Help to Grow
A scheme was announced in the budget that took my eye: Help to Grow Small Business Charter
This promises to take your business to the next level as it allows small and medium sized UK businesses to acquire new skills, reach new customers and boost profits.
There are two elements to the program – management training and digital support and we decided to see what’s on offer.
The Executive Development programme links you to the Small Business Charter and their mentoring and training program. The programme is 90% subsidised by the government, so businesses are only charged £750 per participant. There are some eligibility criteria; you must be a UK business and have been operating for >1 year with between 5 –249 staff. But there are 30K places available over a 3-year period. You will be tied to an approved training centre for learning and, since the Small Business Charter mentoring program has been in place for many years, this is an established and successful program that can be tailored to your individual needs.
I am a great fan of mentoring, both the giving and the getting, as you never stop learning and you should always look to share that knowledge. Even if you only use the sessions as a sanity check or validation that you are doing things right, it is always valuable to have a 2nd opinion.
The second bonanza on offer is advice and money-off software that could “save you time and cut costs”. These include business systems such as CRM, Ecommerce, ERP, Finance, and HR. There are the same eligibility criteria and you need to show you are buying the software for the first time.
If you are looking to take full advantage of this software bonanza, we can help. We provide ERP implementation services and training to ensure your team are using it to best effect. We have applied to the scheme and will be relaying the details about the program in subsequent newsletters.