TGt Meets... Tara Gillam

Business West's Head of Enterprise, Tara Gillam, spoke to us about her job role, professional goals and what she thinks about the City of Bristol and more! Find out what she had to say below...

Describe your job role.

I manage the Enterprise Services Team at Business West which covers all our projects and services which help businesses to start, grow and scale-up. There is a team of 8 staff who support businesses across the whole of the South West in not only business advice, but in accessing funding and also specific support like marketing and PR. Over the past 5 years we have helped over 850 business to start trading and created an additional 590 jobs in these businesses. Alongside this we have supported 470 businesses to access over £4.1M in Start-up Loans.

What do you think attracts business people to Bristol?

Bristol is a vibrant city, which is aided by so many Universities in the West of England (UWE, Bristol, Bath Spa and Bath).

What are your professional goals?

To help businesses to start and grow alongside supporting their local economy and community by creating employment opportunities. I would love to see more sole trader businesses grow by creating job opportunities.

What’s been your biggest achievement to date?

I’ve been really lucky over the past few years and have a few, but one of the most recent is to win a contract worth £4M, which brings together a consortium of 6 partners including the four local authorities in the West of England.

How do you spend your free time in Bristol?

Bristol has so many events happen over the summer months and alongside them I like to travel and go to concerts and theatre.

Where is your favourite place to eat in Bristol?

I do like the harbourside and city centre, favourite restaurants are Turtle Bay, Casamia and Pi Shop.

What is one characteristic that you believe every leader should possess?

Enthusiasm for what they do and focus to achieve targets (break them down into monthly/quarterly chunks) and be flexible to adapt to changes in the market/economy.

What is the biggest challenge facing leaders today?

Obviously Brexit, as there are so many unknown outcomes at the moment.

What advice would you give someone going into a leadership position for the first time?

Listen to your team and be happy to adapt from your original plan.

Describe Bristol in 3 words

Vibrant, Diverse and Innovative.