Are you considering turning your passion into a business? Or have you already taken that leap? Are you self-employed or running your own business and keen to accelerate your growth?
We provide tailored support to help those with a budding business idea, as well as established self-employed individuals, freelancers and gig economy workers in Greater Manchester. Our support will help you start-up your new venture, elevate your profile or discover your business's growth potential.
Meet the Greater Manchester entrepreneurs who quit their jobs to make a difference, and how our support helped them succeed.
How one entrepreneur doubled her income by focusing on inclusivity
Reah Coo founded Inspire 321, a SEND consultancy business, after a career in special educational needs (SEN). Motivated by the systemic failures she witnessed and her passion for inclusion, Reah established Inspire 321 to support parents, carers, and educational providers in improving SEN policies and practices.
Our specialist EnterprisingYou program helped Reah restart her business after a break, providing her with the necessary skills and support to succeed. With our support, Reah now earns double what she did in her previous roles and feels more confident as an entrepreneur.
“The programme has given me strong foundations to build upon. The workshops helped with my website copy and social media strategy. [Advisors] were always available to answer questions during the workshops and practically take me through tips and tools that would help improve my marketing strategy.
“EnterprisingYou is an excellent opportunity to develop your skills as a business owner and entrepreneur, especially if you have no first-hand experience or you are the first in your family to walk this path. It gives you the tools and if you implement them and utilise the support available it can help accelerate your progress.” - Reah Coo, Founder of Inspire 321
The entrepreneur who overcame burnout to open a coffee cart that changes lives
Natalie founded Grounded MCR, a social enterprise aimed at supporting vulnerable adults with mental health issues. After experiencing severe burnout and a mental health breakdown, Natalie used the COVID lockdown to rethink her career and decided to create a business that combines her passion for food and drink with her desire to help others.
Grounded MCR employs individuals struggling with mental health, offering barista training and community support through coffee and conversation. Our support played a crucial role in helping Natalie develop her business plan, secure funding, and grow her enterprise.
“It's essential to have support, especially when it's already funded. Being surrounded by business experts has been invaluable to me. I have gained better contacts as well as a stronger understanding of financial planning, HR, and marketing. Without this program, I wouldn't have been able to reach this point” Natalie Lobel, Founder and Chief of Grounded MCR
Manchester entrepreneur who turned his passion into an investment worthy business
Full Power Cacao, founded by Liam Browne, is a Manchester-based business that sells ceremonial-grade cacao and offers cacao ceremonies and training. Inspired by his experiences in Guatemala, Liam started importing high-quality cacao and built a successful retail business, achieving over £100k in sales within a year with our support.
The business initially grew organically through social media and word-of-mouth but saw massive growth after Liam appeared on Dragon’s Den and secured funding from Steven Bartlett, Peter Jones and Gary Neville.
Liam’s experience with us mirrored his business journey, where he found that by fully embracing our support with an open mind it naturally stirred his entrepreneurial instincts.
“What I got from the support were ideas. Ideas on where I can improve, where we can generate more sales, where we can, for instance, get better e-mail marketing.
“All the way through the sessions I was constantly writing, constantly messaging my PA, just to say right, we need to do this, make a note of this. The sessions really sparked a lot of ideas and actions, which was amazing and really valuable.” Liam Browne, Founder of Full Power Cacao
If you're prepared to take the next step and transform your passion into a livelihood, or if you've already moved into self-employment and are eager to go even further, you don't have to do it alone.
Make the most of our tailored support for entrepreneurs and the self-employed - Self-employment | GM Business Growth Hub
Get in touch
Please contact us at 0161 3593050 or query below.
Take that first step and we’ll support you with whatever you need to succeed.
Sign-up to our newsletter
Insights, news, events and opportunities straight to your inbox.