Building a successful digital business is fun, but pretty hard right? Whilst delivering your core services, there’s an abundance of administration, financial and sales work also required to name but a few.

Finding the time, knowledge and resources is a challenge to support these areas – BUT – do you know about all of the fantastic help available to you in Liverpool?

We LOVE that the Liverpool City Region has such a thriving DCT community that has supported us since our founding in 2013.

We have been able to upskill our teams, build our networks and get advice on our strategic growth, having accessed a myriad of support

Here’s our recommendations of the help out there (where we have first-hand experience) that you might not have explored yet.

To manage expectations, some programmes have eligibility criteria and are offered either on a paid, funded or part-funded basis (best to check the terms before you apply), however all were a positive experience for Yozu.

Gather

Delivered by the wonderfully-talented team at Form, Gather is a community for DCT agency leaders based in the Liverpool City Region.

They provide a great mix of support for leadership teams and individuals, focusing on topics from growth strategy to client acquisition, with a number of different programmes currently available for you to choose from.

The quality of the content is top notch and we have personally benefitted from their insights and coaching to help us improve several key areas of our business.

Get in touch with Laureece Nuttall to find out more!

Help to Grow

The government-supported Help to Grow management programme has a local chapter, run by The University of Liverpool Management School.

Ideal for businesses looking to sharpen their skills or establish new knowledge bases, the course provides a blend of key subject areas, including:

Strategy and innovation
Growing national and international market
Leading for high performance
Building vision and brand
Engaging and inspiring teams
Creating customer value
Adopting digital technology
Financial management

Part of the proposition includes 1:1 business mentoring that can be arranged at your own pace, and focus on challenges faced now, or plans you are working towards in the future.

Once completed, you will also be connected with the alumni events that continue to be relevant and interesting to dip in to.

Contact the ever-helpful Iona Thomson or Denise Wright for more information.

Growth Catalyst

A well-respected and high-quality leadership development programme, the Growth Catalyst has already supported some of Yozu’s own leadership team in further developing personal and business growth.

The programme – also run by the University of Liverpool Management School – can help individuals to:

Develop and improve your leadership skills
Generate new ideas to reinvigorate your business
Create a long-term strategy for growth
Work with leading experts and business coaches
Build relationships with other growing businesses

The programme runs over several months, and delivers a mixture of masterclasses, action learning sessions and 1:1 coaching to provide a fantastic blend of content and the opportunity to build your professional network across several different industries.

Richard Holloway does an excellent job as Programme Manager and should be your first port of call.

Liverpool Chamber

Our local Chamber of Commerce is a hub for a huge variety of business support!

From hosting networking and industry vertical events, to offering business advice, mentoring and funding information, we have already been overwhelmed with how much help is on offer for a very reasonable membership fee.

Having also attended the last couple of Innovation in Business Awards, we have felt a real connection with the Liverpool business community (and the Liverpool Chamber also put on a hell of a show!)

Business Engagement Officer, James Parker is a top guy and incredibly helpful in matching their support to your business needs.

Liverpool City Council – Business Support Service

Helping new businesses to spin-up and existing businesses to scale-up, the Business Support Service offers funded help in many key areas.

Following an initial diagnostic session, the team will survey the various services on offer that could help your business excel and connect you with people and organisations that can share expert advice, resources and skills.

Some of their support and services include:

Advice for residents thinking of starting a business
Support workshops for early-stage entrepreneurs
Specialist advice for existing businesses looking to grow
Recruitment, skills and training support
Funding opportunities

…and many more.

Project Engagement Manager Jacqueline Gilroy can help you get the ball rolling, and we highly recommend connecting to get a tailored set of options that can make a big difference!

Move the Needle

These are but a few of the great programmes out there, and the key ones that our business has engaged with and enjoyed so far.

Even if you get in touch with only one of the above, you will certainly have started on a path to move the needle for your business and do something new (or different!) with your team.

Good luck from Team Yozu!

Do you want to learn more about working with Yozu?

Get in touch