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How this management course can help your small business grow

Boost your business’s success with Help to Grow: Management Course available at Newcastle Business School (Northumbria University) and at Teesside University International Business School.

Written by Rachael Nichol

Published 20.07.2023

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‘A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way’ – John C Maxwell. And as small business owners, this is a motto you also should stand by.

The key to success is the management of a business whether big or small, it’s the leadership team who are the foundations of your company.

We’ve discovered a practical management course that will get you on track, introducing… Help to Grow: Management. This unique executive development leadership and management course is designed by entrepreneurs and industry experts and delivered by the UK’s leading Small Business Charter – accredited business schools across the UK.

Founded in April 2021, The Help to Grow: Management Course is a 12-week course – available at Newcastle Business School (Northumbria University) and Teesside University International Business School – that covers the critical components required to develop a resilient business strategy including online and face-to-face sessions, 10 hours of 1-to-1 mentoring, peer networking, and support to develop a Growth Action Plan.

But will Help to Grow: Management Course make an impact on your business? The answer is yes. Recent research shows 69% of participants report greater confidence in leading and managing their business while 66% felt their leadership and management skills had improved. 91% of those who have completed the course indicate that they would recommend it to other business leaders.

Here’s everything you need to know…

HOW DOES IT WORK?

Designed to be undertaken alongside full-time work, you only have to commit around four hours per week. The 12-week course includes modules on strategy and innovation, financial management, marketing, organisation, employee engagement, winning new markets and digital adoption.

Help to Grow: Management is an investment that can play a big part in securing the future of your business. The course is 90% funded by the government, so the cost of the course is only £750 per person.

The programme is delivered by world-class business schools across the UK and facilitated by subject experts. It uses a combination of online and face-to-face sessions alongside case study workshops to give you the opportunity to apply the concepts being taught to real-life situations faced by business leaders.

By the end of the course, you will have developed a tailored Growth Action Plan to help you lead and develop your business with the aim of realising its full potential.

WHAT DOES THE COURSE INVOLVE?

• Online and case study workshops – held in person and will allow you to learn through the real experiences of small and medium-sized businesses.

• 1:1 mentor support – you’ll be matched with an experienced and knowledgeable mentor to help you apply what you learn, and they will support you to develop your unique Growth Action Plan.

• Peer networking – you’ll be connected with other small business leaders through facilitated small group video calls, in which you can share your experiences on the module content, and work together to develop your Growth Action Plan.

WHAT’S IN IT FOR YOUR BUSINESS?

Following completion, you will retain access to expert advice through the Help to Grow: Management Alumni Network.

As well as your Growth Action Plan the course will allow you the opportunity to:

Develop your leadership and management skills, enhancing employee wellbeing and engagement in the process.
Help you recognise what drives productivity and growth in your market and understand what this means for your business.
Learn how to advance responsible business practices, including how you create an inclusive workplace and greener workplace practices.
Understand how to innovate your business model, including how to adopt and invest in new and digital technologies.
Identify key domestic and export markets for your business and develop strategies for market segmentation, positioning and targeting.
Develop strategies to improve operational efficiency, saving time and money.

WHO IS ELIGIBLE FOR THE HELP TO GROW: MANAGEMENT COURSE

Your business must:

Be a small or medium-sized enterprise (SME) based in the United Kingdom
Employ between 5 and 249 people
Have been operational for at least one year
Not be a charity

You must:

Be a chief executive, owner/founder, or member of the senior management team
Have at least one person directly reporting to you
Commit to completing all sessions
Businesses employing five to nine people can enrol one senior manager on the course, and those employing 10 or more people can enrol two senior managers on the course.

FEMALE LEADERS WHO TOOK PART IN THE COURSE SHARE THEIR EXPERIENCES

Gill Hunter, Managing Partner, Square One Law

“At Square One Law we pride ourselves in being more than ‘just lawyers’ – we are business advisers, but for this to be credible we need to equip our people, particularly those in leadership positions, with the knowledge to enable them to understand business in-depth and the skills to be able to apply that knowledge to their role.”

“Help to Grow is a fantastic initiative which has helped to develop those skills and knowledge in key people, adds Gill ‘We have two graduates in our business, and both have found the experience to be beneficial to their personal growth as business leaders. They are team leaders and have brought their learnings back into the business which has enabled more robust business planning. They have also really enjoyed being part of their cohort – a valuable network of similarly-minded people.”

“I would thoroughly recommend Help to Grow: Management Course to any SME business leaders in the North East, whether it is they themselves or members of their senior management team who undertake the course, the whole business will benefit.“

Kelly Maxwell, Founder of Kelly’s Heroes Private Tuition Ltd

“If it hadn’t been for the programme, I can honestly say I don’t know where the business would be now, says Kelly owner and founder of Kelly’s Heroes Private Tuition Ltd. ‘The programme came along at the perfect time and in hindsight, you only dedicate a very small amount of time in comparison to the results you can achieve from completing the course.”

“The programme was a fantastic course to develop my leadership and management skills as well as developing marketing strategies,’ adds Kelly. ‘It helped to provide me with the time I needed to take a step back and really focus on the business, rather than just working ‘in it’ every day.”