How Growth Accelerator helped F10 get to the next level

Following our High Growth breakfast last month, Nick Homer from F10 talks about his experience with Growth Accelerator, a government backed service that will help you build a successful growth strategy, discover new routes to funding and investment, unlock your capacity for innovation and to harness the power of your people.

Things were hotting up for F10…we had grown steadily up to year 3, but year 4 was looking like it was going to get a bit more serious, so I needed to make sure we could not only cope, but maximise profit.

I have seen other companies get too busy and they fall apart…they start messing up projects and losing clients. I was determined that this wouldn’t happen to us.

I thought I was doing ok at the business side of things, but without any previous experience of running a business I didn’t know. I had read a lot of stuff of course, but just felt that to get us to the next stage I needed a bit of professional help – beyond just reading generic business stuff. Someone who I could work with to really understand my business.

And so with a quick Google, and thanks to Barclay from Clear Business Development's own incredible SEO campaign, I was soon on the phone to him. We had a few useful meetings to start with where he very quickly got under our bonnet, and using his personal experiences he became a very good sounding board.

After a few months I signed up to the Growth Accelerator which seemed perfect for what I was looking for, and where the business was. In terms of what it offered and especially the subsidised rate.  

Going through everything in such detail, and taking the time to dissect the company and plan for its future with Barclay was a great, and very exciting, experience.

What we ended up was not only a good growth plan, but gave me the confidence that this was achievable. I have continued to work with Barclay since to keep tings ticking along.

Year 4 was on target, and Year 5, which we are in now, is set for further growth.  

I’ll have to come back to tell you if we make all our targets, but as of now things are looking pretty good.

Of course it’s not a magic wand. There is a lot of work to do and as the business owner you have make it happen, and to see it through. For F10 it has provided a really solid base to grow on, and I would highly recommend the Growth Accelerator for anyone who wants to take their business up a gear or two.

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