Business Growth Service / Growth Accelerator

[Dave2P]

Anyone had any involvement with this government-backed initiative?

We've been approached and, at first glance, it looks like it could be a useful opportunity to get some advice and mentoring - maybe more.

Any thoughts? Have they made a difference to your business?

Many thanks for any input.

[ModernAndy]

Could you maybe post a link? Is it the grants and support for businesses hitting a certain amount of revenue in their first year? If so, it's something we're looking into.

[Dave2P]

ModernAndy said:

grants and support for businesses hitting a certain amount of revenue in their first year?

Not restricted to start-ups but, as I understand it, targeted at any small business with growth potential...

http://www.ga.businessgrowthservice.greatbusiness....

[Frimley111R]

We were talking about this the other day and saying that there must be loads of help out there that we're not talking advantage of. Although we're feeling pretty confident in what we're doing, as my wife often says "You don't know what you don't know"!

[ChasW]

It's a bona fide scheme that's not that well marketed. I am a registered/approved coach. There's the usual paperwork and process involved but it's an inexpensive way of accessing quality support and the senior management/leadership development grants are quite generous IMHO.

[jonamv8]

What sort of grants are available through this?

[ChasW]

Upto £2000 matched funding per eligible individual

http://www.ga.businessgrowthservice.greatbusiness....

[951TSE]

jonamv8 said:

What sort of grants are available through this?

A brief skim of the finance section on the website seems to say it's more a 'help to find' finance rather than them actually giving you a grant.

http://www.ga.businessgrowthservice.greatbusiness....

[drivenmiles]

Dave2P said:

Anyone had any involvement with this government-backed initiative?

We've been approached and, at first glance, it looks like it could be a useful opportunity to get some advice and mentoring - maybe more.

Any thoughts? Have they made a difference to your business?

Many thanks for any input.

I have been involved at an arm's length with the Growth Accelerator scheme. I have heard some very good things about it and some negative. As with any big decision, I would make sure to do my due diligence on the individuals involved if I were you. There are some great coaches with relevant experience, and some less so.

If you're looking for someone to bring their experience and a fresh perspective on the future of your business, I do think it's well worth looking at in more detail. Good luck!

BTW - what is it that you do, Dave?

[marshalla]

Just looked into this. It looks good - but only if you're VAT registered. As a non-registered VSME we'd only pay £600 but would also have to stump up the VAT for the whole value of the assistance. An extra £700.

I'm oot.

[Birkin1932]

Having part of my business involved with this recently, I would question the level of expertise some of these so call consultants possess

[D4SH]

You've got to pick the right coach. We had a choice of 3, 2 of them didn't appear to have any real credibility other than having attended a few courses themselves. However the third (and obviously the one we worked with) was a real asset and has without doubt played a part in helping us to grow.

[Dave2P]

Thanks gents. Yes, picking the right coach is obviously critical.

What I'd really like is someone who has genuinely "been there, done that"; i.e. someone who's grown a micro business (preferably their own, and maybe more than one) into a good-sized SME. But do these people actually exist as coaches or is this "moon on a stick" thinking on my part?

Any tips on how to filter the candidates? I'm guessing they're likely to have a good LinkedIn profile with lots of testimonials for starters?

Birkin1932 and D4SH - would be really interested in any more detail you can offer (by email via PH if you prefer) as to how I might spot the good ones.

Cheers.

[D4SH]

Dave2P said:

Thanks gents. Yes, picking the right coach is obviously critical.

What I'd really like is someone who has genuinely "been there, done that"; i.e. someone who's grown a micro business (preferably their own, and maybe more than one) into a good-sized SME. But do these people actually exist as coaches or is this "moon on a stick" thinking on my part?

Any tips on how to filter the candidates? I'm guessing they're likely to have a good LinkedIn profile with lots of testimonials for starters?

Birkin1932 and D4SH - would be really interested in any more detail you can offer (by email via PH if you prefer) as to how I might spot the good ones.

Cheers.

That is exactly what I wanted! We had a meeting with a 'co-ordinator' or some such who basically gives you a few CVs of local growth coaches to see who you think would fit. As I say, one was from someone who seemed to be a coach but without any real experience of actually doing it, the second seemed to be some guy who had a micro business that he'd grown, but I felt he was all talk just from the CV. The third was from a guy who had worked in a similar industry, then built up a small family business from nothing, sold it, and then did it again - exactly what I was looking for! We are based on the south coast and I'm not sure how far he would travel but this was the guy http://www.harpersforgrowth.com/

You can get to that point of finding the right coach without charge, so if you don't like the look of any of them, you can stop there without losing any money.