Why not start 2023 with some personal, employee or business development! Throughout January & February Cumbria Business Growth Hub is offering a great range of fully funded training – further details are below.
How to sell food & drink internationally
17th January 2023 – 10am to 11am – Online
Delivered in partnership with the Department for International Trade, this event is only open to food & drink producers.
British food and drink is among the best in the world and renowned for its quality, provenance, and innovation. The world is hungry for iconic British products. Our newly signed, world-class Free Trade Agreements make it easier for UK businesses to sell their world-class products overseas.
This virtual webinar will help NPH Food & Drink producers to understand how to extend their reach and grow their exports through:
- Developing an awareness of market opportunities
- Understanding the critical steps on your exporting journey in the sector
- Finding out how DIT can support your ambitions
It will also cover topics such as evaluating your export readiness; getting into market – freight and export documents, due diligence – packaging and labelling; getting customers and getting paid – marketing and pricing.
You’ll also hear from Edmund Wood from Belgrove Rum and Oliver Nohl-Oser from Ollie & Lucys who will tell you how to overcome the barriers and enjoy the success of business growth from selling overseas.
Leadership Resilience – Leaders learning to thrive
24th January 2023 – 9.30am to 12.30pm – Online
A workshop to raise awareness of, and to look at the impact of, mental health, wellbeing and resilience in the workplace, and how to lead confidently with these topics.
Concepts and tools will be introduced, and strategies explored to enable leaders to develop their knowledge and ability to support themselves and others within their organisations.
Topics covered within this session would include:
- Creating a climate to thrive
- Clear communication
- Mental health
- Stress
- Resilience
- Tools and techniques to support employees
As a result of this workshop participants will be able to:
- Demystify issues around mental health/illness, stress, and resilience
- Shift perceptions and address the stigma often associated with unwellness
- Broaden understanding about stress anxiety and depression and their relation to poor mental health
- Explore how participants can manage their own stress
- Gain simple tips and techniques to help keep themselves and others who may be experiencing poor mental health
- Managing others in times of poor mental health well-being
Back to basics – understanding your accounts
25th January 2023 – 10am to 1pm – Online
There are three accounting terms you really need to understand when running a business: balance sheet (statement of financial position), profit and loss account (income statement) and cash flow statement
In this three hour, practical, back to basics workshop Maria Ramsdale of Maria Ramsdale Finance Ltd will help you answer questions such as:
- What is turnover?
- What are the elements in my cost of sales and how to calculate the margins?
- What is gross profit?
- What’s included in my administrative expenses?
- What is net profit and how to calculate it?
- How to calculate your stock days and debtor days
- How much do you really take from your business – understanding dividends
- How to calculate important KPI’s for your business
- Can your business pass the Acid Test?
- Understanding of terms like EBITDA
An introduction to Social Value
6th February 2023 – 10am to 11.30am – Online
If you do business with public sector it is likely that you’re being asked questions about your social sustainability.
As of 1st January 2021 all central government departments were required to embed Social Value weighting within tender criteria, for any purchases over OJEU. In practice, even though OJEU is well over £100k, some public procurers are already applying social value criteria to any purchase over £50k or so. At a minimum weighting of 10% (and in some cases 20-30%) it’s becoming something that can make or break you winning a contract.
This webinar discusses what social value is, and the legislation and methodology that sits behind it. It will explain how different procurers are applying this differently, and discusses common themes you can anticipate.
Claire Louise Chapman FICRS is Director of specialist Social Value consultancy The Shared Value Business. She specialises in designing Social Value policy and processes for clients, training and mentoring sustainability and corporate responsibility professionals and acting as technical advisor, reviewer and lead author on in-tender Social Value responses.
Effective presentation skills
8th & 15th February 2023 – 1pm to 4.30pm – Online
This course is of real benefit to those with little experience who are looking to improve their skills. Those with more experience, who feel they need a refresher and want to learn new techniques, will also find it valuable.
We’ll show you how to design, structure, write and deliver successful presentations. You will also learn important analysis techniques that ensure that the audience is as involved and attentive as possible, even if the subject matter is potentially dry.
Day One
The design, structure and preparation of effective presentations
How to write prompt notes that keep you on track.
Consideration of the needs and expectations of the audience and how to fulfil them
Day Two
The skilful use of body language including posture, gestures, movement and eye-contact
How to use your voice for impact, including volume, pace, pitch and enunciation
How to control nervousness and maintain your focus.
Tik Tok and Instagram for Business
14th February 2023 – 10am to 1pm – Online
As of last year, 9 out of 10 adults in the UK owned a smartphone, but do you feel you’re using it to its full potential? We’ve come a long way since the days of Nokia 3310s and spending hours playing Snake. The modern smartphone is much more than just a computer in your pocket. It’s a communication tool, and video camera, a podcasting tool and more. In fact, more recent social platforms such as Instagram and TikTok are almost exclusively populated by smartphones and tablet created content, meaning that little device you have in your pocket is key to your entire content marketing strategy.
In this interactive workshop, we will give you everything you need to make full use of your smartphone, to create an Instagram page, launch a TikTok channel and create your first video. If you think TikTok is all dance trends and young people, you couldn’t be more wrong! With the number of users expected to reach 10 million in the UK by the end of this year, it’s a platform that businesses cannot afford to ignore. This session is for businesses who’d like to get started on TikTok, or those who’d like to develop their digital marketing skills
For those thinking of starting their own business or in the first three years of trading our Business Start-Up Support programme is running the below free training.
Optimising Websites for Lead Generation – making better use of your website
7th February 2023 – 1.30pm to 4.30pm – Online
The first step when generating leads online is to get your prospects to your website, rather than one belonging to your competitor. Now your potential customers are on your website, the next stage begins…conversion.
This workshop will look at some of the most popular and the most successful techniques for converting website visitors into leads, including optimising your contact forms, convincing CTA’s (calls to action) and how to get the most from your layout.
We will also look at how to create pages with website traffic in mind. You will leave this course with a stronger understanding of how to get customers to your website, and the lead generation strategies that will work for your business.
By the end of this workshop you will know:
- How we can learn from the lead generation strategies of larger companies
- Why some websites convert and some don’t
- Which lead generation techniques are suitable for your business
Financial Records and Administration Issues
7th February 2023 – 9am to 12.30pm – Dodd & Co, Montgomery Way, FIFTEEN, Rosehill Industrial Estate, Carlisle CA1 2RW
Where to start?
- Legal Status – trader, company, or something else
- Dealing with HMRC, and Companies House
- Accounting periods, dates, and deadlines
- Recording transactions and anticipating HMRC enquiries
- Bookkeeping – tips and good practice
- Reconciliations
- Allowable expenses
Writing the right content for your business
Tuesday 14th February, 2023 – 9am to 1pm – Online
In this interactive and practical half day workshop entrepreneurs will learn ways to communicate the right message for their business through written materials published in print and in an increasingly online world.
The workshop includes:
- The importance of identifying the right messages for your business
- A brief guide to writing compelling copy for websites, e-marketing, corporate brochures and connecting with our customers through content marketing
- Hints and tips to ensure you write colourful and compelling copy
- What not to do – troubleshooting good and bad examples
- Brainstorming exercises to position your business most effectively
Social media strategy
21st February 2023 – 9.30am to 12.30pm – Online
Social media has had an astounding impact on businesses over the last decade and the social revolution is continuing to skyrocket. With digital communication being front and centre in the customer journey, businesses must incorporate social media into their marketing strategies and harness the opportunity to engage with their target audiences. It all sounds so easy, but no doubt there are challenges when it comes to social media.
Who has the time? Or the resources? Who’s going to come up with content ideas? Who’s going to manage your accounts and keep an active presence? How will you know if your posts are having any impact? There are so many questions that need to be addressed in order to stay ahead of the curve, create great content and keep up with your target audience.
If you are new to using social media for business, or are wanting to improve the results you are seeing so far, this training course will be a valuable guide to helping you plan a social media strategy and explore the ideal social media platforms for your business, as well as how to implement your social media strategy and measure what’s working well and what to improve.
- The value of a social media strategy
- Setting SMARTER goals
- Learn where and who your audience are and how to target them
- Planning effectively & time saving tips
- Choosing the right social media platforms for your business
- Creating a content calendar
- How to keep track of your social media activity
- How to measure success on social media
To book a place on any of the above please email info@cumbriagrowthhub.co.uk – we can only offer one place per individual/business per course.
You can also take advantage of the below opportunities
CITB drop in clinic
Thursday 17th January – 4pm to 5.30pm, Carlisle College
Carlisle College apprenticeship team are holding another construction industry based drop-in clinic with Monica Costelloe from CITB to assist with apprenticeship grants, funding and more.
Cumbria Innovations Platform – CUSP II: Successful Sales Management, 26th January 2023
People First Conference Centre, Carlisle
Managing sales in any company is a challenge.
When companies set out to ‘grow sales’, what they’re doing is almost always ‘business development’. Validating product-market fit and all the assumptions made about new products, new processes, new pricing etc.
Leading the sales process needs perpetual positivity, endless enthusiasm, objectivity …….and a process.
This session, brought to you by CUSP and Entrepreneur Business School (EBS), will provide you with the tools, insight, and tried and tested processes for successful sales management, which you can adapt and use within your company.
Learning Outcomes:
Managing Sales has four Learning Outcomes. After completing this course each delegate will be able to:
- Build a segmented Sales Plan and allocate Revenue Targets & Priorities.
- Implement a weekly sales review process.
- Apply the ‘Forecast by Achievement’ process to predict Sales Revenue for each period
- Manage the sales achievement towards each End of Quarter target.
Using these outcomes, a delegate can start to build a sales management process for their business which will deliver sales to forecast.
Click here to book your place.
Find out more about Cumbria Innovations Platform (CUSP II)
‘Small Business Accelerator’ sessions with Amazon
This event is for SMEs based in Cumbria with less than 250 FTE employees, turnover less than 50m euros, balance sheet total less than 43m euros.
The Be the Business Digital Incite sessions are continuing into 2023!
Hear from Amazon experts and other subject matter specialists to equip your business with the tools needed to make the digitisation of your business a long-lasting success.
Three online sessions starting in January , facilitated by Jacqui Jackson from Thomas Jardine & Co based in Carlisle.
Further details and to book : Digital Incite Sessions: Strategy, skills and leadership needed for successful digital change | Be The Business
How to recruit superstars
Friday 27th January – 9.30am to 11.30am – Suite 4 Kendal Business Hub, South Lakeland House, Angel Yard, 21-23 Highgate, Kendal, LA9 4DY
Are you struggling to recruit? Then come along to this free workshop delivered by Meraki HR.
Meraki HR will share top tips to help you recruit superstars.
- The importance of your company purpose and values
- How to tell your employer story
- Where to find your superstars
- Using social media effectively
- How to create a great candidate experience
To book email hello@merakihr.com or call 01539 482709
The Department for International Trade
Check out the below being offered by DIT, all virtual and free of charge, and all with the objective to help businesses grow their sales internationally
Foundation sessions
16th January Virtual – 2pm to 3pm – Pricing Strategy and Routes to Market
17th January – 10am to 11am Customs Procedures (Part 2)
20th January – 10am to 11am – Getting Paid
23rd January – 2pm to 3pm – Understanding Incoterms
25th January – 10am to 11am – Export Controls
27th January – 2pm to 3pm – Selling Services Part 1
30th January – 2pm to 3pm – Selling Services Part 2
Masterclass sessions
16th January – 10am to 11am – Top Tips for Creating your International Marketing Strategy
18th January – 10am to 12noon – Managing Agents and Distributors
19th January – 2pm to 3pm – Introduction to Europe
Market sessions
12th January 2pm to 3pm & 26th January 10am to 12noon – Introduction to Free Trade Agreements
Registration and more information can be found on www.great.gov.uk/exportacademy
Understanding Carbon Offsetting
9th February – 2pm to 3.15pm (online)
Join CAfS to learn about the opportunities, complexities and challenges of carbon offsetting.
With the global focus on rapidly cutting emissions to net zero, offsetting has an important role to play in achieving that challenging ambition.
However, while funding schemes such as reforestation or renewable energy generation might appear to be a means of balancing carbon budgets, it’s vital to first prioritise drastic emission reductions.
There are also legitimate questions about the ethics of offsetting. These include the validity of bold net zero claims, whether offsetting is being used as greenwashing, and what the impacts might be on local communities and nature.
There are also significant concerns about the additional and lasting benefit of nature-based offsets, particularly if environmental actions might have happened anyway, or are not being appropriately managed to ensure permanence.
With such a complex and challenging scenario, how can we all make the right choices…?
To find out what the webinar covers and to book your place click here