In-Company Masterclass: Overcoming obstacles to business growth, from a queer perspective

Business growth: is it the objective your striving towards every day, or that illusive thing that would solve all your business’ problems if only it would finally happen?

Most of us are in our first entrepreneurial or leadership role, and as such with the growth of every extra £thousand of turnover, and with every additional staff member, we’re suddenly leading the largest business or team we have ever led – and it can always grow further, as we get better and better at what we do.

Navigating this challenge means not just looking out for competitors, new markets, and opportunities but it also means looking within.

What are our motivations for growth? What are our personal barriers to turning well laid plans into action?

And how have each of our unique experiences as LGBTQ+ people impacted our self belief, our desire to be seen more widely, our sense that we deserve success, our ability to be stride out on our own, our instinct to challenge norms and look at things differently?

Join other LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs and leaders in this interactive and tailored half-day masterclass that will cover:

• Why go for growth: Why do we want to grow? What does growth mean to us? Is turnover vanity and cash sanity, or is sustainability true success?
• Growth starts from within: How do leaders drive growth, and how do our experiences as LGBTQ+ people impact our ability to embrace this role of ‘leader’?
• Ways to grow a business: There are surprisingly few ways to grow a business. We’ll look at each in turn, with examples, anecdotes and stories, and we will have the space to think about how they might apply to your business.
• Drawing together a plan: It’s easy to let growth slip when you’re in the day to day of operating and firefighting in a business. You’ll leave with a clear and realistic action plan for your next steps.
• Network and peer support: Discussing your business and growth plans in the group will leave you with more contacts. These contacts often provide mutual support to each others plans.

Tailored specifically to the needs of LGBTQ+ led businesses, this session will:

• give you the insight, clarity and direction to kick start your next run at growth.
• expose you to methods to grow your business, and the stories of other people who have.
• help you formulate a clear action plan to take the steps needed to start growing your business.
• leave you with connections with fellow entrepreneurs and leaders taking steps to grow their businesses in the coming months.

About Matt

Matt is a serial social entrepreneur, running two growing digital businesses in Manchester: Reason Digital and Impact Reporting, together turning-over around £3million, a team of around 50 staff, and with clients across the UK, Europe the US and Africa.

Matt also sits on the boards of a number of organisations, advising them on digital, business management and growth. These include The Roffey Park Institute, the UK’s LGBTQ+ youth homelessness charity: akt, and The University of Manchester General Assembly.

Matt has been recognised with a number of awards including Digital Entrepreneur of the Year at the Digital Entrepreneur Awards, and Director of the Year (Sustainability and Social Impact) by the Institute of Directors North West. Matt understands the need for organisations to work for the people they serve and that work in them and believes business does best by doing the right thing for service users, staff, society and, crucially, founders and leaders.

In his spare time Matt sings in a choir, enjoys getting out in the great outdoors, and is currently studying towards a Masters degree in Psychotherapy.

If you’re interested in bringing this masterclass to your business, contact claire@onthelevelconsultancy.com.