EnterprisingYou programme supporting the self-employed in Greater Manchester extended to 2023

A programme which has supported more than 1,700 self-employed business owners across Greater Manchester since last March will continue until 2023.

EnterprisingYou provides self-employed people, from sports coaches to hairdressers, and gig economy workers with tailor-made support through dedicated business coaches, with help in areas such as personal finance, mentoring, marketing, recruitment and health and wellbeing.

The innovative, free support programme, delivered by GC Business Growth Hub and PeoplePlus, is commissioned by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) with funding from the Department for Education (DfE).

EnterprisingYou was the first programme of its kind in the country when it launched just before the pandemic hit and proved a lifeline for many small business owners by helping them to adapt or retrain.

Participants receive support for up to six months, and some of the businesses helped include gardeners; taxi drivers; photographers; sports coaches; artists, hairdressers; garage owners and children’s entertainers.

Business leaders are hoping to support up to another 1,000 people between now and March 2023 through the dedicated programme.

Councillor Andrew Western, GMCA lead for Digital, Works, Skills and Clean Air, said: “EnterprisingYou has played an important role in ensuring self-employed people in our city-region have the support they need to grow and thrive. It is fantastic news the programme has been extended and will continue to boost Greater Manchester’s self-employed.

“Participants on the programme have been able to enhance their businesses by learning skills they previously may not have had access to, and we hope many more will sign-up and reap the benefits.”

Hilary Centeleghe, Head of Start-ups and Growth at GC Business Growth Hub, said: “EnterprisingYou is an incredible success story for Greater Manchester, ensuring self-employed people get the help they need to sustain and grow their businesses,

“With their creativity and entrepreneurism, self-employed people are the bedrock of our economy. Often, they’ve used their real-life experiences to start a business providing essential services and have the potential to really make a difference – which they can do with our help.

“Our EnterprisingYou business coaches are great at establishing what you need from a personal and business perspective to grow and succeed. We are looking forward to supporting even more people to reach their goals and achieve success.”

One of the businesses supported by EnterprisingYou is Calculated Performance, a private football coaching company run by Rochdale-based identical twins Adam and Jack Dunkerley.

They work with more than 200 players weekly including semi-pro and professional stars such as Manchester City and England forward Georgia Stanway.

With the support of their EnterprisingYou business coach, they have now launched three new training centres in Spain, will be delivering coaching sessions to 80 young people in January and opened two new sites in Greater Manchester.

Calculated Performance’s Adam Dunkerley said: “We wouldn’t have got to where we are half as fast without EnterprisingYou.

“Our business coach Paul is absolutely fantastic and we just couldn’t believe all the information, resources, workshops and support that are available for free.

“The scheme has allowed us to accelerate our knowledge and implement things much quicker and it’s helped our business massively.”

To qualify for EnterprisingYou, you must be a resident of Greater Manchester, aged 18-plus, either self-employed or working in the gig economy with an annual gross income below £27,000.

For more information or to sign up visit www.enterprising-you.co.uk.