Record numbers line up to give their business a touch of class

The investment bank has funded a business education programme that has helped small businesses to obtain advice about how to grow their enterprises.

The scheme, which was the first of its kind in the UK, is being delivered by experts from Leeds University Business School and Said Business School at Oxford University. Under the programme, entrepreneurs go on a four-month business and management course which has an emphasis on real-life practical experience.

Since it was launched last year, 52 Yorkshire businesses have graduated in total. Most of the courses have taken place at Shine in Harehills in Leeds, the social enterprise that was founded by American Todd Hannula. It is part of a broader programme by Goldman Sachs to provide support for 10,000 small businesses.

A Goldman Sachs spokesman told the Yorkshire Post: “We have just selected another 30 entrepreneurs who will begin in October. Thirty is our largest cohort to date and comes from a wide geographical spread across the Yorkshire region.

“We’re starting to recruit for the next cohort in October to start in February. Interest remains incredibly strong and the quality of businesses is extremely high.”

Richard Gnodde, co-chief executive officer of Goldman Sachs International, and co-head of the investment banking division, said: “We firmly believe that small businesses and social enterprises play an essential role in driving economic growth in the UK. There is an untapped source of strong entrepreneurial spirit in the UK.

“If the small business owners and social enterprise leaders we have worked with are then able to deliver real growth for their business and increase job creation within their workforce, we will have achieved our goal.”

The latest batch of entrepreneurs who have completed the course include, Viv Parry, managing director of Leeds-based Exquisite Handmade Cakes.

She said: “There have been many initiatives in the past which have provided funding and advice to business owners, the key difference on the Goldman Sachs programme is that it provides a wraparound of support.”

She said there was a great spirit of comradeship among those taking part in the Goldman Sachs scheme.

She added: “We have helped to advise each other on our ongoing business problems and strategic plans and, most importantly, we have all inspired each other to achieve success.

“There are now many people we can all turn to for help. All members of the group now have contacts for specific advice and also for friendship.

“The world of a business owner can feel like a very lonely one without this like-minded friendship. On top of all this, we have all had the opportunity to network in the traditional sense and there has been plenty of business done within the group.

“This business network is an ever increasing one as we are now connected to the first cohort and will subsequently be connected to the next

“It is an innovative experiment by Goldman Sachs and must be a very expensive one as all we were asked to contribute was our time. However I’m sure it will lead to some big success stories.”

Elizabeth Paris, University of Oxford Programme Director for the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses UK Initiative, added: “One of the most rewarding aspects of the programme has been to see the impact the entrepreneurs have on their local communities. Not only are they already taking on new employees, but many have become even more involved with local activities and building working partnerships with local social enterprises.”

Professor Nigel Lockett, of Leeds University Business School, said: “We are delighted to have been part of this programme from the beginning and have seen it go from strength to strength.

“The consistently high calibre of the candidates is testament to the quality of the small businesses and entrepreneurs that Yorkshire has to offer.”

Blazers boost end of term

Some of the entrepreneurs from Yorkshire who have completed the Goldman Sachs’ business education programme gathered for an “end of term” photo, wearing blazers provided by Bernard Bunting, managing director of Leeds-based Perry Uniform who was on the course.

Mr Bunting said: “When you are running a small business it’s quite difficult to take a step back if you’re on the coal-face all the time. We had the opportunity to reflect, gain significant insights, and then apply them.”