Back to Business

The Back to Business Programme has now closed.  


The Back to Business programme, funded by BCP Council as part of their BCP Futures Campaign, helped businesses in the BCP area recover stronger from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Open to all small and medium-sized businesses trading on or before 31st March 2020, with a trading address in the BCP Council area, the programme engaged directly with more than 124 businesses, providing 54 of those businesses with more than six hours one-to-one business advisor support. 17 of those businesses were able to access further funded support aimed at addressing specific business challenges whilst a number of others were signposted to other business support programmes.  

“Thank you for your time, I really benefited from some time out to look at the business from another perspective. It made me feel more positive about what we are doing well instead of concentrating on our weaknesses.” - Managing Director, Care Home Supply Specialists 

ELIGIBILITY:

  • BCP COUNCIL AREA

  • < 250 EMPLOYEES

  • TRADING ON OR BEFORE 31/03/2020

1 : BUSINESS HEALTH CHECK

2 : IMPROVEMENT WORKSHOPS

3 : FOCUSSED FUNDING

 


 

Start your  journey and get back to business: 

STEP 1 - Business Health Check

Your business will complete an online diagnostic called GROWTHmapper, developed by Oxford Innovation. It allows up to 8 senior leaders from within a business to consider the business across the following areas:  

  • Finance
  • Marketing & Sales
  • Leadership
  • Innovation
  • Sustainability
  • People & Skills
  • Operations
  • Strategy
  • COVID-19 

A report will be generated which provides a basis for creating your future strategy.

STEP 2 - Tailored Improvement Workshops

Through the winter of 2021/22 we’ll be hosting a selection of workshops designed to help businesses improve their knowledge and move forward with their actions plans created through GROWTHmapper. 

  • Workshops will run across topics areas including: 
  • COVID-19 Financial Recovery
  • Technology Adoption
  • Leadership
  • Financial Management
  • Digital Marketing
  • Human Resources - and more...

STEP 3 - Focussed Funding

Business improvements up to the value of £2000 will be available through a competitive application process. Applications will be judged against their ability to create new jobs and/or improve revenue/profitability. 

We'll work with you to fund access to professional expertise that supports your business in your critical area of focus.    

Dorset Gateway is Dorset Local Enterprise Partnership's growth hub. We're funded by government to help businesses across the county to grow and propser.  Back To Business is funded by BCP Council,  if you're a Dorset business outside of BCP Council area there are many other ways we can help.  Find out more