Amy Lishman on her time on Help to Grow

136 business leaders have taken the Help to Grow business management programme at the University of Brighton since it started and Brighton Chamber’s own Head of Member Engagement and Deputy CEO, Amy Lishman, recently graduated.

Help to Grow is a 12-week face to face and online management course that is 90% Government funded to help support small and medium sized businesses to grow.

On the programme, businesses cover strategy, vision, marketing, finance, digitalisation and going international. And, with the support of a 1 to 1 mentor, work on a business growth plan to take back to the business. Businesses must have 5-249 staff but can be from any sector - those taking part have ranged from a glamping to digital agencies, a mobile cocktail bar to a dental practice. The most common benefit quoted by participants is the joy of taking time away from the business to step back and analyse what you are doing to identify gaps and opportunities.

We spoke to Amy about how she has found the course and she echoed this feeling: “Help to Grow is completely your own time to reflect on your business and look at where you want it to go – that’s rare when you’re so busy doing and delivering usually!

My favourite aspect of Help to Grow was meeting other business owners and senior leaders to share stories, experiences and particularly challenges.”

The course is delivered by university lecturers and business experts, Amy reports that “I loved the guest lecturers – the course tutors brought the theory to life, really listen and care about the outcomes for businesses taking part in the programme. It’s not too theoretical, it’s very practical”

The programme is a great mix of online and face to face – to make it manageable alongside doing the day job. “

Amy explained what she has taken from the course “I love learning, so this is a real luxury and a treat for me to spend so much time just taking in information and working out how to apply it to our business context. It’s given me an injection of motivation and enthusiasm to make positive changes to what we do.”

Coming away with a business growth plan helps participants consolidate their learning and focus on taking actions back to the business. Amy has plans for her work at Brighton Chamber “Looking at new product and service development is top of my priority list for January.

I’m going to run some sessions, particularly on marketing and brand, with the team in the new year. One thing that struck me throughout is the need to constantly and consistently work on your business, but how important it is to bring your whole team along with you too.”

The next Help to Grow course is now full but you can register for the Brighton April cohort or any future Brighton or Crawley dates. Even better - Brighton Chamber members get 50% off the cost, making the 12-week programme just £375. Find more information here - or register here making sure you quote Brighton Chamber under ‘Where you heard of us’, and we’ll contact you to confirm. 

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