From left to right: Kathy Poole- Partnership Manager at GetSet for Growth, Bev Hurley CBE- CEO at YTKO, Rashpal Martin- Regional Head of Business Development at NatWest Bank, Gemma Bourne- NatWest Business Growth Enabler, Staffordshire & Shropshire
In November, NatWest business team joined forces with the Staffordshire Chamber of Commerce and award-winning business support service GetSet for Growth to host an inspiring afternoon celebrating local women in business.
Pictured, left to right: Kathryn Strachecky, Prince’s Trust Mentor; Bev Hurley CBE, CEO of YTKO; Bridget Lovell, Deputy Lady Mayoress of Bristol; Tim Bowles, West of England Metro Mayor; Fiona Fraser, GetSet for Growth Senior Marketing Advisor; Toby Howkins, Outset Enterprise Advisor; Victoria Matthews, Business West Advisor.
Business creation and growth experts YTKO Group had a fantastic day at the Business Showcase South West event that took place on Wednesday 11th October 2017. Hosted at Ashton Gate Stadium in Bristol, this event is key in the business calendar and YTKO was proud to hold a double stand and keynote speech for the Enterprising West of England consortium.
A mission to support 10,000 entrepreneurs and established businesses has not just been achieved – but exceeded by 50%, and four years early.
Back in Autumn 2006, the YTKO Group set out on an exciting but seemingly impossible challenge for an SME to undertake: ‘to support the start up and growth of 10,000 businesses by 2020, collectively contributing over £1 billion pounds each year to the UK economy.’
Solent-based business consultancy GetSet have created a specialised marine business advice service, to be launched at the Seawork commercial marine and workboat exhibition on 13th June.
Helen Stratton, Marketing Strategy Director, says that GetSet have been developing specialised marine and maritime consulting over the past two years: “We’ve been asked more and more to help local marine-based firms improve their marketing, their finance, and their operations. We have now developed specialised services just for the marine sector, adding to our general business growth work.”
Earlier this year, the Government launched its consultation on a proposed Industrial Strategy. This aims to addresses long-term challenges to the UK economy, improving living standards and economic growth by increasing productivity and driving growth across the whole country.
YTKO’s view is that there is a real lack of clarity in the Green Paper on actually “how” various proposals in the consultation will actually be delivered, and on what evidence they are based. We are particularly concerned about the noticeable lack of focus on the SME economy, responsible for 60% of all private sector jobs, in favour of support for academic R&D.