Last month, the University of Bath School of Management teamed up with UWE Bristol Business School to bring the region’s business support community into one room.
The message that came out of it was simple: nobody supporting SMEs is working alone. The session brought together chambers of commerce, growth hubs and networking groups from across the region, including Tim Major from Thames Valley Chamber of Commerce (TVCC), alongside the teams behind Help to Grow: Management, the 12-week leadership programme delivered by both universities. Rather than a series of pitches, the day was built around getting the room thinking not about programmes, but about the business owners they meet every day and where they’d point them for help.
It’s exactly that kind of support Gareth Taylor, founder of Swindon-based Inception IT, found when he applied for Help to Grow after 21 years running his business. Having built his career without a formal academic background, he’d assumed the course wasn’t really for him, until his interview, when he was told he was exactly the kind of person it was designed for. That moment, he says, shifted something.
The real impact of days like this sits beyond the room itself. Attendees left with a shared contact list and resources to draw on next time they’re advising a business owner, and several follow-up conversations about future collaboration are already underway.
For SMEs across the Thames Valley and beyond, that’s worth knowing: the organisations meant to support you aren’t operating in silos. They’re comparing notes, building relationships, and working out together how to get the right help to the right business at the right time. Growth is rarely a solo effort, and increasingly, neither is the support behind it.
Tim Major, Senior Account Manager, TVCC said
At Thames Valley Chamber of Commerce, we speak to business leaders every day who are looking for practical ways to grow, develop their teams and strengthen their leadership capability. Programmes such as Help to Grow, combined with strong regional partnerships, give SMEs access to the expertise, knowledge and connections they need to achieve sustainable growth.
