs and succession so your business and values are protected for the next generation.
Check the Glossary
Key terms like grants, CDFIs, ROSCAs, murabaha, ijara, profit-share and more are explained in clear, practical language.
