Angels' Den

Angels’ Den is finally back!

by with No Comment NewsWomen in Business

So, Angels’ Den is finally back! The event you’ve been waiting for, and the event we are so excited to put on again. 

The premise of the event is much like the popular show Dragons’ Den, budding entrepreneurs have a few minutes to pitch their start-up ideas to a panel of businesspeople. The twist here is everyone will be a winner. On the night, entrepreneurs from The Growing Club’s start-up programme, Roots and Shoots, will have a few minutes to pitch their start-up ideas to our panel of business “Angels”.

After all the pitchers have gone, the angels will discuss between them who can best support each woman. Everyone will be coming away with something, and it’s a great opportunity for businesses in the local area to support entrepreneurs, as what could be a small thing for one business could make all the difference to a start-up.

On the evening there will be fine company, an opportunity for networking, along with a buffet and some mulled wine, juice or hot drinks.

In the next few weeks, we will be announcing our angels. We have some familiar faces, welcoming back the support of the Chamber of Commerce, and some new faces as well. The offers from Angels are ranging from website design, accountancy, to business development and marketing strategies. So, make sure you keep your eyes on our social media accounts for these announcements, where you can follow these angels and see what there is on offer.

This event really encapsulates what we value here at The Growing Club, community, and mutual support. Mandy Blackwell, who organised the last Angels’ Den event back in 2018, said it was so special to her to have been involved in the organisation of the last event, and to be a part of an entrepreneur’s journey of starting out with an idea and seeing that idea come to life. For her now, it’s great to see years later that there are women who pitched and have businesses which are still trading.  

It’s an amazing opportunity to get that confidence boost which allows an entrepreneur to go self-employed.  Wendy Jones was pitched at our last Angels Den event and said that having the support from her Angel gave her that confidence to take that step and go fully self-employed. Also, having only 3 minutes made her home in on what it was she wanted. 

So, this is why you should come along to this event. The evening will be celebrating mutual support and be a great night of showcasing the amazing entrepreneurship and creativity which is here in Lancaster. It’ll be a special opportunity to be a part of a woman’s step towards realising her entrepreneurial dreams.

When: 30th of November

Where: Health Innovation Centre, Lancaster

Get your tickets today here

Auction of Promises

Can you help with our Auction of Promises?

by with No Comment NewsWomen in Business

We need you!

If you have received support from The Growing Club CIC in the past, or maybe you just like what we do, we need your help so we can help other women to succeed through our Auction of Promises.

You may know that the New Enterprise Allowance (NEA) ended in December, meaning people on benefits no longer receive financial or practical support from the Department of Work and Pensions to start a small business. That means many women who would have liked to use their skills and experience to become self-employed, now face a further hurdle, and if we don’t address this, starting a business will now only be an option for those with capital.

On May 20th, we are holding an Auction of Promises to build a seed fund to support women in hardship with their basic business start-up costs.


So where do you come in?

There are 4 things you can do to help us…

1. Offer a promise that people can bid for. That can be anything from offering your professional services, homemade baked goods or even a night away. Some promises we’ve already received include:


2. Come along to the Auction evening for a fun night out and bid for things you want (it’s a great way to buy unusual birthday gifts). Book your tickets here.

3. Offer a raffle prize.

4. Tell your friends, family and network and get them involved.

Our aim is to raise £10,000 that women can pitch for at our Autumn Angels’ Den event 

We have already received an amazing donation of £1000 from the Zinthiya Ganeshpanchan Trust to start us off!

Details of the Auction of Promises

What? An Auction of Promises
When? 20th May 2022, 19.00hrs – 23.00hrs
Where? The Gregson Centre, 33-35 Moor Gate, Lancaster, LA1 3PY.

You can book your tickets on Eventbrite here and download a flyer here.

If you are interested in offering your own promise, please download and fill out this Auction form and
return it to:

The Growing Club,
605, Alston House,
White Cross, LA1 4XQ.

or email it to: admin@thegrowingclub.co.uk

Alternatively, you can call the office at 01524 383848 and your donated promise can be logged over
the phone. Everyone who donates a promise will receive a free ticket to the event.

We’d love your support in whichever way you can help us!

Team GC

grasping nettles

The Art of Grasping Nettles

by with No Comment Business educationWomen in Business

A blog on courage, preparation and giving it a go by Jane Binnion

When I bottled my first brew of nettle cordial years ago, it was an experiment. I’ve been making nettle soup for many years because it’s highly nutritious and I just love free food, but this was a first for me and I had no idea how it would turn out.

Sometimes we have to do that though, right? We just have to have a go and see how it turns out even if we know we might get stung in the process. However, we can do things to minimise the pain too.

Courage yields results

Of course, nettles hurt. I fell into a ditch of nettles several years ago while cycling in rural China. It’s pretty nasty and hurts for a long time afterwards too. I still get stung when I’m picking nettles for soup, but I seem to have decided that it’s worth it.

But it got me thinking about the expression grasping nettles and what that means for those of us running a business or charity. It’s an expression that’s very meaningful to all of us. We know exactly what it would feel like to grasp nettles. So why on earth would we deliberately do it?

Well, there are a few reasons. If we don’t, they keep on growing anyway, but also look at what happens when we do pluck up the courage to grasp them. We may get stung but the results are great. When I eat this delicious soup or drink the cordial I can remember the stings, but I still feel really delighted with the results.

We can prepare ourselves for nettle grasping. It isn’t necessary to just rush in. Taking time to get organised can make it all a lot less painful. Nettle grasping is not an opportunistic task. If I was walking past a great crop wearing shorts, sandals and a T-shirt, I know that diving in would end horribly. When grasping real nettles I wear gloves, long sleeves and take scissors.

What are the nettles in your business or organisation that you need to grasp?

  • What is it that scares you about doing it?
  • What can you do to minimise the pain?
  • What will be the positive benefits of finally grasping those nettles?
  • Do you ever send others to grasp nettles unprepared?

As for the cordial, it was actually really nice. It’s very refreshing and far better than any bottled cordial you can buy. Well worth a few stings.

If you’d like to chat about how we can help you to overcome any fears or issues in your business, please do drop us a message here.

*This post was originally published on janebinnion.com and has been reproduced here with permission.