BEST (Bristol East Side Traders) is a not-for-profit company that aims to develop a thriving local economy in Bristol's inner city that benefits residents - as entrepreneurs, employees and customers.

It was formed in 1999 by a group of local entrepreneurs who came together and decided to work together to overcome the obstacles to successful business operations in the inner city.

Over the last eight years BEST has grown and developed according to the needs of the local business community: We now offer a range of services to new and existing businesses in Ashley, Easton and Lawrence Hill (for more information about all the free help available to you see What We Do )

We also work with the local community to tackle the physical and environmental barriers to business growth. For more information click on Stapleton Road and Redfield Traders to see examples of how we do this.

You can find out more about how BEST works in About Us. You can also download our 2007 Annual Report

Case Study - Sienna's Sugarcraft Emporium

Before she started her cake shop, Carmen was working as a counsellor and mental-health worker. She had been making cakes for family and friends for years, and decided to turn her talent into a business. She now makes and decorates cakes and runs a shop on Stapleton Road with her husband Neville selling cake-related goods.

"BEST have been really supportive. They have come up with different ways of helping us - Neville attended the Skills for Your Shop course, for example, which gave us some good ideas about how to arrange the shop... the aftercare from that is still going on"