Backing Essex Business – Year in Review
Backing Essex Business – Year in Review
Essex Business support service ‘Backing Essex Business’ reflects on the last 12 months of the service, and the impact it has achieved on the local economy.
Fully funded by Essex County Council, and delivered by Let’s Do Business Group, Backing Essex Business provides free dedicated advice, guidance, and support to businesses looking to grow, improve productivity, develop new products or services, or to consider their options for the future and develop a longer-term business strategy.
Supporting a range of needs, from staffing and financial support to marketing and supply chain management, Support is being delivered through a variety of programmes including Peer 2 Peer Learning, workshops, and up to 12 hours of free 121 business support, from experienced specialists.
Now having completed the first 12 months of the programme, Backing Essex Business has been delighted to have supported 298 businesses, in achieving their current goals. Through its guidance and signposting, 104 businesses have been able to innovate through new products and services, and 460 jobs have been created and safeguarded across the county.
“Backing Essex Business provided us with some funding for our expansion with the brewery project next door, and that funding really stopped that project from taking the whole thing under. We’re eternally grateful for that.”
Understanding the importance of collaboration and peer support, a popular element within the Backing Essex Business support repertoire has been the Group2Grow Peer Network Programme. Bringing together business professionals from a variety of industries and backgrounds, Group2Grow across 8 x 2 hour sessions helps business leaders to overcome challenges by utilising the experiences of the other cohort members, and that of the experienced business coach hosting each session. 117 businesses across 13 cohorts have already completed the programme, with recruitment for the last remaining groups in progress. Feedback from these sessions has been overwhelmingly positive, with participants feeling reassured and re-invigorated to take their next steps.
“The Group2Grow programme came at an ideal time for us. We had just launched our first retail canned products and had the reached a point where we needed focus on our next steps. The programme has helped me take a step back from my day to day and really think about our strategy and how we are going to take the business on its next growth journey.”
Abigail Brockwell, Big Bear Cider
“The Group2Grow sessions helped me to understand what I already knew and made me realised that despite what your business is, we all have the same challenges. We might look after them in a different way, but it was mainly that we all had the same challenges which was really interesting. It was comforting, and it gave me a great deal of confidence to do what I knew I needed to do for my business”
Samantha Holden, Owner of Willows Hair
“I’m good at what I do, but Group2Grow has made me consider future help I might need. I am already looking at making connections with local schools and utilising local Facebook groups to help find new clients. It’s fantastic how the advice provided by the other cohort members and David has already made an impact on my business. A simple wording change to a piece of marketing material has already led to new clients, I would absolutely recommend the programme to others.”
Cavin Selukwe, Director and Founder of Fluent Tutors
Ready to help you get your business to where it needs to be, Backing Essex Business is waiting to here from you. It all starts with a conversation, and who knows where it could take you.
“It has been a challenging year for business in Essex – with the legacy of BREXIT, ongoing COVID challenge and now the war in Ukraine. I am delighted that we have been able to help so many businesses navigate the economic gloom, helping many to stabilise and plan future growth. Essex County Council has been instrumental in enabling us to help businesses, both in view of their funding, but also their engagement with the business community and we look forward to continuing our working partnership into the future”
