HOW IS THE HELP TO GROW: MANAGEMENT COURSE HELPING BUSINESSES TO GROW?

Two volunteer mentors for the Help to Grow: Management Course give their account on the challenges facing small businesses and how mentoring has benefited their mentees and themselves.

MARK BERNARD Director

The Ruppell Club Ltd

Can you tell us about the Help To Grow: Management Course and how it helps small businesses to grow?

In today’s world, where competition is crazier than ever - the need for a smart, imaginative and robust plan to develop and grow your business is more acute than ever.

And let’s be honest, get it wrong and the risk of stagnation, decline or even failure increases significantly, which is why the Help to Grow: Management Course is so brilliant and so helpful. It provides a unique and powerful set of workshops, networking and mentoring, all of which are based on real experiences and out of which participants will develop a Growth Action Plan tailored specifically to the needs and requirements to their business. What are the main challenges you are seeing businesses face today?

The macro-level challenges for small businesses in 2023 are well known: continuing high inflation and associated economic downturn, the gathering pace of digital transformation, data & device security, and stepping up to embrace the sustainability agenda are at or near the top of nearly everyone’s agenda.

These are ever-present for anyone running a business and just the reality of where we are right now. For a small business this creates a number of operational problems and how to remain agile is one of the biggest.

How have you benefited from being a Mentor for the Help to Grow: Management Course?

As a mentor on the Help to Grow: Management Course, my role is to be an independent sounding board and support course participants as they work towards individual goals and their own Growth Action Plan, but also to help them to become as effective as possible on their overall development journey.

The really great thing about mentoring on this course is having the opportunity to share some of what I have learnt with small businesses, who are the lifeblood of the UK economy, to help them move forward. And right now, with what looks to be a very difficult road ahead for all businesses over the next 12-18 months, that has never been more important.

Helping the next generation of businesses to become the best version of themselves that they can and to be more successful is about as good as it gets. But more than this, the mentoring relationship is definitely mutually beneficial with both mentee and mentor learning from each other.

SARAH PASCARU Social Media Consultant & Trainer Social Jooce

Can you tell us about the mentoring, the Help to Grow: Management Course and how it can help small businesses to grow?

The Help to Grow: Management Course mentoring is a great way for business owners and leaders to stop and look at their businesses. They work with mentors who share their knowledge, experience and connections within a particular field.

What are the main challenges you are seeing businesses face currently?

Some of the main challenges businesses face are increasing costs, managing cash flow, and generating revenue. This can stop companies from investing time and money into improving and moving their business forward. Social media marketing is one common area that goes down the priority list, but this can also affect brand awareness and the opportunity to attract new customers.

What success have you seen from businesses engaged in the Help to Grow: Management Course?

I’ve seen businesses gain clarity and confidence from the mentoring programme. They were interested in a sounding board, someone to listen to and guide them. Businesses were also keen on hearing a fresh perspective on some aspects of their business and working through challenges together to achieve their goals.

You can join the national effort to help a small business grow by signing up as a volunteer mentor today - scan here

The national mentoring element of the Help to Grow: Management Course is being delivered by a partnership of Newable, Enterprise Nation and the Association of Business Mentors on behalf of the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy.