St John’s Innovation Centre is inspiring and supporting business growth – leading the field in innovation and supporting businesses in growing the team.
As part of the ‘Inspiration for Growth’ programme, funded by the Greater Cambridge Partnership, Cambridgeshire based small businesses are invited to free workshops and business reviews. Recent participants have found the programme supported their growth and helped to create significant new roles within the company.
According to the Greater Cambridge Quarterly Economic Review April to June 2010, there continues to be a significant increase in unemployment, with a 66% rise in claimants out of work for between six months and one year. However, St John’s Innovation Centre is helping small businesses in Cambridgeshire grow, directly supporting the creation or safeguarding of 29 jobs in the last quarter.
Workshops are designed to cover all business needs with topics from employment to recruitment, marketing and social media. Businesses learn how to build their team effectively and efficiently, explore the professional advantage of LinkedIn and Twitter and develop a market strategy of what to sell and to whom.
The team at St John’s Innovation Centre understands the need to learn new processes and practices, essential in the development of business strategy and performance, achieving lasting growth and higher margins.
David Gill, Managing Director at St John’s Innovation Centre adds “Many of the companies we see across Cambridgeshire are still growing and planning increased growth, so we need to do all that we can to encourage and facilitate their development. The workshops are covering topics that any business wishing to grow will need to manage as part of their development.”
The package of support available also includes individual business reviews with experienced, independent advisors. The two hour session will be centered on business needs whether it’s a full business overview or specifically focused on for example, raising finance, funding or marketing.
Barbara Spurrier, of Cambridge Financial Partners enthused: “The excellent business support at SJIC has been an invaluable resource for the development of our team. We welcomed not only sound, expert advice but also a genuine focused interest in achieving our recruitment goals. With the business support we received, we were able to recruit an Assistant Accountant in April and our business has seen continued growth. We highly recommend this service.”
Nigel Brown, Chairman of Greater Cambridge Partnership, said “The network of contacts and expertise that St John’s Innovation Centre has, means that every business experiences considerable benefit from their involvement in the programme, allowing them to move forward with greater confidence”.
To reserve your place on a workshop today click here or contact events@stjohns.co.uk for further information.
