Help to Grow: Management and Small Business Charter celebration

On Wednesday 20 July the School of Business and Law celebrated the final taught session of our first cohort of the government-subsidised Help to Grow: Management course.

Kicking off an afternoon of celebrations, we were joined by Richard Freeman – Chief Executive Officer at business consultancy, Always Possible – for a keynote speech on asking for help. 

Alongside our Help to Grow: Management participants, we also invited local businesses who worked with us to achieve the Small Business Charter Award in December 2021.

“It is the Small Business Charter achievement that secured our participation in this scheme,” said Toni Hilton, Dean of the School of Business and Law at the University of Brighton.

“Help to Grow: Management is a key element of our engagement with the local business network.”

Keynote speaker, Richard Freeman, noted the importance of schemes like Help to Grow and how programmes like it were critical when he was first setting up his own business, Always Possible. He talked about his own experience of setting up a business and asking for help. 

“The best kept secret in business is knowing how to ask for help. Knowing that you don’t know is your superpower.

“I really know how to ask for help. What I’ve learnt from working across a number of sectors is how challenging people find it to ask for help.”

Richard set up his consultancy business, Always Possible, seven years ago with the mission of helping business leaders navigate what’s next. Now, seven years later, he has a staff team of 12 but the mission hasn’t changed. Richard helps businesses make decisions based on data, intuition and asking for help.

“What we do is tell people look closer, look up, look out, listen. Ask questions on what you’re doing, why you’re doing it and ask for help.”

He noted the different types of help that businesses need in order to succeed:

• Practical help – buying someone’s time to come in and help you
• Reputational help – help with the perception and what people are saying about your business
• Innovation – evaluating how the business is relevant and how to be innovative
• Potential – looking at the opportunities around

“Be prepared to be surprised – the help you get might throw you in a direction you hadn’t considered.” 

Richard’s final advice for business leaders?

“Pay it forward – be prepared to help others and make it known you’re available to help them.” 

The afternoon concluded with a networking event where our first cohort of Help to Grow: Management delegates could build connections with other SME business owners and local business leaders.

Interested in Help to Grow?

We’re recruiting for our next cohorts in Brighton and Eastbourne, starting this autumn. Find out more about the benefits to your business.