For the first time, the UK government’s Help to Grow programme for small businesses will be offered in Tayside’s Fife and Angus.
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The well-established programme helps owners to develop a growth plan and lead tangible change within their businesses, especially as the country deals with high inflation and the cost-of-living crisis.
Previously, business leaders/executives and entrepreneurs had to travel to Edinburgh or to Aberdeen to take part.
But now, the University of Dundee’s School of Business will be running the programme locally. The school has tailored it to match participants with industry experts.
“It’s not about going back to school. It’s about meeting in a friendly and safe environment with businesses that are facing the same challenges. It’s about ordinary people getting the golden opportunity to take a fresh look at what they’re offering as a business,” says Professor Scott Brady, entrepreneur in residence at the university.
Entrepreneur’s testimonial
Dr Mhairi Towler, founder & CEO of Vivomotion was one of the first participants of the Help to Grown programme in Scotland.
Her business creates graphics and animations to help scientists communicate what they do. It also provides training for researchers on the visual presentation of their research – whether that’s poster design, data visualisation or animation. The various courses are provided in person and online. There are also pre-recorded versions of workshops available to buy online.
While her business was past the startup stage, Mhairi wanted earlier this year to regain the initial focus she had when she started.
“I wanted to take some time out to focus on the business more strategically. I think it’s always good to reevaluate where your business is going because you end up doing the day-to-day running of the business, the cliché of working in the business, not on the business.”
That’s why in March she joined the Help to Grow programme, which was recommended to her by another Dundee-based business owner.
Flexible learning
Over the next three months, she took part in the online and in person sessions of the course.
“There were four in person sessions over the course of the 12 weeks and the rest of it was weekly online.
“Usually, there would be an online session on a Monday morning. Then on a Thursday, we would meet online as a group to discuss the theoretical ideas presented at the start of the week.
“It was certainly flexible in terms of your learning. You could sign in when you wanted to. There’s a platform online where you can access all the materials and consolidate all your learnings.
“What you put into it is what you get out of it. You do have to commit the time to developing the ideas they’re talking about throughout the programme. Many different topics are covered like strategies for growth and innovation, digital adoption, financial management and responsible business practices.
“I think it’s tailored in a way that can help business owners. There are action points for each module, so you can reflect on the operations within your business and then look at how you could improve them.
Learning from mentors
“I also signed up to get a mentor. Some people decided they would wait until they finished doing the course before they worked with their mentor so they had more of an idea about what they wanted to work on.
“But I already knew at the start what area of my business I wanted to work on and that was getting on top of the finances and formalising a few processes within my business. So I wanted to work with somebody who had a financial background.
“You get 10 hours with the mentor. I jelled quite well with mine and she gave me great advice along the way. That really complemented the programme.
“Having the mentor held me accountable to put the ideas I had into practice. I think that’s helpful because when you work on your own, it’s too easy to keep doing the same thing.
A chance to network
“I found that having discussions with the other business owners on the programme was very beneficial because you can share ideas with them. That was a great learning opportunity.
“I also learned from the experiences of entrepreneurs in the programme with larger businesses. I learned how they’ve grown in numbers and how they approach change.
“It’s also a good chance to expand your network and make new connections with other businesses. Sometimes you can use their services or they might want to use your services.
Learnings and outcomes
Mhairi graduated from the Help to Grow programme at the Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh last June.
“I have implemented a few new processes. I’ve now got legal conditions drawn up with a lawyer in terms of the online training I deliver so I can formalise that process. Before, it was a bit ad hoc whereas now I’ve got a formal procedure to follow if somebody, a university, for example, wants to sign up to my online training. That feels good because I know that I’m approaching things more professionally now.
“I’ve also done quite a lot of financial analysis of my business that I hadn’t done previously. That helps me to make sales projections, to forecast for the future.
“I’ve also signed up to do some training. I want to turn my website into an e-commerce site so that people can actually buy my courses there.
“(The Help to Grow programme) helped me to reconnect with my values as well as the vision and mission I had for my business. Sometimes you lose that focus when you’re just doing the day-to-day.
“(The Help to Grow programme) is a worthwhile investment because it does give you that chance to review how everything is working and implement changes to make things run more smoothly, with the ultimate goal of growing your business. It will pay dividends in the end and I’m already seeing that with my business.”
How to join the Help to Grow programme
The 12-week Help to Grow programme is open to all SMEs from any industry.
It’s 90% funded by the UK government which means participating organisations need to pay only £750.
But only 30 places are available.
UK-based businesses with 5-249 employees that have been operating for more than a year are eligible. Participants should be senior decision-makers within the business, like chief executives or finance directors.
The first cohort starts on Monday November 20, 2023.
Learn more on the University of Dundee’s School of Business website
