Free workshops aiming to support local SMEs

Free events: Leeds Beckett University will be hosting the workshops later this month to help small firms grow and thrive.

The workshops, entitled ‘From start-up to scale-up – How to grow fast and avoid the pitfalls’ – will take place in Leeds, Halifax and Wakefield on Monday 25, Wednesday 27 and Friday 29 March.

The events form part of Leeds Beckett’s Innovation Network series and will explore the challenges faced by early stage businesses who are looking to grow: from recruitment and funding to finding premises and developing new skills and processes.

Speakers at the events include: Mark Copsey, Lecturer at Leeds Business School and Director of development and training company Red Kite Innovations; and three company owners who have successfully scaled up their businesses while being based within Leeds Beckett’s University Business Centres.

Katie Rigarlsford, university business centre and regional development manager at Leeds Beckett, said: “Getting your start-up off the ground may have been challenging, but scaling it up can bring a new set of challenges.

“As your business grows you will need to use different skills, recruit staff members, adopt different processes and potentially find new premises. How you manage this growth is crucial as this will determine whether your business thrives or fails.”

The sessions will be held at Lupton Fawcett LLP, East Parade, Leeds, on Monday 25 March, 8.30am to 10.30am; the University Business Centre at Piece Mill in Halifax on Wednesday 27 March, 9am to 11am; and the Wakefield Suite at Wakefield One on Friday 29 March, 9.30am to 11am.

Visit www.leedsbeckett.ac.uk/ubc/training-and-events/events/ to find out more details and to book a place.