You may have seen us highlight their resources in our Events newsletter, and that’s because we believe their independent advice and direction can benefit almost any Cheltenham business. And almost always, it doesn’t cost a penny.
They have helped nearly 1000 businesses so far, but many still don’t fully appreciate what a valuable resource they have on their doorstep.
Originally set up by the county’s LEP (Local Enterprise Partnership), the Gloucestershire Growth Hubs are acknowledged to be among the most successful in the UK. This is partly because they can focus strongly on their locales, but mostly it’s because of their people.
We met up with the Cheltenham Growth Hub team at their offices in Minster Exchange. (If you haven’t been there yet, it’s the futuristic building next to St Mary’s Churchyard, behind the Wilson Museum. It even has its own, rather good, coffee shop.)
Above you can see the Hub’s Navigators, Tracy Carter, Richard Peers and Viktoria Laszlo. As the name suggests, they help businesses find routes to success. You can read their profiles on the website but their experience spans engineering and award-winning export programmes, sales, operations, employment and the public sector. They are happy to help any business of any size, including non-profits, in a Cheltenham postcode.
Business clients start with a brief describing the issues they wish to discuss, especially what’s holding them back. The team will do background research and set up a Discovery Meeting – essentially an hour or so of consultancy and direction, followed by an action document.
Depending on the situation, the Navigators may refer the client to the Hub’s Mentor Programme. This gives them free access to a series of sessions with an experienced businessperson or specialist from across the wider network. Or they may suggest one of the Hub’s many training workshops or one-to-one sessions, delivered by local business experts including some Chamber Members.
The Hub is also developing outreach events and programmes aimed at specific sectors. For example, the “Grown in Cheltenham” accelerator programme in conjunction with Plexal / Hub8 helped five local businesses on the road to growth, including Chamber Member, Alice Violet Creative.
Others include a “Be Your Own Boss” workshop for start-ups and “Rise and Shine,” a major networking event in collaboration with FSB. Working collaboratively with other Hubs, local experts and organisations like Cynam, BID, Business West and of course, the Cheltenham Chamber is at the heart of what makes this amazing facility work so well.
