Our Story@2x

Read our Feature in Lancaster Guardian: ‘Amazing’ £260k National Lottery funding boost for Lancaster club

by with No Comment NewsWomen in Business

“A Lancaster club which boosts employment and business skills for women has been awarded £260,000 by the National Lottery.

Social enterprise The Growing Club, which has been providing employment skills training, business start-up and sustainable business growth programmes for women since 2016, will use The National Lottery Community Fund cash award to support their work over the next five years.

“To be chosen for this funding in these very difficult times is just amazing,” said Jane Binnion, MD and Co-Founder of The Growing Club.”

Read the full article here: Lancaster Guardian feature

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.

Morganna-Monk-Photography-20230208-IMG_4604

Case Study: Amy Gunawan

by with No Comment Case Studies

My business is Amy Gunawan Basketmaker, soon to be Amy’s Willow Weaving. I make baskets and woven decorative pieces from willow. I also run workshops teaching basketry and woven crafts which offer a space for people to take time out of their busy lives, to enjoy the creative process and be focused learning a new skill and to be in the present moment.

business mentoring

Mentoring – a view from both sides

by with No Comment Business educationWomen in Business

For the last 5 years we have been recruiting and training women in business as mentors for the women graduating from our start-up programme.

If you have been wondering about being a mentor, we thought you might like to read the view from both sides.

Firstly, Rebecca Young, a branding designer, and young woman who graduated from her cohort in the middle of the pandemic and completed her mentoring at Christmas 2022.

“I was so grateful for the opportunity to work with a mentor as part of the Growing Club’s Roots and Shoots programme. I was paired with a brilliant mentor who I had a strong connection with. Together we created a space where there were no wrong answers and no achievement was too small to celebrate. I felt deeply understood, even when I couldn’t always find the words to express myself. It was wonderful to talk through my ideas with someone who I knew without a doubt was on my side. I left each monthly session feeling energised and positive.

My mentor taught me several practical techniques for managing my time and structuring my work week. This has been an important step towards overcoming feelings of anxiety and overwhelm as I work towards my business goals. She also supported me as I worked through projects with clients, and it was really special to share those experiences with her and hear her perspective. I now have a much clearer idea of the services I want to offer and an understanding of what clients will expect from me.

Perhaps the most important thing I have gained is the momentum to keep moving forward, one step at a time, even if my journey takes longer than someone else’s. I was really moved to hear from my mentor in our last session together that she enjoyed the experience too and is proud of what we achieved together.”

Whilst most of our mentors are local to North Lancashire / South Lakeland, Favour Onabanjo is one of our mentors who zooms in from Surrey. She is now working with her second mentee.

Favour wrote;
“I have been on the Growing Club mentoring scheme for over a year now. I really enjoyed it. Firstly, I love to offer help where I can; I also derive joy in helping others to be their best. That’s my motivator.

Being a business coach, I initially found it tricky to follow the mentoring model. I am used to coaching and handholding many of my paying clients. And one of my strengths which can sometimes turn into a weakness, is giving the DRIVE that my client needs to move ahead and succeed. So, the mentoring felt like, I wasn’t working in my best capacity, and I wasn’t comfortable with that. But once I got to the swing of things. I began to blend in. I realised I was here to encourage, listen, use examples to empower them, make suggestions etc.

How interesting a mentoring journey is will be determined mostly by your mentee. Whether they are ready to do the work to make the changes, they are looking to see. One of my mentees is supercharged. I always look forward to our meeting. She’s an action-taker and takes her personal development seriously.”

As you can see, two very different personality types, and that is why we take time to carefully match mentee and mentor for best fit. And furthermore, we hold bi-monthly mentor forum meetings for sharing and support. So we don’t just throw you in there and hope for the best!

If you would like to know more about being a mentor with us, or would like to sign up to the training which starts in April, please contact Rebecca by phone or email.

The Growing Club designs and delivers employment and enterprise training and support, by women for women.

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

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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