Support to supercharge small business growth

Hertfordshire Growth Hub provides local SMEs with free expert, bespoke advice and support to help propel their expansion and growth. This includes the Get Growing 2 (GG2) programme, funded through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

Discover how GG2 has enabled Stevenage-based ElectrAssure Limited, and St Albans-based Gem Cable Solutions and Good Ventures, to build on their success with support from Hertfordshire Growth Hub, a service led by Hertfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership.

ElectrAssure

ElectrAssure delivers electric vehicle charging solutions and the business has doubled in size in each of the past two years. Service Development Directory and founder, Loyd Davies, felt he needed external support in drawing up a structured marketing strategy to raise the profile of the company and attract new businesses while projecting a more professional operation.

ElectrAssure were accepted onto the GG2 programme and received financial help to update their website and produce new brochures through an external marketing organisation.

Loyd said their ability to promote themselves to potential customers has developed substantially and added: “The Growth Account Manager at the Growth Hub proved to be very effective as a sounding board. They listened to what we had to say, who we are and what we do as a company and provided us with some valid proposals as to what options were available for us.”

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Good Ventures

Ethical product development company, Good Ventures (pictured), designs, formulates, manufactures, and distributes two brands, Evolve Beauty and Adaptology. Products are hand-made and the business has grown rapidly in the last seven years, from three employees and a turnover of £100,000, to 44 employees and a turnover of £5 million.

Founder Laura Rudoe received a Business Expansion Grant to buy new equipment to upscale production capacity and a GG2 grant to upgrade the company website. Laura said Hertfordshire Growth Hub’s support was vital to her small business which didn’t have the budget available to work with a high-quality, website design agency.

She added: “Our contact at the Growth Hub has been instrumental in supporting us with accessing grants.”

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Gem Cable Solutions

Gem Cable Solutions designs and manufactures bespoke cables for the nuclear, aerospace, satellite, transport and broadcasting sectors.

With demand for products and services accelerating and the workforce expanding from 18 to a projected 42 by the end of this year, MD Steve Jack wanted to improve their management of production processes.

Through the GG2 programme, he was able to secure funding and a consultant’s support to transfer information on 10,000 products to a new system, as well as an external Financial Director’s help to manage complex financial changes to the business.

Steve praised the Account Managers at the Growth Hub, saying: “I am always keen to hear from them because they provide specialist support. I know that I can’t do everything myself and need experts to provide that extra knowledge, particularly during this rapid growth in the company.”

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Learn more about the Get Growing 2 programme.