Aycliffe Today Business Aycliffe Today Business Issue 38 | Page 14

14 | Aycliffe Today Business
GROWTH
POTENTIAL
Business leaders team
up to offer critical advice
to small businesses…
By Martin Walker
A
mbitious small companies aiming to
grow will be able to access critical
guidance and advice from a team of
Aycliffe business leaders in a series of new
free workshops.
Ebac executive chairman John Elliott,
Roman managing director David Osborne,
business advisor Pamela Petty and other
experienced business leaders will offer
one-to-one mentoring sessions as part of
the exclusive new workshops to be held on
Aycliffe Business Park.
Aycliffe Business Park Community (ABPC)
has again teamed up with the Durham
Business Opportunities Programme (DBOP)
to launch the Business Improvement and
Growth Programme, starting in the spring,
after the success of last year’s scheme.
The four free workshops covering all the
essentials of growing a business will be
delivered on a monthly basis at venues on
the business park.
The workshops are aimed at giving
practical advice and support tailored to
growing a business, and those on the
courses will hear from business leaders
about their experiences and how they’ve
overcome issues to grow their businesses.
Former Ebac managing director Pamela,
who now runs her own mentoring
consultancy, Entreprenising, and is also
a member of the ABPC board, said: “We
ran the workshops last year and they were
really successful, but we think the thing
that was missing was real experience – real
businesspeople, with real businesses that
are successful but also have a story to tell.
“We’re also offering mentoring sessions
to participants, so they can have some one-
to-one time with people who can listen and
offer critical advice.
“The mentoring will give the participants a
real boost to what they’ll have learned during
the workshops and help them put them into
practice within their business.”
Roman is the UK’s leading designer
and manufacturer of shower enclosures,
exporting its products to 54 countries around
the world, and employs 235 people from its
HQ on the business park.
Business leaders David Osborne,
Pamela Petty and John Elliott are
offering up their time to mentor
businesses as part of exciting new
growth workshops.
In 2017 the firm was named one of
Europe’s top 1,000 fastest-growing
companies and was presented with The
Queens Award for Enterprise for International
Trade.
Last year Roman won the Manufacturing
award at Aycliffe Business Park’s Make Your
Mark awards and also won the prestigious
consumer safety award for compliance in
bathroom products at the renowned National
Home Improvement Council Awards black
tie ceremony.
Managing director David Osborne says
he’s excited to be involved in the growth
workshops.
“We’re always happy to help local
businesses and share experiences – good
and bad,” he said.
“We already do a fair bit of mentoring
small businesses on an informal basis, but
hopefully this will be very useful for the
participants.
“Previously we’ve not had a great deal of
interaction with the companies around us,
due to the nature of our business, so it’s
nice to get around and to get to know our
neighbours and hopefully help some of our
ambitious local firms.”
Ebac was founded by engineer John Elliott
more than 40 years ago and currently has an
annual turnover of £17.5m.
It has been manufacturing dehumidifiers
for decades and is currently the only British
company to produce washing machines,
from its premises on Aycliffe Business Park.
“Of course, we need start-ups, but more
importantly we need established small
businesses to grow, that’s the key here,”
says John.
“One of the biggest satisfactions in
business, or in employment, is to see people
fulfil their potential, at whatever level.
“So it’s absolutely crucial that our small
and medium-sized businesses grow and fulfil
their potential.”
Last year, 14 people from 12 businesses
benefited from the courses, and organisers
are excited about the additions to this year’s
workshops.
Lisa Wall, business engagement officer for
Business Durham and DBOP lead, said: “The
aim of the workshops is to identify areas