Simon Cox - Supporting Business Growth

Simon Cox - Supporting Business Growth Head of Policy at Northamptonshire Chamber of Commerce and MK Chamber of Commerce. Without business, we don't have an economy.

Co-Director of NNBN, a Membership Organisation for Businesses, Charities and Organisations across Northamptonshire which supports business growth in Northamptonshire. Founder of the Kettering Business Network and Kettering Awards, Founding Member of the Kettering Town Centre Partnership, Business Mentor for young people. I am also a Trustee of Kettering Community Unit charity, member of the Bedfor

d College Services Board and The Business Exchange in Kettering Board. I was awarded the Gold Award in 2018 for services to Young Enterprise and in 2021 named as an Volunteer Champion for Northamptonshire by the Federation of Small Businesses. In October 2021, I was thanked at the Kettering Business Awards by the Mayor of Kettering for services to small businesses. In February 2022, my wife and I launched NNBN - helping to drive our Northamptonshire community forward together. In October 2022, both Marie and I were presented with a “Highly Commendable” award in the Awards for our work in helping to bring people together for a common purpose. I am a member of the National Member Council for the Organisation of Responsible Businesses, member of the Northamptonshire Anchor Network, member of the Local Skills Improvement Plan Executive Group and was recognised by the FSB at the 2021, 2022 and 2023 national Volunteer Conference for support of small businesses locally in Northamptonshire. I’ve held meetings with Government officials twice in Downing Street representing our business community and hosted an event for Northamptonshire businesses in 2023 with the Business Minister Kevin Hollinrake which enabled businesses to engage with the Minister directly. Since the General Election, I have engaged with local MPs and will continue to do so. In October 2023, we launched the first NNBN Awards, an initiative to recognise businesses, charities and organisations through the Awards scheme which proved to be extremely successful,

In May 2024, I organised a visit to the Houses of Parliament to meet with MPs and our members from the county. I believe the voice of business is important and invite you to engage with our various initiatives going on to help drive our business community forward.

Looking back at 2025, its certainly been a busy one and one that has been full of ups and downs, however, rest assured, ...
08/12/2025

Looking back at 2025, its certainly been a busy one and one that has been full of ups and downs, however, rest assured, I will do what I can to continue supporting local businesses at a local, regional and national level so we can continue moving forwards.

Still lots to do so roll on 2026!

This morning I was on the BBC Look East Politics Show with Amelia Reynolds and fellow panelists Emily Darlington MP and ...
07/12/2025

This morning I was on the BBC Look East Politics Show with Amelia Reynolds and fellow panelists Emily Darlington MP and Victoria Collins MP discussing Milton Keynes, AI and the growth in ten years time.

The Milton Keynes Chamber of Commerce plays an active role in the area and is there for local businesses and employers and it was a pleasure to represent the Chamber team and members on the BBC this morning.

Small Business Saturday UK is here and this week I joined Kelly Israel from Melody Woman Music in London for two very sp...
06/12/2025

Small Business Saturday UK is here and this week I joined Kelly Israel from Melody Woman Music in London for two very special events.

Firstly, we attended an inspirational event in Barclays HQ in Canary Wharf talking about disabled entrepreneurship and watch this space in 2026 for more on this here in the County. It was incredible to hear the challenges disabled entrepreneurs face and I'm looking forward to learning more in the New Year about what we can do here in the County to help more disabled entrepreneurs and how we can unlock some of the value reported at £255 billion to the UK economy.

Then we headed off to the House of Lords for a special reception for the top 100 small businesses in the UK and it was a pleasure to support Kelly with her special day and accompany her as her guest.

Kelly is open about the challenges she faces as a disabled entrepreneur so it was a pleasure to support her in London.

She is an incredible musician and well worth a follow which you can do by visiting her page - Melody Woman Music.

Thank you for the invite Kelly. Now lets make magic happen in 2026!

Thank you to everyone who has supported the Small Business Saturday UK campaign here in Northamptonshire this year.It's ...
05/12/2025

Thank you to everyone who has supported the Small Business Saturday UK campaign here in Northamptonshire this year.

It's vital that small businesses are supported. So much energy, sweat, blood and often tears are ploughed into our communities every day and it's not just about one day, but collectively we can remind the world of our small business community.

5.45 million are driving our economy forward in the UK and at this time, they need YOUR SUPPORT!

My mission for 2026 is to only buy from a small business where I can. NNBN - The Northamptonshire Business Network is proud to be supporting local businesses, not only with our members and supporting campaigns, but also we are on target to be increasing our spending locally with 82.85% of our expenditure ploughed back into the County this year - an increase of 0.83% on 2024.

Well done to everyone who has supported the campaign this year including our MPs, councils and business owners themselves.

Let's be small, let's be world class!

When looking for a small business to support this Small Business Saturday UK and beyond, find something that's different...
05/12/2025

When looking for a small business to support this Small Business Saturday UK and beyond, find something that's different, unique and fun!

Today I dropped into the cafe at Whilton Marina Ltd on the Grand Union Canal near Daventry for a hot brew as I had been meeting down the road earlier this morning.

If you aren't familiar with Whilton Marina, it's worth a visit whatever the weather. Even on an early winter morning, it was picturesque and different from the normal meeting places and supports a small business in Northamptonshire.

If you haven't been then visit: https://www.whiltonmarina.co.uk/ to find out more!

What a day! My feet ache, my head hurts, I'm tired but today was well worth it!Setting off at 6.00 am this morning to he...
02/12/2025

What a day! My feet ache, my head hurts, I'm tired but today was well worth it!

Setting off at 6.00 am this morning to head to Canary Wharf to Barclays UK HQ to support NNBN Awards Micro Business of the Year winner Kelly Israel from Melody Woman Music to hear about the challenges disabled entrepreneurs face and what support (and lack of support) there is for them.

For anyone that knows me, I will always do what I can for people with disabilities in our Northamptonshire business community and we're delighted that NNBN - The Northamptonshire Business Network is registered as Disability Confident and therefore supporting local people.

It was lovely to hear positive news from disabled entrepreneurs including Leicester based Simon Sansome, founder of Snowball Community Ltd, (which is basically TripAdvisor for disabled people) and how he grew his online community to over 150,000 followers and even appeared on Dragons Den - well done Simon. What a great idea.

It was also great to see Northamptonshire's Richard Liverman, Strategy, branding, Sales Mentor from Richer Solutions on the Q&A panel as he's been supporting The Lilac Review (an independent review, tackling the inequality faced by Disabled founders and aiming to level-up entrepreneurial opportunity across the UK) and you can find out more by visiting https://lilacreview.com/

After that it was a quick tube ride across London to Westminster to attend the Small Business Saturday UK celebration of the top 100 small businesses in the UK for 2025 with FOUR selected from Northamptonshire.

Many congratulations to Kelly Israel, fellow NNBN Awards winner Jo Ferreday from Sheer Edge Corporate Events Experts, Richard Liverman, Strategy, branding, Sales Mentor and Northamptonshire Chamber of Commerce member Stuart Thomas from Medi8 Therapy for being selected this year and thank you to three of our County MPs, Rosie Wrighting for Kettering, Lee Barron - Proud Member of Parliament for Corby & East Northants - and Sarah Bool for meeting us in the celebration.

A massive well done to the Small Business Britain team once again led by the inspirational Michelle Ovens CBE and it was great to see the well travelled Mat Slosiar, Gemma Johnson, Michelle Collins, Joseph Madden and the team once again - keep up the good work all!

I managed to have a few minutes with Small Business Minister Blair McDougall and it was also great to hear from Andrew Griffith (Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Trade) as both men spoke about the importance of small businesses to the UK economy.

Today has inspired me further and there will be more to come so watch this space!

Today I’m off to London to Barclays HQ to hear updates about The LILAC Centre - centre for disabled entrepreneurship. We...
02/12/2025

Today I’m off to London to Barclays HQ to hear updates about The LILAC Centre - centre for disabled entrepreneurship. We don’t hear anything about this in Northamptonshire so what better than to jump on an early train and head to Canary Wharf.

After that I’m off to support our Small Business Saturday UK Small Business 100 winners for this year at a special reception at the House of Lords. They were selected as four of the top 100 small businesses in the UK this year.

Many congratulations to Richard Liverman, Strategy, branding, Sales Mentor from
Corby, Northamptonshire Chamber of Commerce member Stuart Thomas from Medi8 Therapy based in Daventry, NNBN Awards winner Jo Ferreday from Sheer Edge Corporate Events Experts based in Desborough and fellow NNBN Awards winner Kelly Israel from Melody Woman Music based in Towcester on being selected in the top 100 this year.

It’s great that I can support NNBN - The Northamptonshire Business Network and Northamptonshire Chamber of Commerce members today on their special day.

EXCITING NEWS!TEDxNorthampton is coming to Northamptonshire next March and YOU COULD BE INVOLVED!The theme is UNFOLDING ...
29/11/2025

EXCITING NEWS!

TEDxNorthampton is coming to Northamptonshire next March and YOU COULD BE INVOLVED!

The theme is UNFOLDING FUTURES and this is certainly going to be an exciting place to be.

The future does not arrive all at once. It unfolds moment by moment, shaped by ideas, choices, and actions that ripple far beyond their origin. Northamptonshire has always been a place of reinvention, carrying its heritage forward while embracing change. From craft and industry to innovation and community, it shows us how progress is written step by step.

Unfolding Futures invites us to explore the turning points of today that shape the possibilities of tomorrow.

At TEDxNorthampton the event will bring together voices from science, technology, the arts, entrepreneurship, and social change to ask: What futures are unfolding right now and how can we shape them for the better?

It was a pleasure to welcome Heather Whalley and Nick Allen to our NNBN - The Northamptonshire Business Network meeting on Thursday night at iCon Innovation Centre in Daventry where we heard all about the event taking place next year.

Get following TEDxNorthampton on social media, visit https://tedxnorthampton.com and maybe even apply to become a speaker!

Tonight's the night!Open4Business on NLive Radio kicks off at 7.00 pm tonight with another action packed show!Richard Li...
25/11/2025

Tonight's the night!

Open4Business on NLive Radio kicks off at 7.00 pm tonight with another action packed show!

Richard Liverman, Strategy, branding, Sales Mentor joins me just after 7.00 pm to talk about Small Business Saturday UK and more

Stuart Thomas from Medi8 Therapy joins me in the studio to talk about his business journey, Small Business Saturday UK and his amazing presentation at the recent BIPC Northamptonshire Start Up Day and success at the Northamptonshire Business Awards

Jonathan Hill from Freelance Credit Control to talk about collecting your cash ahead of Christmas and his thoughts on tomorrow's budget

Blandine Davies from Total Body Confidence joins me in a pre-recorded interview talking about her event taking place next Thursday at the Mercure Hotel Northampton - Free to attend and starts at 4.00 pm BTW!

Finally, award winner from this year's NNBN Awards Kelly Israel from Melody Woman Music joins me to also talk about Small Business Saturday, an exciting trip to Number 11 next week and her Business Beats event taking place this week.

Plus news of how you could become a TEDx speaker and a reminder that the Quarterly Economic Survey is open for entry!

It's certainly action packed!

Tune in: https://nliveradio.com

This photograph has made my week this week.A big thank you to the team at the Hilton Northampton for supporting Adam Kap...
22/11/2025

This photograph has made my week this week.

A big thank you to the team at the Hilton Northampton for supporting Adam Kaplan from Pendragon Protect with the teddy collection he has been leading for AFC Rushden & Diamonds this Christmas.

At our recent NNBN - The Northamptonshire Business Network meeting at the Hilton Northampton, Adam spoke to local businesses, charities and organisations about his support for a "teddy toss" where soft toys will be tossed onto the pitch at half time to be donated to local children this year in Northamptonshire.

Tomorrow, I'll be heading off to watch the game but also see how the efforts of local people coming together have helped to make a difference this year.

Thank you to Dawn Knight Emma Coen Ross Cameron-Castle and Neil Davies for the support from the hotel this year and well done Adam!

The Small Business Saturday UK campaign is coming and I’m calling for everyone to get behind the campaign this year and ...
08/11/2025

The Small Business Saturday UK campaign is coming and I’m calling for everyone to get behind the campaign this year and support our small businesses.

Our businesses drive our local economies creating employment, cash, opportunities for young people starting out and creative innovative people and although Small Business Saturday is only one day a year, it’s a key day in the business calendar and a chance to build on achievements of previous years.

Here are just some of the reminders of those who supported the campaign previously.

I’ll be at the Start Up and Small Business expo in Corby this Thursday at the Voco Rockingham Forest Corby from 9 am with the sign, come and join me for a photograph to show your support!

I’ll also be at the BIPC Northamptonshire start up day next Monday at the Northampton Library, at various events and inviting people to get involved!

Come on Northamptonshire, let’s make this happen!

Details of the marketing pack are here: https://smallbusinesssaturdayuk.com/marketing-pack

Not long to go!I’m at the Start Uo + Small Business expo on Thursday at the Voco Rockingham Forest Corby this Thursday. ...
08/11/2025

Not long to go!

I’m at the Start Uo + Small Business expo on Thursday at the Voco Rockingham Forest Corby this Thursday.

Come and talk to me about how I can help you and your business.

I’ll be inviting businesses to engage in the Northamptonshire Chamber of Commerce quarterly economic survey, leading on the NNBN - The Northamptonshire Business Network session at 9 am and looking for guests for future radio shows for NLive Radio!

Doors open at 10 am but why not come along and engage in the networking event at 9 am for free and meet others who will also be there!

There are only 12 places left!

Book here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/networking-at-the-start-up-small-business-expo-with-nnbn-tickets-1829224813659?aff=oddtdtcreator

Address

C/o NNBN
Kettering
NN142LX

Telephone

+441536648383

Website

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