SWINDON is a great location for businesses with many citing transport links and connectivity as one of the main reasons for being here. Our ability to do business regionally, nationally and internationally is one of the cornerstones of Swindon’s strong economy and will be crucial for its future growth.

Looking outwards and positioning Swindon as a great place to do business, invest, live and work in is the reason the Switch on to Swindon campaign was originally conceived. We have to compete for investment. We have to compete for the best talent in all sectors. We have to compete to attract the best businesses and enable existing companies to grow.

The revelation for me over the last three months is that while there is work to be done to switch the world on to Swindon there is also, in the first instance, some work to do to switch Swindon on to itself.

We have over 7,000 businesses in Swindon of all shapes and sizes. Some of the strongest clusters in pharmaceutical, manufacturing and financial services sit alongside a dynamic small to medium size sector that is one of the most creative in the country.

Feedback from the launch event in January and the first Ambassadors event last month has told us that people really value learning more about businesses in Swindon, seeing new faces and making connections with potential clients, suppliers and partners.

This feedback has been reinforced as the Switch on to Swindon team are out and about meeting businesses to sign them up as ambassadors.

One of the themes emerging in those conversations is the need to get better at doing business with each other and understanding local markets.

One of the things we ask of our ambassadors is to commit to being informed about Swindon so that you are able to promote it with confidence. I believe that part of this commitment is learning about and exploring the Swindon market and, wherever possible, looking local first for your goods and services.

The Place Board and I are going to explore what we can do through Switch on to Swindon to make this easier, starting with our 350 ambassadors. Making people aware of Swindon’s hidden gems is one of the principles in the Switch on to Swindon brand guidelines. This was aimed at audiences outside of the borough boundaries. Let’s do all we can to make sure that, amongst ourselves, the plethora of business gems in Swindon aren’t hidden but in plain sight.

Landmarks I talked about in last week’s column, how important it is that Swindon commits to the proposal for the new Swindon Museum and Art Gallery.

I was pleased to see the swift appointment of a new Director, Rod Hebdon, to take over the reins of the project and I wish him every success.

The ambition to create a unique space for everyone to enjoy and using this as a landmark project to kick-start the crucial regeneration of part of the town centre has to be applauded.

We now have 350 businesses, organisations, and individuals signed up as Switch on to Swindon ambassadors. Go to switchontoswindon.com to find out how to sign up, make use of the resources available to ambassadors and get behind promoting Swindon.