Business support programme helps Trafford’s Self Employed thrive

An innovative pilot business support programme has added over £12.7m in business revenue to self-employed workers across Greater Manchester.

EnterprisingYou is a fully funded business support service that offers a mixture of workshops, coaching, health and wellbeing support to self-employed and gig economy workers across the region.

Since launch, EnterprisingYou has had a positive impact on over 3000 participants and the wider Greater Manchester community it has supported, from boosting the local economy, driving business growth and empowering self-employed workers.

Originally from Sweden, Nina Daniels is an artist living in Altrincham, she founded her homeware business NINA D in 2020. Whilst looking for business support she was recommended to EnterprisingYou.

“After completing the EnterprisingYou programme in November 2021, I saw significant progress in terms of sales and publicity at the start of 2022.

“My business is moving forward at the pace I had hoped for during my time on the programme. I am increasing sales and gaining more recognition and brand awareness not only regionally but nationally.

“In March last year, I was invited to present my personal story and how I founded my business at a Trafford Business Start-Up Event for International Women’s Day. I am thrilled to now have my tableware in independent homeware stores not only in the UK but also in Ireland, Switzerland and the USA.” Nina Daniels, Homeware Designer and EnterprisingYou participant

EnterprisingYou was launched in 2019 to combat the issues raised in a stark report in 2018 from the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB). The report found that despite the over 4 million-strong self-employed workforce contributing over £270 billion to the UK economy in 2017, they were often at the sharp end of the nation’s fiscal and financial challenges.

The programme works with self-employed Greater Manchester residents who have earnings of less than £27,000.

Yvonne Sampson – Head of Enterprise, GC Business Growth Hub said “The UK has a proud tradition of self-employed workers. We just want to make sure that tradition continues.

“Many were already struggling, but the pandemic magnified those issues. Programmes like EnterprisingYou offer help and support and are designed in a way that people will eventually be able to stand on their own.

“We’re really proud to have helped thousands of self-employed people in Greater Manchester to succeed.”

Extended twice due to its success, the pilot programme was commissioned by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA), with funding from the Department for Education (DfE).

Alongside the millions in revenue added by the self-employed, the Insight Report shows the programme’s 3,000 participants saw a £663,246 reduction in benefits claimed and a £4.7m increase in businesses profitability.

With the impact of the ‘cost-of-living crisis’ continuing to be felt, programmes like EnterprisingYou are making a real difference to communities in the UK. If rolled out Nationally, the programme could add £136.7m to self-employed business revenues and increase self-employed business profits by at least £50.6m.

To celebrate three years of EnterprisingYou and its success, GC Business Growth Hub hosted an event in Manchester’s historic Midland Hotel which was attended by alumni, representatives from each Greater Manchester local authority, universities and all those involved in delivering EnterprisingYou.

The event looked at the important role EnterprisingYou played in unlocking opportunities for the Greater Manchester self-employed workforce, with talks led by Andy Burnham and the team that delivered the programme.

Enterprising You is still working to help self-employed workers across Greater Manchester. Find out more – Help for Self-Employed in Manchester | EnterprisingYou (enterprising-you.co.uk)