News / By Fire Up / 23rd December 2025
As 2025 draws to a close, we’re celebrating a year of connection, collaboration, and growth.
It’s been a busy past few months here at Fire Up, with inspiring events and networking opportunities, and as we’ve been approaching Christmas, festive celebrations with our amazing community.
In this final bumper newsletter of the year, we reflect on recent highlights at Fire Up, celebrate Rochdale’s business successes at the Rochdale Business Awards, and focus on the important topic of Looking After Your Mental Health This Festive Season. We’ll also look ahead to 2026 with an overview of upcoming events to help you start the new year with fresh ideas and renewed energy.
Whether you’ve been with us all year or are new to Fire Up, thank you for being part of our community and helping make this year a success.
In This Issue:
- Blog: Looking After Your Mental Health This Festive Season
- News: Recent events recap | Celebrating Christmas Jumper Day
- Upcoming events: Whats coming up at Fire Up and Rochdale
- Business Support: How Fire Up can support your business
Looking After Your Mental Health This Festive Season
The Christmas period is often seen as a time to relax and celebrate, but it can also bring stress, loneliness, and pressure, especially for freelancers and the self-employed.
Our latest blog explores why this time of year can feel challenging and shares practical tips from Mind and Mental Health UK to help you manage stress, set boundaries, and prioritise your wellbeing.
Recent Events at Fire Up
Over the past few months, we hosted events and workshops with EnterprisingYou, GM Business Growth Hub, and Pro-Manchester, delivering practical insights for freelancers, start-ups, and business leaders.
We began with Women in Business – The Inner Edge, where EnterprisingYou advisors Clare Braithwaite and Jane Jones, joined by guest speaker Lou Booth, explored how kindness and compassion can transform leadership and build resilience.
Freelance Friday equipped freelancers and small business owners for upcoming tax changes, with Craig Butterworth Accounting sharing practical tips on IR35, National Insurance, and Making Tax Digital.
The latest Spark to Scale cohort supported ambitious founders from Rochdale, Oldham and Tameside. More cohorts are coming in 2026! Next up: Wigan, Bolton & Bury starting Thursday, 8 January, followed by Trafford & Stockport and Manchester & Salford.
For aspiring entrepreneurs, Price, Cost & Value – Building a Profitable Business offered hands-on strategies for sustainable pricing and profitability.
Finally, Pro-Manchester’s Marketing Success in 2026 breakfast panel delivered forward-looking insights on brand clarity, AI, and actionable marketing strategies to shape plans for the year ahead.
Celebrating Christmas Jumper Day in Style
Fire Up was full of festive spirit for Christmas Jumper Day! Our community swapped business attire for colourful knitwear, enjoyed cakes, and took part in a charity raffle, all while raising funds for two fantastic charities: Save the Children UK and Bleakholt Animal Sanctuary.
Thank you to everyone who joined, donated, and made the day special. Your support brought festive cheer to Fire Up and made a real impact.
Spreading Christmas Cheer at Fire Up
Action Together, one of our amazing residents, used our event space to distribute 100 food hampers kindly donated by PossAbilities Heywood. These hampers will support 30 Voluntary, Community, Faith, and Social Enterprise groups, helping those most in need this Christmas.
Rochdale Business Awards
The Rochdale Business Awards returned to the historic Rochdale Town Hall to celebrate the very best of Rochdale’s business community. The evening showcased outstanding local businesses and their achievements across a range of categories.
GM Business Growth Hub sponsored the Sustainable Environment Business of the Year award, which was won by Envair Technology. A huge congratulations to them and to all the nominees and winners who made the night such a success. It was inspiring to see local talent recognised.
Looking Ahead to 2026
Women in Business: Sales Made Easy | 13 January | 9:30am – 12:00pm | Fire Up
Hosted by EnterprisingYou advisers Jane Jones & Clare Braithwaite, with expert insight from Helen Roberts & Vikki Bradbury, this session will show that selling your product or service doesn’t need to feel awkward, uncomfortable or complicated, and will include time for relaxed networking over coffee.
GM BGH Business Clinic: Drop In Session Rochdale | 19 January 2026 | 9:00am - 4:00pm | Fire Up
Fire up your 2026 with clarity, confidence and Fully Funded training, brought to you by GM Business Growth hub.
The GM Business Growth Hub bring their Skills Development Service directly to Fire Up Rochdale for a relaxed New Year drop-in session, where Business Advisors and Specialists will provide personalised guidance to help you build skills for business success.
From Window Shopping to Loyal Customer | 21 January | 9:30am - 1:30pm | The Royal Toby Hotel
This practical workshop helps retail business owners understand and optimise the in-store customer journey, identify the key touchpoints that influence buying behaviour, and master it to turn browsers into loyal buyers.
From High Street to Home Page | 27 January | 9:30am - 1:30pm | The Royal Toby Hotel
A practical guide for retailers ready to build or strengthen their online sales channel. Whether you’re launching online for the first time or improving an existing setup, this session provides actionable guidance tailored to small retail businesses.
Start up Focus: Funding Your Future – Unlocking Finance Before You Launch | 5 January | 10:00am - 4:00pm | Rochdale AFC
Funding a new business can feel overwhelming, especially when it’s unclear what lenders and grant providers are looking for. This in-person, interactive, jargon-free workshop will demystify the process and give you the insider knowledge you need to succeed.
Festival of Enterprise 2026 | 20 March 2026 | Campfield, Manchester
There is nowhere better to start, grow or scale your business than Greater Manchester!
Hosted by GM Business Growth Hub and powered by the EnterprisingYou team, this one-day event brings together the region’s entrepreneurs, self-employed professionals, and small business owners for a day of inspiration, connection, and practical learning.
Rochdale Together - Business and Enterprise Festival is coming to Rochdale AFC on 20 February. Keep an eye on our socials to find out as soon as the event goes live.
If you’re ready for a change of scene, looking for somewhere more collaborative or planning to grow out of your current location in 2026, our coworking and office spaces are available.
Ideal if your business is between locations, relocating, or needs a private office temporarily. We’ve got you covered.
Ready to move in or have questions? Contact us at info@fireuprochdale.co.uk or call 01706 614848 to discuss workspace options.
Explore your options and discover the workspace that best suits your needs.
Empowering Business Growth in Rochdale - EnterprisingYou & GM Business Growth Hub
Whether you're just starting or looking to grow, EnterprisingYou and GM Business Growth Hub offer tailored guidance.
We have Rochdale-based advisors ready to support business owners with one-on-one advice and to provide tailored resources to help businesses across Rochdale.
Fire Up provides everything you need to run a successful small business.
Christmas Opening Times
Fire Up closes at 1pm on Christmas Eve and will reopen on Monday, 5 January at 8am.
Share Your Fire Up Story
We’d love to hear how Fire Up has helped you and include in future newsletters and blogs. Share your story and inspire others.
Festive Wishes
Wishing you a wonderful festive season and a Happy New Year from all of us at Fire Up. Here’s to making 2026 a year for new opportunities, and remembering to look after ourselves along the way!
The Fire Up Co-Working Team