Developing your Skills as an Entrepreneur

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The entrepreneurial journey requires an understanding of many different facets of running a business. From accountancy to marketing and sales, keeping a grip on all these considerations in the startup stage can be a daunting challenge.

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Luckily there is a wealth of free support & mentoring to allow you as an entrepreneur to develop your business management skills on the fly and keep your business sailing smoothly. In this article, we will cover just a few of the various support options you can take advantage of to give yourself a boost forward.

 

Online Courses

 

As a business owner, the time & financial commitment required to attend lengthy sessions in-person to develop your skills means it may just not be realistic, but luckily there are a wealth of free online courses to take advantage of, many of which will allow you to progress at your own pace, allowing a healthy balance with your business commitments.

 

One of the most difficult learning curves for new business owners starting on their own is keeping the books in order. Hiring an accountant when you’ve just begun your journey may prove too much of a financial burden and so learning how to act as your own accountant in the embryonic stage of the business can give you a huge boost.

 

Organisations such as the Oxford Home Study Centre offer 10 separate book-keeping and accountancy courses ranging from the basics of book keeping all the way to the utilisation of AI in accountancy. All courses are completely free and can be completed at your own pace.

 

Marketing your business at the early stage and getting to grips with concepts such as website SEO and email campaigning could be crucial to creating awareness of your business and generating leads.

 

 Whilst enrolments are temporarily paused prior to the launch of an updated version, the Google Digital Garage provides a fantastic free course – ‘Fundamentals of Digital Marketing’ which covers all key considerations for marketing your product and running successful campaigns, providing graduates with a shareable certification at the end of the course.

 

Workshops

 

If online courses aren’t your thing or you feel you could benefit from something in-person without a huge time commitment, then workshops are a brilliant way to hone your knowledge and skills in various areas of business development.

 

BetaDen hosts regular workshops alongside our partners covering topics such as AI & Innovation, Fundraising for Sustainable Growth, Marketing for Business Owners and many more. All of our workshops are free to attend with the vast majority based in Worcestershire. Keeping an eye on the events page on the BetaDen website is the best way to keep up to date with upcoming public workshops.

 

Aside from BetaDen, many other organisations provide regular workshops to help business owners. For businesses based in the Worcestershire region, the Worcestershire Growth Hub website provides an event calendar containing a vast array of workshops ran by organisations in the area. Upcoming events include the Business Doctors’ Business Growth Strategy workshop on the 19th March and BIPC’s TikTok, Google and AI workshop on the 27th March, both taking place in Worcester.

 

For businesses based outside the Worcestershire region, the website of your local Growth Hub would be the best place to find business support workshops happening in your region.

Accelerator/Incubator Programmes

 

Whilst workshops and online courses can be fantastic ways to consolidate knowledge and learn new skills, you may find yourself wanting something more in-depth and tailored to your specific business situation. If so, then accelerator & incubator programmes are a brilliant way to receive expert mentoring and support, specifically appropriate to your business.

 

The BetaDen Incubate programme, aimed at start-up technology businesses or business ideas consists of 8 weeks of mentoring, both through workshops and 1-to-1 sessions, co-working space and the opportunity to build connections and collaborate with fellow intake members. Topics covered on the programme include Route to Market, Marketing, Intellectual Property, Cyber Security Essentials and Financial Management. Intake members will also have the opportunity to develop their pitching skills and will leave the programme with a pitch video that can be used to generate interest in their business.

 

For technology businesses further along in their journey, the BetaDen Accelerate programme provides business support over a 6 to 9 month period, with more opportunities for 1 on 1 support and more in-depth coverage of key business considerations. Furthermore, programme alumni will be eligible to receive grant funding – in the form of a proof of concept grant and a marketing fund. Much like the Incubate programme, alumni will have the opportunity to develop their pitching skills, culminating in a presentation at the prestigious BetaDen Showcase event, in front of an audience of government, investors and technology experts.

 

More information about the next stages of both programmes will be available soon, however expressions of interest are currently open for both and can be submitted here for Incubate and here for Accelerate.

 

Networking

 

Interacting with different individuals and being able to ‘sell’ your business to them through conversation is vitally important for building connections and impressing those who may provide a path forward for your business. Networking events such as the BetaDen StartUp Social are therefore a fantastic opportunity to hone your skills in connecting with others or finding those individuals who can fill the gaps in your knowledge.

 

The StartUp Social is aimed towards individuals in the tech & business space in the Midlands region and typically takes place once a month, with more dates coming soon make sure to keep your eyes peeled on the BetaDen events page.

 

Aside from BetaDen, organisations such as TOP Networking Worcestershire, Entrepreneurs Circle and Stirling Networks also provide similar opportunities to meet and collaborate with others in the entrepreneurial space.

 

Mentoring Worcestershire

 

For business owners who feel they could benefit from mentoring but feel they perhaps don’t have the time to commit to a full programme, Mentoring Worcestershire, a free Worcestershire County Council initiative, matches business owners with volunteer mentors to help them develop their knowledge and steer their business in the right direction. Mentors are assigned based on considerations such as sector, needs and personal traits and can prove to be a useful less time-costly way of gaining business mentoring.

 

Skills Boost

 

Whilst there are many useful free resources available, you may find that there is a paid course you feel is absolutely essential to the development of your knowledge and skills. If so and you are a business owner who is also an employer, the SkillsBoost Worcestershire funding programme allows business owners to claim per individual for upskilling in their organisation.

 

The initiative is for businesses of any size with the only requirement being that businesses must be based in the county of Worcestershire. This is a brilliant initiative that could help you access specialist courses and upskilling programmes that may be financially unviable for new business owners. The SkillsBoost grant is currently closed for applications, however stay tuned for announcements of the next stage of Skills Boost coming soon.

Summary

To conclude, there are a wealth of different options available if you are a business owner looking to develop your skills & build your knowledge. From free accredited online courses to in-person workshops, there are many options available dependent on your time availability and the financial situation of your business.

 

Whilst we have covered many options available in the Worcestershire region, we would advise you to search for your local Growth Hub or business support organisations, as similar support may exist in your region.

 

If you would like to read more from our Entrepreneurship Hub series, use the link here to find our full list of articles.