Think you're ready to GROW your business? 📈

So, you think you're ready to GROW your business. But how do you really know? 

Growth can mean different things to different businesses. For some, it can simply mean that they want to increase their sales turnover, profits, or their share in the market. For others, it might look like taking on more staff or even expanding into offering new products or services. Another example of a growing business is one that's ready to increase its physical presence with more premises or shop outlets, while those selling online might look at increasing their virtual presence.

As you can see, growth can take many forms.  

But how do you know you are ready to grow YOUR business? Here are some ways to tell...

• You have regular repeat customers that proves your product or service is of a good quality and, most importantly, in demand! This gives you a stable base to grow your business from.

• Your customers WANT you to grow. Perhaps they've been asking for more products or services form you, or even more of your time.

• If your industry is growing, now might be a good time and low risk opportunity for you to grow with it. Are there any new products or services you could offer?

• You actually have too much business! Perhaps you have more business than you can handle at the moment and risk over trading. Now might be a good time to take on staff to help you grow sustainable.

• You are stuck at a certain turnover and want to increase it - now is the time to get a serious growth plan in place.

This might be a daunting prospect for some business owners, but the key thing to remember is that growing your business is about working smarter, not harder. 

It is about thinking outside of the box and putting new ideas into action to get your business to the next level faster.

So, how do our team of experienced business growth advisors work out the best route to grow your business?

1. We simply look at where your business is currently at through our unique business diagnostic methods.
2. We listen to what your growth ambitions are and where you realistically want your business to    be in the next 12-36 months.
3. We then work out a realistic and achievable strategic plan to achieve your growth ambitions as   quickly as possible.

Here's our client Cheryl Grogan, founder of AJ's Playdays, on how we helped her to scale-up her business...

If you are a female-led business based in the Liverpool City Region which has been trading for under 42 months and you'd like to explore how we can help you achieve your business growth ambitions, then we could help!

Our partners at The Women’s Organisation are running a series of Grow & Thrive Business Masterclasses to help you GROW. 

These are:

When & How to Take on Staff 

Tuesday 8th October, 10am - 1pm, at 54 St James Street

Click here for more info

Here's how we helped our client Laura Richardson, founder of The Beauty of Business, get to the stage of taking on her first employee...

Master your Sales & Marketing strategy

Wednesday 16th October, 10am - 1pm, at 54 St James Street.

Click here for more info

We worked with Claire Morton, founder of Ell & Dee Consultants, to refine her marketing strategy and brand...

If you'd like to speak to a member of our team to find out more about the support on offer, please contact us at enterprisehub@thewo.org.uk or 0151 706 8113.

Grow & Thrive Business Masterclass Series - for women with a business ready for serious growth 📈

We're excited to announce a brand new series of business masterclasses, designed especially to support women with high-growth businesses. 

Delivered by our partners at The Women's Organisation, this series of expert-led training sessions has been developed to support women-led businesses with high growth ambitions.

Two fully-funded sessions will be happening throughout October, covering topics including taking on staff as well as developing your sales and marketing strategy.

Come to one, or join us for all three!

**This training is fully-funded under the Enterprise Hub programme for female-led businesses under 42 months in the Liverpool City Region. Please see below to find out if this training is right for you at this stage** 

The sessions are:

When & How to Take on Staff

Tuesday 8th October, 10am - 1pm, at 54 St James Street (L1 0AB).

If you're ready to take on staff to help support your next phase of business growth, then this session will equip you with the skills and practical knowledge to do so. You'll also be able to hear from local entrepreneurs who have done it.

What is covered in the session?

Local entrepreneur Anna Slater, founder of North West Linen Services, will be sharing her journey and experiences of taking on staff for the first time. From tackling imposter syndrome, the importance of mapping out affordability and strategy, to becoming the employer of 26 staff members.

Expert recruitment consultant, Elaine Courtney, founder of  Courtney Recruitment, will be on hand to help you understand the main stages of recruitment and how to find the right people for your team.

Enterprise Hub business expert, Bernie Cox, will guide you through the legalities and practicalities of taking on staff. From liability insurance, to setting up a payroll and arranging new employee inductions.

Visit the Eventbrite page here.

Master your Sales & Marketing strategy

Wednesday 16th October, 10am - 1pm, at 54 St James Street (L1 0AB).

If you're ready to take your business into an exciting new phase of growth, then a watertight sales and marketing strategy is vital to building valuable and lasting customer relationships which translate into sales. This expert-led training session will equip you with the skills and practical knowledge you need to master your sales and marketing strategy.

What is covered in the session?


Be Your Brand
Nailing your brand is vital to building valuable relationships with your target market. This session will help you understand how to build your brand persona with confidence. Sue Kelbrick from Wigwam Coffee Shop will be joining us to share her experience of developing their business story to grow their business.

How to set & reach your sales goals with Claire Philliskirk
Experienced Sales Leader Claire Philliskirk (Winner of European Women in Tech Sales Europe 2016) will be on hand to tell you how to set and reach your sales goals. From setting realistic SMART targets, to implementing your sales strategy and monitoring your progress - learn the tools for a winning strategy.

Personal Growth & People Performace with Nikki Cross
People performance expert Nikki Cross will be sharing the importance of aligning your strategic goals with the goals of your team, offering a "how to" guide to setting a people performance strategy which effectively develops your people and grows your business.

Visit the Eventbrite page here.

Is this training for me?

• Are you a woman-led business registered in the Liverpool City Region?
• Have you been trading for under 42 months?
• Do you have high-growth ambitions?
• Are you looking to further grow your business turnover?
• Do you already, or are you thinking about taking on staff?

Then this training is ideal for you! These sessions aim to equip you with the practical skills and knowledge to lead your business into its new stage of growth. 

If you'd like to book onto any, or both, of these sessions then please get in touch with our team. You can reach us on 0151 706 8113, or e-mail enterprisehub@thewo.org.uk

Case Study: Breaking down barriers with Helen Clarke Autism

Helen Clarke Autism is a specialist autism training and consultancy service, dedicated to improving the lives of autistic children, in particular autistic girls. With support from the Enterprise Hub programme, Helen is taking her business from strength to strength.

Helen provides educational and consultancy services for schools, parents, health services and other organisations that support autistic children.

As an autistic woman herself and having previously worked with autistic children for over twenty years as an Art and Design teacher, Helen is passionate about sharing her own life journey to improve the experience of others.

Her mission is now more important than ever, with recent reports suggesting that the number of autistic women and girls may have been severely underestimated due to historic gender biases.

Experts explain that early assumptions of the condition meant that it was predominantly thought to affect men, with the real ratio in fact coming in at approximately 3:1. This means that the number of girls and women with the condition has been vastly underestimated with thousands going undiagnosed.

As might be expected, this has taken its toll on the mental health of many girls and women across the country as living without a diagnosis often means that people are not accessing appropriate support in terms of health and education.

Thankfully, there is now a growing recognition of the issue and Helen is one of the professionals at the forefront of this battle to help autistic women overcome the barriers they face and improve the services available to them.

With such an important task at hand, Helen decided self-employment was the best way for her to reach and support as many girls as possible – and so she founded Helen Clarke Autism consultancy services.

Having worked with business advisor Huda Mamoun from The Women’s Organisation to start her business, Helen was able to put together a business plan and attend a range of courses to help get her started in business. After a successful start it wasn’t long before Helen needed to put a strategy for growth in place, returning for further Enterprise Hub support to help grow her young business.

She says: “I am indebted to The Women’s Organisation who have provided me with valuable support, guidance and high-quality training. I learnt an incredible amount thanks to their expertise, with specialist training covering business planning and how to set up my business, as well as useful sessions on book-keeping and marketing.

“I’ve also been very fortunate to have the guidance of my business mentor, Huda Mamoun, and have greatly benefitted from her knowledge. She has encouraged me to succeed and has believed in me from the very start, encouraging me to keep going and guiding me through the aspects of business which I found particularly difficult.”

Just one of Helen’s aims is to make sure the needs of autistic girls are better understood in schools.

Having an autistic daughter herself, Helen has experienced the education system from ‘both sides of the fence’, so she is fully aware of the issues that autistic girls face both in gaining a diagnosis and receiving an education that fully meets their needs.

She says: “Many autistic girls are labelled “school refusers” because they find it hard to cope in schools, resulting in having a poor attendance or having to drop out of school completely. I want to work with schools to help them better understand the needs of autistic children - the school system needs to change, not the autistic child.”

With a master’s degree in education, Helen is well equipped to tackle these issues first-hand.

Helen believes that autistic people possess many strengths including an ability to see the world from a different perspective and to be able to pay extraordinary attention to detail. Many autistic people are highly creative and others very logical, each being unique and individual.

“Spectacular Girls” – Helen’s series of well-being workshops – was designed to help autistic girls understand how autism might affect them as individuals, while equipping them with valuable life skills and helping to build strong, personal identities.

Helen explains how these sessions are working to improve the lives of autistic girls: “The current academic curriculum often doesn’t include many of the important topics that autistic girls need to explore, such as how autism affects them as individuals, about their own identity and about safety.

“Autistic girls are at greater risk of exploitation and abuse, according to current research in this field, and so I wanted to work directly with girls to address this concern. What’s more, adolescent girls are also most likely to self-harm and in Sefton this number is higher than nationally. I’m working to improve the mental health of girls by helping them to better understand themselves and equip them with practical strategies.”

She has also worked with organisations like The Atkinson in Southport to help promote inclusion in its services and has compiled an adapted Community and Life Skills Curriculum for autistic children.

So, how has Helen found the process of starting and growing a business?

She says: “Being autistic there are many aspects of setting up a business that have been daunting. Many autistic people have social anxiety for example, but business depends on developing contacts and networking so I’ve had to push myself far out of my comfort zone and will continue to do so.”

“There are also many positive aspects to running a business; being a role model for my daughter so she sees that even individuals can help bring about change in society, helping autistic girls to better understand themselves, improving their mental health, as well as challenging stereotypes of autism and what autistic people are capable of!”

To find out more about Helen’s consultancy services, you can visit her website at www.helenclarkeautism.com or find her on Twitter using @HelenAutism. She can also be contacted directly at helenclarkeautism@gmail.com.

If you’ve been inspired by Helen’s story and are interested in starting or growing a business of your own, then Enterprise Hub could help!

Get in touch if you’re thinking of starting a business in the Liverpool City Region, or have a new business under three years old. You can speak to our team via enterprisehub@thewo.org.uk or 0151 706 8113.

📢 LINE-UP ANNOUNCEMENT: Start Up and Grow Week 2019

We're excited to announce the line-up of events for Start-up and Grow Week this September!

Running from 16th - 20th September 2019, this week long programme of training, workshops and events is designed to equip you with the skills and know-how to start or grow your business. 

You can follow all the action using #StartUpAndGrowWeek on Twitter!

The line-up for Start Up and Grow Week 2019 so far is as follows...

MONDAY

"Let's Talk Business" - drop-in for business start-up advice

Monday 16th September, 10am - 2pm, at The Women's Organisation (54 St James Street, L1 0AB). FREE.

Thinking of starting a business? If you have an idea or a hobby you could turn into a business, drop in for an informal chat with an expert Business Adviser at The Women's Organisation. You'll find out more about the logistics of going self-employed and discover what support is available to you.

Open to men and women who are thinking of starting a business in the Liverpool City Region. Booking essential. Secure your slot by contacting hello@thewo.org.uk or calling 0151 706 8111. More details here. 

Research your market: introduction to business information

Monday 16th September, 6 - 7.15pm at Liverpool Central Library's Business & IP Centre.

Are you exploring a business idea and want to know if there is a market for it? Do you want to find out more about a particular competitor, supplier or a potential customer?

This free workshop will help you utilise the wealth of business information resources available at Liverpool Business & IP Centre to help you find:

• Up-to-the-minute data on company financial performance

• Lists of companies to contact

• Important questions about the demand for a product or service

• Major players in your sector

• Trends in the industry

Book your free place here. 

TUESDAY

Building a Social Media Strategy

Tuesday 17th September, 10am - 1pm, at The Women's Organisation (54 St James Street, L1 0AB). £50 or fully-funded*

This informative workshop will guide you through the different social media platforms suitable for your business, explore time saving techniques and help you build a social media marketing strategy to promote your business and build an online presence in a cost effective and efficient way.

You can book your place via Eventbrite by clicking here, or by contacting the team on 0151 706 8113 or enterprisehub@thewo.org.uk. *If you're a woman living in the Liverpool City Region and thinking of starting a business, then you may be eligible for a FREE place on this course through the Enterprise Hub programme. Call the team to find out more.

Merseyside Expanding Horizons Business Brunch

Tuesday 17th September, 10am - 12pm, at Merseyside Expanding Horizons, Mill Lane, Old Swan, L13 5TF.

Our partners at Merseyside Expanding Horizons are hosting a business brunch for aspiring entrepreneurs this Start Up and Grow Week.

Contact staceyrobinson@expandinghorizons.co.uk for more info and bookings.

Protect your brand: trade marks and trade mark searching

Tuesday 17th September, 6-7pm at Liverpool Central Library's Business & IP Centre.

An essential guide to understanding how trade marks can help your business succeed.

Trade marks distinguish the goods or services of one business from another and can take many forms, for example; words slogans, logos, shapes, colours and sounds.


In this workshop we will explain the key facts about trade marks and how to use our free web databases to see if this form of protection is available and suitable for your business idea. It is ideal for you if you are an entrepreneur, inventor or innovator with an idea or product you are looking to protect with a trade mark.

Click here to book your free place.

WEDNESDAY

Planning for Success - business planning course

Wednesday 18th September, 9.30am - 4pm, at The Women's Organisation (54 St James Street, L1 0AB). £50 or fully-funded*

This one day of training is for women who have a clear business idea. It covers all the basics of business planning, looks at market research, promotion, advertising, pricing and financial skills helping to establish whether your business idea is potentially profitable.

You can book your place via Eventbrite by clicking here, or by contacting the team on 0151 706 8113 or enterprisehub@thewo.org.uk. *If you're a woman living in the Liverpool City Region and thinking of starting a business, then you may be eligible for a FREE place on this course through the Enterprise Hub programme. Call the team to find out more.

Be Your Own Boss

Wednesday 18th September, 6 - 8pm, at St Helens Chamber (WA10 1FY). FREE.

‘Be Your Own Boss’ events are designed to give you the information you need to decide whether starting and running a business is for you. It’s informal, free and the best way to find out everything you need to start your own business. 

Book your free place online by clicking here or call the team now on 01744 742096 for more information.

THURSDAY

**Business Start-up Conference**

Thursday 19th September, 10am - 1pm, at Liverpool Central Library's Business IP Centre (William Brown Street). FREE. Supported by Natwest Business.

We're excited to see the return of our hugely popular business start-up conference, which will be a cornerstone event this Start-Up and Grow Week!

So far, we can confirm that two inspiring Liverpool entrepreneurs will be joining us to share their start-up journeys - Ruth Hartnoll, Founder of digital marketing agency J&R Agency, as well as Claire Morton, founder of Ell & Dee NLP Consultants - with more speakers still to be announced.

Book your free place via Eventbrite by clicking here, or you can contact enterprisehub@thewo.org.uk or 0151 706 8113 for further information and bookings.

Digital Skills Training - Social Media Marketing & Web Presence

Thursday 19th September, 2.30pm - 4.30pm, with The Extraordinary Club in Liverpool Central Library's Business IP Centre (William Brown Street). FREE.

Following the start-up conference, we will be joined by The Extraordinary Club for an afternoon of Facebook certified training, talking all things web presence and social media strategy for early stage businesses. not to be missed!

Book your free place via Eventbrite by clicking here. 

Entrepreneur in Residence drop-in advice session 

Thursday 19th September, 1 - 4pm, at Liverpool Central Library's Business IP Centre (William Brown Street). FREE.

Cllr Gary Millar and his team of business experts will be on hand to answer to your business start-up questions in this friendly drop-in session.

No need to book - just pop to the first floor!

FRIDAY

A Beginner's Guide to GDPR and Information Security

Friday 20th September, 9.30am - 12.30pm at The Lauries (CH41 6EY).

This informative, half-day workshop helps you to keep your company safe and compliant by:

- Outlining the key principles of the General Data Protection Regulations in terms of the rights of your customers and the obligations of your business.

-  Explaining what should be considered when developing or reviewing your Privacy Policy

- Identifying techniques employed by hackers when attempting to breach your company and introducing some simple steps will help mitigate 80% of the most common threats faced… as well as providing some useful tips on how to keep you and your family safe online

Book your place via Eventbrite by clicking here. 

Open Business Drop at The Onion

Friday 20th September, 10am - 4pm at The Onion cafe, Bootle Strand Shopping Centre.

The Merseyside Expanding Horizons advice team will be on hand at The Onion cafe for anyone looking to start or grow a business to drop in and get some initial advice and information about the Enterprise Hub programme. 

No need to book - just drop-in!

For more details you can contact us on 0151 706 8113 or get in touch via e-mail at enterprisehub@thewo.org.uk

You can follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram using @MerseyEntHub to be the first in the know about #StartUpAndGrowWeek.

Handyman Greg is nailing it with his new business!

If you’re looking for a souped-up handyman, then look no further than Greg Leasor and his new business, Leasor Handyman Solutions.  Greg not only offers the standard ‘jobs-around-the-home’ that need doing, but he can also design and build stuff, turn his hand to welding and even fix your car!

But this is a late career change for Greg.  Having been trained as an apprentice before becoming a Project Applications Engineer at a local rail products business, Greg moved on to another company where he worked for 18 years as a Manufacturing & Process Engineer.

It was riveting work – literally, as he oversaw the heat treatment and plating of small fasteners. However, as is often the way, the job changed and as the demands of the job increased more and more, Greg’s health began to suffer.  The stress began to build and eventually it started affecting not only himself, but also his family and friends.  It was then that he made the big decision to leave – a decision he made this year. So, it was from these stressful beginnings and the need for a better work-life balance, that Leasor Handyman Solutions was born in July of this year. 

Leasor Handyman Solutions provides the whole range of services you would expect – joinery, tiling, gardening, painting and decorating, pipework, some like-for-like electrics, shelving and so on.  However, due to Greg’s engineering background, he can also build you all manner of garden furniture from a shed to a summerhouse along with some nice stuff for the home including tables and benches, coasters, wooden decorative pieces and so on.  He is also very keen on recycling, upcycling and using his creative skills, as he can work wonders with a piece of old wood!

Then why Enterprise Hub?  Well, his wife, Julie, had already been through the Enterprise Hub programme the previous year and it was through Julie’s encouragement that Greg decided to give it a go and get in touch with Paul and Heidi at Wirral Chamber of Commerce.  

From there, he never looked back, attending all of the workshops as well as coming in for some one-to-ones.  When asked how Enterprise Hub helped him progress his business idea, he responded: “I don’t think my business would be here without Enterprise Hub.  The support certainly opened my eyes and taught me the skills necessary to start and run my own business.  I would definitely recommend Enterprise Hub and Wirral Chamber of Commerce to anyone needing business support.”

And what has Greg learned from his start-up journey?  “Don’t be afraid to say ‘No!’ Also, have a plan B, whether it is having another supplier, bringing in a specialist when needed or solving a problem for a customer, it’s always good to have a contingency plan in place!”  Wise advice.   And the biggest challenge to becoming his own boss?  “The change from working as part of a team of 100+ people to working alone took some getting used to!”

If you have any jobs around the house that need doing, or perhaps you’d like a pergola for the garden to relax in, why not get in touch with Greg at Leasor Handyman Solutions by giving him a call on 07794 996 972 or by e-mailing him at Greg@Leasorhandymansolutions.co.uk

For more information about support to help start or grow your new business through Enterprise Hub, please contact 0151 706 8113 or enterprisehub@thewo.org.uk.

Business expert set to take up residency in The Atkinson to help drive local business growth

An Enterprise Hub business expert is set to take up a weekly residency at Southport Library, in The Atkinson, to help Sefton residents start and grow their new businesses.

This fully-funded business support is aimed at helping those in the Sefton area who are looking to start a business, or those who are looking to grow a new business which is under three years old.

Enterprise Hub is Liverpool City Region’s “one front door” access point for business support, offering clients a programme of 1-2-1 business support and advice, as well as access to training courses, to help develop their ideas and learn core business skills.

Enterprise expert Jacqueline Daley will be offering a number of 1-2-1 appointments every Thursday between 10am - 12pm at Southport Library in the iconic Atkinson building. Appointments should be pre-booked by those wishing to register onto the Enterprise Hub programme.

This support will help clients understand the process of starting or growing a business and to research and develop a business plan or growth strategy. Budding entrepreneurs will also be able to learn key skills to develop a sales and marketing strategy, as well as understanding the everyday practicalities of running a business and looking at ways of accessing finance.

The new outreach appointments will mean those with a business idea can receive support on their doorstep, without having to travel to Enterprise Hub’s Liverpool City Centre base.

Jackie Williams, Enterprise Hub Project Manager and Enterprise Director at Liverpool social enterprise The Women’s Organisation, says: “We’re delighted to be bringing Enterprise Hub straight to the Sefton community at Southport Library to give local people that all-important helping hand and confidence boost to pursue or develop a business dream.

“We would highly encourage anyone who is either sat on an idea they’d like to explore or has a new business that is ready to grow, to get in touch and see how we can help. The community here is always brimming with entrepreneurial spirit and ideas, so we’re excited to see what is in store!”

Vicki Rutland, at The Atkinson, says: “We are delighted to welcome the expertise of Enterprise Hub into The Atkinson and hope this new partnership will be of immense benefit to the residents of Sefton”

The support and training is available fully-funded under the Enterprise Hub programme, which is receiving funding from the European Regional Development Fund.

Eligibility criteria does apply and Enterprise Hub support is available to men and women living in the Liverpool City Region, who have not yet registered with Companies House or HMRC, or any business under three years old in the Liverpool City Region.

Those who would like to take advantage of the drop-in at The Atkinson should pre-book by calling 0151 706 8113 or e-mailing enterprisehub@thewo.org.uk to register for the programme.