Making happy business leaders

Help to Grow is a management course for business leaders and decision makers. It provides the skills and confidence to review your business and come away with a growth-oriented action plan.

Over 70 people have taken the course so far. It focuses on helping business owners take time out of the business, to focus on the business; networking and learning opportunities; and face-to-face sessions with other businesses.

Two Brighton Chamber members took part in the programme, and shared their key takeaways:

Harriet Dean-Orange, Harriet's of Hove

Harriet runs Harriet's of Hove, a plant-based refill shop in Hove – she’s currently on the programme and said this about her experience so far:

“I am really enjoying the Help to Grow Course, run by the University of Brighton. I’m learning the importance of taking a step back, to appreciate my business’ journey so far and remind myself of the ‘why’. This is enabling me to understand it’s importance, strategy and scope for growth. As a business owner, it’s great to properly educate myself around branding, marketing and development.

I embarked on the course wondering whether Harriet’s of Hove was too small to benefit from such course. However, I’m enjoying the learning environment, appreciating the insight of the other enrolled businesses and know I will be able to

progress with my aspirations for my business, on completing the course.”

Emer Gillespie, Spark & Bell

Emer’s business, Spark & Bell specialises in hand-made lighting. Here’s what Emer said on the day she graduated from the Help to Grow programme:

“The course has helped me realise that I am not alone, that the issues and problems I face leading a business are similar to those faced by others. It’s made me appreciate that I know more than I thought, but there’s still more to learn, as I want to be the most effective leader I can.

I particularly enjoyed the finance module; this helped me get my head around an area that I was not as familiar with. The face-to-face workshop has made me much more confident around figures and the financial planning tools. I cannot wait to get stuck in.

I’ve already told someone I know they really must do and would really benefit from the course. What I would say is that Help to Grow is a great course to give you a helicopter view of all that is involved in running a small business, it helps identify areas to work on and it’s a great opportunity to network with other like-minded people.”

Help to Grow is and MBA-style programme run by the University of Brighton across East and West Sussex. The course supports leaders and senior managers of small and medium-sized businesses in any sector through a 12-week programme (that can be completed alongside work).

The programme is 90% funded by the UK Government, and if you’re a member of Brighton Chamber, Help to Grow are offering 50% off the usual fee of £750.

And, if you would like to register for the Crawley programme, there are 5 free places for Chamber members. 

Find out more about Help to Grow here, or email helptogrow@brighton.ac.uk to claim your free Crawley place.

If you want to contribute to the Chamber blog, contact us on hannah@brightonchamber.co.uk