Business owners who received support from experts at the Gloucestershire Business School at University of Gloucestershire to access the benefits of a Government-backed scheme, are feeling optimistic about their future growth prospects.
Aimed at small and medium businesses, the Help to Grow: Management course is run by Business Schools accredited by the Small Business Charter, and is 90% funded by the UK Government.
Over the past three months, 15 business owners and leaders who signed up to the 12-week programme at the Gloucestershire Business School have been supported to discuss and implement strategies for growth and innovation.
Dr Emily Beaumont, Associate Professor of Enterprise and Entrepreneurship at the Gloucestershire Business School, said: “I’m delighted at the feedback we’ve had from the business leaders who have joined our Help to Grow: Management programme, and confident that their experiences over the past 12 weeks will have an immediate and positive impact on their businesses and the local economy.
“With 90% of the course costs being funded by UK Government, small and medium size businesses have been able to benefit from knowledge and resources that might previously have been too difficult to access.”
The practically focused course features a blend of online sessions, face-to-face workshops, direct support from a specialist business mentor and peer-to-peer networking, all designed to help leaders grow their businesses.
Emily Phillips, Head of Marketing at Smart Home Sounds of Cheltenham, said: “The Help to Grow: Management programme has been a fantastic resource for me and far exceeded my expectations.
“The course materials, mentor sessions, peer groups and weekly sessions have helped me grow in confidence as a leader within my own business and created the space and opportunity to explore new areas for growth.
“Dedicating the time to this course has ensured I continue to work on the business as a whole and given me the chance to engage with some fantastic individuals from a wide variety of businesses.
“It’s been great to get a different perspective and network with other local businesses going through their own growth journey.
“A special thank you to the course leaders who have offered fantastic support and really helped me to engage and start implementing new strategies right from week one.”
Andy Higdon, Business Development Director at Atlantic Coast Studios of Tewkesbury added: “All in all, I found the Help to Grow: Management scheme extremely helpful. Taking part in the scheme has got me, and consequently the team at Atlantic Coast Studios, thinking about our longer-term strategy, which we have already started planning for and implementing.
“In particular, I found the business mentor support extremely valuable, as it challenged me to look at the wider objectives for my business beyond a purely financial lens.
“Additionally, the peer support sessions were very good; it was encouraging to hear that the pain points we experience in our business are not unique, and I found working with peers who have experienced the same pains to identify resolutions extremely beneficial.”
Booking is now open for the Help to Grow: Management programme at the Gloucestershire Business School that starts on 13 September 2022 (closing date 19 August).
Eligibility: Only small and medium businesses can apply (5 – 249 people), Business must have been operational for a least a year, and they cannot be a charity.
