PETER Thompson of CanTrack Global Ltd, Karen Adams of The Prosperous Shop, David Foster of Halo Coffee and Verity Williams from Travis Perkins PLC were among the inspirational speakers for this year’s business growth event, hosted by Velocity Growth Hub.
Show Me Success, which took place on 1 November at Hilton Hotel, Milton Keynes, brought together SME business founders and directors from across the South East Midlands, to celebrate their business growth success and share their experiences, tips and lessons learned with other aspiring businesses.
Focusing on three core business themes: scaling-up, developing a pipeline of talent, and finance, the event also heard about the forthcoming support from the Growth Hub to help businesses scale-up and the 10,000 Small Business Programme by Goldman Sachs. Northamptonshire-based Travis Perkins PLC took questions from the audience about how they developed their apprenticeship programme and how apprentices can benefit SMEs.
The five-strong finance panel provided practical advice and information about the wide-range of finance available to small business, as well listing all the support available help businesses access funding options, including grants
Stephen Catchpole, Chief Executive of SEMLEP, who welcomed people to the event, said: “Show me Success was all about bringing local businesses together to inspire others to realise their business potential and get the business support they need to grow and thrive. It showcased the impact that the right business advice and support can have in helping people to grow their business idea, through start-up to global success.”
Malcolm Johnston, Interim Manager of Velocity Growth Hub said: “This event demonstrates we have an incredibly vibrant SME community right across the South East Midlands. The three key messages that came across from all the speakers were about harnessing the power of networking, to face change head-on and to take the support and advice available so you’re not doing it alone.”
Eighteen organisations exhibited at the event attended by over 100 people. This included services and business support projects to assist business growth, ranging from marketing solutions, HR advice, employee skills and apprenticeships, finance and accelerator and incubator programmes. A list of the resources is available on the Velocity Growth Hub’s website’s new resources section at www.velocitygrowthhhub.com
You can find out more about all the free business support available to you and about the Velocity Growth Hub grants, advice and workshops by speaking to the team directly on 0300 01234 35 or emailing enquiries@velocitygrowthhub.com.
Velocity Growth Hub is part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund.
