Facebook_creation_612c9384-ba86-4747-8000-23aefafc4339

Case Study: Julia Yates

by with No Comment Case Studies

Get in contact with Julia!

Hi Julia, tell us a bit about you and your business.

I’m Julia, a single mum and the owner of Lancaster Creative Counselling. My business is focused on using creativity therapeutically, in a safe and supportive environment. As a neurodivergent woman I think outside of the box. I have always found that expressing my feelings and experiences through art helps me to connect and gives me insight. I help other neurodivergent people of all genders to connect with their emotions through person centred counselling with expressive art therapy and sand tray therapy.

What inspired you to join The Growing Club?

When my daughter started school, I wanted to go back to counselling work and start my own business, working around school hours.

Another mum recommended The Growing Club, having taken part in the very first Growing Club business course. I contacted Jane and there was one place left on the course that was just about to start. I joined a course with other creative women, in a similar position to myself. I have not looked back since.

Tell us about your journey with The Growing Club 

My journey with The Growing Club started in Autumn 2019 when I joined the Roots and Shoots, business start-up course. Our very first session was a creative one; making a vision board and writing about my business vision. This was right up my street!

Throughout this course I focused on trialling workshops and therapy groups using expressive art. I delivered over 50 workshops in many organisations and collected feedback from participants. This industrious time helped me to build confidence, self-belief and professionalism. The other women in the group provided support and accountability. Despite the pandemic, we all persevered, through zoom to complete the course.

My journey has taken a few twists and turns since then. I now focus mainly on individual clients, receiving referrals from Lancashire County Council and an online directory. I also work with an online global company, taking referrals from places as far away as Saudi and Ecuador.

In 2020 I was asked to come onboard with The Growing Club trainers to become a tutor. I now facilitate the course that I participated in at the start of my journey.

What has been your biggest challenge over the past couple of years? 

The biggest challenge for me over the last couple of years has been to manage different responsibilities and stay true to my passion. I have had a part time job for 5 years, a child at school and Growing Club courses to facilitate.

Over these past 5 years, I have gradually streamlined my work, time and focus. I now have a successful business and feel part of a supportive team of like-minded women at the Growing Club. I have gradually reduced and given up my part time work to focus on what I enjoy the most.

I have recently been exploring neurodivergence for professional and personal development, gaining a qualification in the process. The Growing Club has been hugely inspiring and supportive in relation to this. I have recently written a 6-session course called Neuro Nurture, which explores our unique strengths and struggles as neurodivergent women. The Growing Club team helped me to market this as a pilot course and it has received excellent feedback.

What are your plans for the next 12 to 24 months? 

Over the next 12 to 24 months, I would like to develop my understanding of the neurodivergent spectrum and how this relates to creative practice. I would like to continue to build on referrals from local authorities to help families understand their neurodivergent traits and support these within the family structure.

I would also like to develop further courses and workshops using expressive art. The Growing Club team has secured funding for 2 more Neuro Nurture courses and I can’t wait to see how this develops.

What is your biggest takeaway from your time at The Growing Club 

My biggest takeaway from my time at The Growing Club is that if you believe it is possible and follow your passion, your dreams can come true. In collaboration with others, we can achieve anything!

Contact Julia Yates

You can contact Julia via her website:


If you would like business support from The Growing Club, please email admin@thegrowingclub.co.uk or call 01524 383846. 

debbie bullock HR, case study

Case Study: Debbie Bullock

by with No Comment Case Studies

My business is Debbie Bullock HR. I am a Freelance HR Consultant.

My aim is to support employers to have a harmonious working relationship with their staff. I care deeply about people, their lives, our communities and believe we work better pulling together, not pulling apart. I have a strong, knowledgeable, and up to date background in Human Resources, specialising in Employment Law, with a Graduate Diploma in Personnel Management focused in Employment Law from the University of Central Lancashire.

Empowering Neurodivergent Women in the Workplace - A Conference

Empowering Neurodivergent Women in the Workplace – A Conference

by with No Comment WellbeingWomen in Business

We are excited to announce an event which is set to spark conversations and champion an inclusive and more productive workforce.

Join us for this half-day conference, where we will be discussing women, neurodiversity and workplace inclusion.

Taking place on the 23rd of November, we will come together to investigate workplace shifts that will benefit everyone.

Energy Advisors drop-in service

Winter Survival Project –

by with No Comment Wellbeing

“After 7 weeks of hand-washing and asking favours from friends / family, I was finally able to do a load of washing myself. It was great.”

Now that we are halfway through this winter, we can see the days getting longer. February marks 3 months into our Winter Survival Project, and we thought we would just give you a little update on how it’s all going.

We have managed to help over 60 people so far, which is incredible. Gabriella from The Artisan Bazaar has been running our practical makers workshops; making cook bags and draught excluders from recycled materials. Georgina has been running our Energy Advisors drop-in!

We are going to run another Women and Numbers course in March, and at the end of the month Georgina will be running an Energy Champions course! This Energy Champions course will give you all the practical skills and knowhow to understand your energy bills, where draughts are entering your home and mitigate that, how to reduce condensation in the home and know what grants are available for home improvements. It may even lead onto paid work as a freelance energy advisor.

The feedback from Gabriella’s workshops has been fantastic, so positive that we have decided to put more sessions on in February! Here is what some of the women have had to say about the workshops.

“I was impressed with what I made and surprised at how well it turned out using recycled fabrics. It was an education. I enjoyed it.”

Along with learning a practical skill, the women have commented on how lovely it has been to be in a space with likeminded women, having the time and space to connect with each other and how valuable providing a safe space for women to come together and share their experiences. We know that running your own business can sometimes be isolating, making these kinds of environments even more important.

We have also seen many women in the community come into our Energy Advisors drop-in service. Georgina, who runs the sessions, has connected many of our women to LEAP, the Local Energy Advice Partnership. This is a great resource for people to get advice and assistance on how to save money on their energy bills.

I’ve recently got myself referred to LEAP. A knowledgeable and friendly energy advisor came into my home and helped me identify how and where I could cut costs, draught proof and reduce risk of mould and condensation. The service can even offer replacement of white goods, if yours are old and energy guzzlers. It amazed me that this service was free, I was given chimney balloon, some draught proofing under door slips, draught proofing for our letter box and some remote-control plug sockets. All on the same day! My home already feels less draughty, and these non-invasive measures are great for me, living in a rental property.

I feel confident referring anyone who may be struggling with high bills or a cold home.

But, you don’t have to take it from me. One lady who had an energy advisor from LEAP come to her house said that:

“It was fabulous, I actually understand how it [my heating system] all works and don’t feel as ripped off now I that have choice.”

Even though this project may seem a little off-beat for us, the feedback is reflecting how necessary this project is. Practical skills training is help to reduce feelings of isolation, build self-esteem, and increase feelings of autonomy.

The feedback has shown this is allowing women to better manage their own finances, reinforced with our upcoming Women and Numbers in April, and make informed decisions about their own lives.

So, definitely come down and see what is available to you whilst this project is ongoing! Our drop-in service at our offices on a Thursday, 12:30 – 2:30, at our offices in White Cross (742 Cameron House), call our offices at 01524 383846, or email megan@thegrowingclub.co.uk, to find out a bit more!

numbers-2023

English is important, but maths is importanter

by with No Comment Business educationNews

If you saw our Christmas newsletter you will have read this..

And finally, a heads up that 2023 will be the year we put lots of attention on numbers; from energy saving and understanding your bills, budgeting and getting out of debt. And to properly working out what to charge for your product / service. Because, to quote a quote that Cleona Lira sent me:

“English is important, but maths is importanter” 

And so this post is to tell you what we are offering, who for – and why.

Last January we ran a retreat all about women and money. The experience of how empowering that was, combined with seeing the interesting responses to the finances curriculum on both our start-up and growth programmes, we have come to realise that there is some fundamental work that needs doing around numeracy for women.

Understanding that whilst we all deal with maths every day, but if we believe that maths is scary, we are disempowered from fully participating in life, in the summer we trialled a series of 4 Learning Lunches called Women and Numbers. The aim was a simple exploration of the blocks that come up for women when it comes to numeracy, with Ebony Rebecca, of Rose Tinted Financial, very gently enabling us to face those.

We have now been awarded some DfE funding called Multiply, to enable us to deliver an exciting range of fully funded support for women in Lancashire who haven’t reached GCSE level C, and / or want to build their confidence around all things numbers.

We are delivering this work in 3 ways:

  1. In both January and February there will be a 4-session course to simply build your confidence with using numbers. Ebony explains more in this video.
  • On February 10th, we have an excellent workshop called Know Your Price, for all you women running businesses who struggle to work out what to charge. Full details and booking here  
  • One-to-One support.  In addition to the courses and workshops, there is also funded one-to-one support available. Either with Ebony, to address budgeting and debt, or with Viv Davenport for maths support to prepare you for your GCSE if you choose to go that route, and for applied maths for day-to-day life, such as understanding special offers when shopping, what size pizza to order, and your household bills.

And even better – everyone who participates in the Multiply programme will be entered into a prize draw to win one of these fabulous T-shirts from Ducon.

In addition to all that, we have the Winter Survival programme to help you reduce your energy bills. You can find out all about that here.

If you want help with anything around numeracy, please do get in touch with us via email to Rebecca@thegrowingclub.co.uk or call 01524 383846.

The Growing Club CIC designs and delivers employment and enterprise training and support for women

.

angels-den-2022

Angels’ Den 2022

by with No Comment NewsWomen in Business

As you may have seen, on the 30th of November we held our 2nd Angels’ Den event, an evening that gave some of our start-ups the opportunity to pitch to members of the local business community, for skills support that will help them on their journey. 

The evening, hosted by the Health Innovation Centre, was a huge success which beautifully showcased the innovation and entrepreneurship that we see from women in our district. What’s more, the evening also exemplified the real sense of community and mutual support that we hold in such high regard here at The Growing Club.

Glyn Jones, who is the Partnership Development manager at the Health Innovation Campus, as well as one of our Angels, said:

“[Angels’ Den was] an inspiring celebration of the entrepreneurs (as previous ones have been). I also found it to be very “real” as in, no theories or officiousness, instead people building something positive and beneficial by virtue their own efforts and diligence with pragmatic support from The Growing Club community.”

We appreciate this feedback  –  the personal nature of The Growing Club is something we are incredibly proud of, and it is encouraging to hear that our approach of “it takes a village…” came across with the event.

Not only did our Angels value the event, but our pitchers did also.

Jenifer Ryder, of Model Club, said that whilst it was challenging, it was good for her – that the process has helped her to find the words to relate her business to an audience and that the help she was offered has already begun to propel her and her business forward.

Karen Belton from Two Tiny Makes said that the whole experience was extremely rewarding, and went on to say “I really do think that it is wonderful that local businesses want to reach out as Angels and support new businesses.  I can’t wait to meet up with my Angel in the New Year as I think it’s going to be a good jumping springboard to make my 2023 a success!” – once again highlighting the value of community-based support for businesses, which we try to foster through our work, both specifically through Angels’ Den and through our work in general.

Jane Twyman of Hedgepigs found the experience of pitching to be very affirming for her business, and alongside winning the “outstanding support” from our Angels, she also gained new contacts and customers!

We at the Growing Club also agree that it was an amazing evening, and we want to extend a huge thank you once again to everyone involved – our Angels, our pitchers, and to everyone who came to support on the evening too. Special thanks to Joanne Barlow of Access to Finance Lancashire for coaching and training our pitchers, Kelly Ann Sharp from Voice Work for providing vocal coaching beforehand and supporting on the night itself, and to Costal and Co for providing a low-carbon supper.

We look forward to holding more events like this in the future – with the success we have seen with this second event, we plan to host these every 18-months or so in the future, so keep your eyes peeled for the next opportunity!

If you would like to discuss how The Growing Club can help you, please contact us on 01524 383846