York & North Yorkshire Growth Hub

It was great to meet so many local businesses at this week’s Roadshow at Malton & Norton Golf Club 🏌️♂️ all eager to overcome barriers and thrive. Our panel of business experts tackled the challenges brought by Orchard Lodge Boutique Hotel then opened the floor to questions and support from the audience, fostering a real sense of community amongst business owners within the local area. We're heading to sunny Scarborough next ☀️ sign up here: https://lnkd.in/eGHTGb5w Joanna Rodwell | Harriet L Stainton | Emma Rollason-Taylor | Adrian O'Neill | Jack Colding | Mike Pennington | Nick White | Faye Greer-Pickup | Joseph Midgley

📣 Empowering Women in Global Trade - York: 3 April 2025 Join us for an inspiring day dedicated to empowering women in global trade. Connect with experienced professionals, grow your network, and succeed in international markets. Why attend? ⭐ Inspiration: Learn from the experiences of successful women in international trade. ⭐ Networking: Connect with peers and experienced professionals. ⭐ Knowledge: Hear the latest on global economic trends ⭐ Support: Discover the support available from the Department for Business and Trade. ⭐ Expo and 1-2-1 Zones: Explore the business support expo and engage in one-to-one sessions with export champions and our International Trade Advisers. What you will learn: ⭐ Market Research: Become a market research guru. ⭐ Cultural Awareness: Understand the importance of cultural differences. ⭐ Market Entry: Learn how to use agents and distributors effectively. ⭐ Safety Regulations: Navigate the EU and UK General Product Safety Regulations (GPSR). ⭐ Branding: Strategies for internationalising your brand. These exclusive events are free to attend, with priority given to market-ready companies. Register now: https://lnkd.in/ehAjavBn

We're down to the final session of our Four Ways to Grow Your Manufacturing Business webinar series! The first two sessions sparked insightful discussions and received fantastic feedback. Now’s your chance to join in and discover what Made Smarter is all about. In this session, you’ll gain valuable insights on how to ⬇️ ✅ Engage and motivate your team – Your people are your greatest asset. Learn how to build a workforce that’s fully invested in your vision. ✅ Adopt a market-led strategy – Don’t just produce what you can; produce what your customers truly need. ✅ Create a lasting competitive edge – Identify what makes your business unique and leverage it to stand out from the competition. This isn’t just another webinar - it’s a chance to step back and rethink your approach to business growth. If you’re a manufacturer in Yorkshire & Humber, don’t miss this opportunity to improve your business. 🔗 Book your place now: https://lnkd.in/erKjPVfh Or read more about the sessions and Made Smarter here: https://lnkd.in/drAUusv Know someone who could benefit? Tag them in the comments! 👇 Oxford Innovation Advice South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority West Yorkshire Combined Authority York & North Yorkshire Growth Hub HEY Business, Growth and Skills Hub BrookConsult. Jeremy Boye KAREN DRUCE Marcus Pearson Vincent Traynor Jessica Armitage Les Selby Mike Pennington Jasmine Bunting Sheffield Business School Sheffield Hallam University

Our Making Values Pay webinar series continues with MEANINGFUL MARKETING this Thursday, 27 March at 10am. It's not too late to sign up and make your values pay 👉 https://lnkd.in/eeMGMFT6

📣We're heading to Malton & Norton Golf Club 🏌️next Wednesday, 26 March. Whether you’re navigating growth, refining operations, or overcoming a tricky hurdle, we are here to help with support from North Yorkshire Council and City of York Council Growth Advisors too! This is your chance to: ✔️ See the team provide specialist tailored advice live on stage ✔️ Experience the team tackle business challenges head-on ✔️ Meet our team and learn how they can help your business ✔️ Learn best practice from the experience of other local businesses ✔️ Uncover opportunities to grow, innovate, and thrive with our support We'll be joined by North Yorkshire Council's Senior Business Advisor for Thirsk and Malton, Joanna Rodwell. Jo takes lead responsibility for delivering a bespoke one-to-one business engagement and support service in the Thirsk and Malton constituency, as well as the Easingwold area. 📆 Wednesday 26 March – kicking off at 9:30am, with networking from 11:30am ➡️ Sign up now: https://lnkd.in/eTivpcmN - See you there! Harriet L Stainton | Joseph Midgley | Mike Pennington | Adrian O'Neill | Faye Greer-Pickup | Nick White | Emma Rollason-Taylor | Jack Colding | York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority

Webinar 💻 DIY Health Check For Your Website 📆 Friday 21 March, 10am Discover how to run your own ‘website health check’ using free and low-cost tools. We’ll cover the fundamentals of your website, including quick checks and easy wins in UX, SEO, and accessibility. It’s going to be an action packed session as we explain and demonstrate a series of checks anyone can run to discover how their website is performing. After the session, you can stay on for a Q&A with our experts where no question is too dumb and no question too hard. Register now: https://lnkd.in/eQpKdgVE

💻 Our website and email went down for a brief period this morning, we want to apologise for the inconvenience this may have caused. We’re happy to confirm that everything is now back up and running. Due to the unforeseen technical issues, we will be accepting applications for the Aspiring North Yorkshire Social Enterprises Grant for the rest of this working week. Apply now for a grant of exactly £500, distributed by Social Vision to social entrepreneurs across the region. This is an amazing opportunity for aspiring social entrepreneurs who want to test a social enterprise idea. Joseph Midgley | Harriet L Stainton | Emma Rollason-Taylor | Faye Greer-Pickup | Adrian O'Neill | Nick White | Jack Colding | Mike Pennington

There's still time to apply for the Social Enterprise Micro-Grant via the Growth Hub website, but the application deadline is Monday 17th March! https://lnkd.in/exsCXbf3 Grants of exactly £500 will be distributed by Social Vision to social entrepreneurs across the region, with the exclusive purpose of aiding them to test a social enterprise idea. Find out more and apply on our website. Joe Gardham carole roberts Community First Yorkshire

Due to popular demand, the Innovating with Data Masterclass is back! Make sure you grab your place on our fully funded innovation workshop running on the 2nd of April. Throughout the day we will delve into the world of data and explore various sources of data, methods of analysis, visualisation techniques, and how we can use data to drive innovation and growth within your organisation. "Highly recommended. Steve and the team delivered an exceptional syllabus explaining and illustrating the value of data science using a broad range of real-world use cases. The whole team continued to support delegates on industry-specific questions which added rich context to the topic." - Dale Parr This event is free for SMEs to attend and is taking place at York St John University in York. Places are limited, so register here to avoid disappointment. 👉 https://lnkd.in/eb6Qa5nT

It happened two weeks ago, and since then it seems to be all I’m talking about at work. Bizarrely it’s not the AI crisis, or Trump… On 24 February 2025 the Procurement Act came into effect and changed the way public procurement works. Since then, how small businesses and social enterprises can win work has been front and centre of my working world. Here’s a quick highlight of those conversations (and a ‘shout-out’ to some professionals who really care about social impact): 💬 The Procurement Act’s goal is to transform public procurement and put social value and small business at the heart of its priorities. 💬 Our latest Strive cohort put proposals, tendering and bid writing as their top priority for up-skilling (of course we’ve got some help for them). 💬 Willow Farrell, CEO of Norfolk’s FUSE Network CIC, knows too well the struggle small social enterprises face to win significant contracts. We had a great chat about how FUSE are working to support them in this. 💬 On Tuesday, YPO’s Caroline Brash MCIPS shared with me fascinating insights about how the public sector is responding to the act and some exciting opportunities in it for small business, as we planned a York & North Yorkshire Growth Hub - Making Values Pay webinar. 💬 Longtime champion of the small business Justin Lambert is also joining us to deliver the webinar. I had a blast chatting to him about the challenges and potential impacts of the private sector procuring from SMEs. 💬 With Jack Colding, Y&NY Growth Hub sustainability specialist, these chats took on a well deserved eco-element as we discussed accreditations, the part-funded carbon literacy training they are running and how it could help you win work. 💬 While with SNG’s Amy Evens, Wendy -. and Bella Adams-Mason we’ve been crunching the numbers of our last resident enterprise project using HACT’s Social Value Bank’s methodology and metrics. 💬 Meanwhile, my desk holds a growing stack of RFPs and RFQs. All will (and should) ask us to demonstrate the potential social value and impact of our projects. A theme of all these discussions, creating real social value is tough, evidencing it can be even tougher, but both battles are worth it! If you want to geek out about tendering and social value, do get in touch. Or, tune in to the Making Values Pay webinars that kick off in two weeks. https://lnkd.in/exHCNuyd