Growing your business
Are you ready to grow your business and take it to the next level? If so we have put together a list of schemes and initiatives that are available to help your business grow.
Digital marketing guide
We have put together an informal marketing guide [PDF, 0.1MB] full of handy tips and advice for small local businesses looking to increase their social media and online presence.
Local sources of business support
Allia's business support programmes are designed to help entrepreneurs to develop and grow impact ventures.
Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) offers a wide range of opportunities for businesses, from professional development, through to consultancy, to support for innovation.
The Business and IP Centre Cambridgeshire supports entrepreneurs, inventors and small businesses through Intellectual Property and Market Research advice sessions and workshops, on a range of business support topics.
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Growth Hub gives local businesses access to a wide range of business support, advice, grants and events, aimed at helping businesses to grow and develop.
Growth Works is a business growth service set up to help businesses accelerate their growth through strategic growth coaching and consultancy, access to talent and apprenticeships, and providing critical revenue and capital investment.
The Institute for Manufacturing (IFM) at the University of Cambridge can provide consultancy and support for manufacturing businesses of all sizes.
The Judge Business School at the University of Cambridge offers resources for entrepreneurs to help you grow your business successfully through its Entrepreneurship Centre. It also offers courses in business management for executives, leaders and managers.
Let’s Do Business Group is a leading provider of business support and finance, helping businesses across the South East and East of England to start-up, grow and thrive, as well as increasing employment opportunities to grow our local economies.
Nationally available business support
Amazon Small Business Accelerator supports the UK’s thriving small business community by providing a range of free-to-use resources and events to support start-ups, entrepreneurs and small businesses.
The British Library Business and IP Centre provides a range of information, services and training programmes to help businesses scale up, or develop new products and services.
The Federation of Small Businesses provides a range of useful information and fact sheets.
Goldman Sachs' '10,000 Small Businesses' is an initiative to help entrepreneurs create jobs and economic opportunity by providing greater access to education, capital and business support services. '10,000 Small Businesses' is funded by Goldman Sachs and the Goldman Sachs Foundation.
The Department for Business and Trade's Help to Grow helps businesses to find, access and use the information and support they need in one place. The website is aimed at upskilling both big and small businesses across the country by helping them to:
- Learn new skills
- Reach more customers
- Boost business profits
Free webinars are available from HMRC, aimed at supporting your business. A whole range of topics are covered, from trading internationally, tax advice, guidance if you are self-employed and many other helpful business support topics.
Mentorsme connects companies with mentoring organisations that can support and guide their growth. If you are a business that needs support or a business professional who can offer support, Mentorsme can help you connect with each other.
NerdWallet has created a "business growth hub" to support local businesses with a range of services for start-ups and small businesses. This includes raising finance, through to business automation.
VisitEngland’s free Business Advice Hub helps tourism businesses to grow, with free resources, advice and toolkits.
Innovation
Innovate UK has funds and competitions available to help businesses undertake a range of tasks including feasibility testing, product creation and improvement, and research and development.
Research and Development tax reliefs on corporation tax are available for projects that try to develop practical science or technology solutions, even if they fail.
Exporting
The Department for International Trade’s website offers guidance for new, occasional and frequent exporters.
Cambridgeshire Chambers of Commerce offer a range of services to help exporters.
Enterprise Europe Network aims to help businesses innovate and grow internationally.
Open to Export is a community-based business service aimed at helping small and medium-sized enterprises to export.
The EU have a useful one stop portal providing practical advice on how to do business in Europe.
Social enterprises
The following websites are aimed at those businesses that trade for a social and/or environmental purpose.