Emma Cleary on Help to Grow

Over 200 local business leaders have taken the Help to Grow programme from the University of Brighton that is 90% Government funded to help support small and medium sized businesses to grow.

Its topics include strategy, vision, marketing, finance and digitalisation and supports participants to review their business, pinpoint gaps and opportunities and use these to grow.

We spoke to Emma about why she signed up for the course and she told us “I had been looking at some form of professional development or continued learning and the timing was perfect. Starting the New Year with a new me, working ON the business not IN the business! I also love peer to peer mentoring and discussion and this seemed to incorporate business modelling with peer support.”

Help to Grow is taught face to face and online to fit around work and give an element of networking, an element appreciated by Emma “The teaching was excellent, the discussions and the online peer groups were as hoped for and provided a new network of business contacts and supporters in Sussex. It gave me an appetite to keep the contact going.”

Emma has championed flexible working for over 10 years. Originally driven by a personal need to find a flexible role, she launched Flexibility Matters over 5 years ago. Flexibility Matters sources quality professionals to work flexibly in all businesses and at all levels and aspires to be the leading recruiter dedicated to flexible working and the thought leader in best practice in flexible working in the Southeast.

Emma enjoyed the vision, mission values module on Help to Grow as this is part of her job, discussing with business owners how flexible working is part of a good companies DNA. The best part of the course for Emma and many other businesses that take part is the time and permission to step back from the business and work on ‘what next’ considering whether growth is the best policy or consolidation and innovation a better strategy for you.

Having already implemented a number of changes, Emma explains these “I am making changes around AI marketing, lead generation, data, segmentation and several people initiatives. The action plan is a work in progress and evolving daily and will continue to do so.”

It doesn’t stop when the course stops Emma says “I rather wish that there was more! As a cohort we were just getting to know each other and I suspect many collaborations will emerge.”

Make the most of your Brighton Chamber member 50% discount for Help to Grow, making the 12 week programme in Brighton just £375 or email helptogrow@brighton.ac.uk to claim a no cost sponsored place for Crawley.

For more information head to the Help to Grow website here, and quote ‘Brighton Chamber’ under ‘Where you heard of us’ for the Brighton offer, or Platinum sponsored place for the no cost Crawley offer.

With special thanks to Emma Cleary from Flexibility Matters. 

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