Whether it’s a new marketing campaign or upgraded software, we can all agree that investing in the right thing, at the right time, is a fundamental part of being a business owner.

While many experience anxiety as a serious mental health condition, requiring specialised professional support, others might suffer from it occasionally, especially at work.

The theme of this year’s Stress Awareness Month is hope, not simply as a feeling, but as a positive action we can take to further our goals, whatever they might be.

Whether you’ve just been promoted to your first management position or you’re steadily scaling up the size of your team and your number of responsibilities, it’s always a good time to reflect on your leadership skills.

Delegation is one of the most important skills to master if you want your business to grow. Yet, it can be one of the most difficult to develop – especially if you’ve built your business from the ground up. You might feel reluctant to trust other people with important responsibilities, or feel that it would take longer to explain the task to someone else than it would to do it yourself. While these concerns might be valid, the benefits of effective delegation far outweigh any initial teething problems.

Business Scale Up has the pleasure of working with talented women across the region, from advisors, consultants and training providers to small business owners themselves.

We’re all agreed: running your own business is hard work. Thankfully, there is a huge range of funding options out there to help you strengthen your business success.

We can promise you no hidden costs, no confusing admin and no limit to the support you can access. So that’s it. No asterisks, caveats or hidden costs. Just growth made simple.

Let us guess. You started January with optimism and motivation, determined to work tirelessly and turn your business into the next global sensation. But now that we’re well into the new year, reality has set back in (along with the gloomy weather), and your resolutions and goals feel like a distant memory. We hear you. And we’re here for you. Let’s have a look at why you may be struggling to meet your own expectations and how we can help.

“Sales is about building relationships. People do like buying from people that they like, that they trust and that are most like them.” Regardless of the size of your team, how long you’ve been running or which sector you work within, sales is a major part of business success. Whether you’re selling a product to a customer, a service to another business or selling yourself to your stakeholders, the same techniques and processes apply.

Christmas is around the corner. You might be trawling Amazon for last-minute Christmas gifts, searching for your next big read, or looking for your 2023 podcast addiction. To help you narrow down your search, some of our expert leadership and coaching providers from the Business Scale Up Programme have gifted us with some of their own recommendations.

This Disability History Month, we caught up with Jane Fisher (Founder and Director of Jane Fisher Associates) to get her insights on diversity and inclusivity in the workplace.

If you’ve recently developed a new team, you’re probably most worried about getting them up to speed so they can do their jobs in the present. But how much time are you spending thinking about retaining the team to secure your future?

So, you’re ready to build a new team. Maybe your business is just getting started, or maybe your success has meant you’re able to take on more employees. Either way, you need to make sure they’re engaged and empowered to drive performance.

“We spend so much of our lives at work just ‘getting by’. Why not be happy? I mean, actually happy?” Adrian O’Neil, Business Engagement Advisor. To celebrate both World Mental Health Day and National Work Life Week, we’re talking about why employee wellbeing is so important and what you can do to support your workforce.

We’ve had a long list of new terms thrown our way over the last few years, but the latest one to add to the list is ‘unretirement’: the act of returning to work after you’ve retired.

We hear about the rising cost of living every day, on the news, on social media and in conversations with those around us. But what about the rising cost of doing business?

Since 2021, employees have been voluntarily resigning from their jobs in huge numbers in the so-called ‘Great Resignation’. As a business owner, this cultural phenomenon might feel overwhelming and out of your control. Luckily, there are a few things you can do to improve your chances of holding on to your valuable team.

What better day than Yorkshire Day to celebrate all the support for Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs) across our region? Whatever stage you’re at in your business journey, you can access local advice, guidance, training, funding and more.

One of our very own Business Advisors, Hannah Tuckey, emphasises the importance of taking time to step back and take stock to prevent burnout.