How Help to Grow: Management helped me turn my 99-year-old family heating business around

Being the custodian of a business that has spanned four generations is a big responsibility, so Colchester-based Chris Lindsey knew he had to pull out all the stops to save the business after it went through a rocky patch.

The CEO of the Lindsey Group, a market-leading heating and cooling systems specialist (HVAC) and renewable energy expert, pooled family savings to keep the business going after it dipped into administration in 2018 and decided to boost his business and leadership skills by enrolling onto the Help to Grow: Management course, a mini-MBA.

Under Chris' helm, the engineering business that now employs more than 15 people from its base at the Innovation Centre, Boundary Way, Colchester, has not looked back, and Chris is now himself enrolled as a voluntary mentor on the Government-funded programme so he can 'give back' to other small firms.

In fact, he's set to deliver a keynote speech at Cranfield School of Management for its Green Business Network event, sharing his journey and how he overcame many challenges to finally bring best practices to existing fossil fuel based and renewable energy systems.

Chris said:

"The Help to Grow course was amazing. It's the best programme I've ever been on. The 12-week intensive programme accompanied by face-to-face mentoring undoubtedly helped me turn the business around.

"It helped me to identify important new income streams, and more importantly, the confidence to go ahead and do it. It helped me to understand how important it is for business sustainability to broaden your offering and effectively spread your bets."

Following Help to Grow, the company restructured and developed new solutions that can help businesses as well as domestic property owners reduce their carbon footprint with their existing fossil fuel system and to also move from fossil fuels to completely renewable energy step-by-step.

Chris added:

"What we did was completely new ground, but it all fell into place through the consistent support and progressive thinking of our mentor -- this and the Help to Grow course helped deliver the change I have always wanted."

The Lindsey Group was started by Chris' great grandfather in 1925, trading from a roving hand cart in the heart of Colchester. The business went on to reskill during World War II to fit out minesweepers, and were a vital part of the war effort.

It then moved on to become a pioneer in air conditioning during the 1980s, a new technology at the time.

Chris, who studied at the course via the University of Leicester in Cambridge, said: "The business has always been an innovator, leading the way in new technology. I'm proud to say we're still developing new solutions and much of what we do now is down to the fact that we took the time to learn new skills and apply them to boost the business and find new markets.

"Help to Grow helped us so much and that's why I wanted to give back and support other businesses to help them avoid mistakes and have the confidence to take bold decisions."

An impressive 26,000 hours of business mentoring have been delivered by an army of advisers and business leaders who have volunteered to support the UK's small business community, like Chris.

The heroic effort has seen thousands of small businesses on the Help to Grow: Management course, which offers senior business leaders 50 hours of leadership and management training across 12 weeks, with the government covering 90% of the costs involved, receive one-to-one support from an experienced and rated business mentor to help them put growth plans into action.

Training is delivered via a national network of over 60 business schools.

Led by business support group Newable, technology partner and business membership platform Enterprise Nation and the Association of Business Mentors, the consortium was appointed by the Government to develop a national network of business leaders and experts who can share their skills and experience with firms on the practical management training course to support economic growth.

Entrepreneur Emma Jones CBE, founder and CEO of Enterprise Nation, said:

"Help to Grow: Management is making a real difference to businesses, helping them to hit challenges head-on, develop new solutions and find new markets. Now the course and voluntary mentors have been embedded for some time, we are beginning to see incredible stories like this coming through.

"For ambitious business leaders that want to boost their leadership skills, Help to Grow: Management is an absolute no brainer!"

Businesses can find programmes near them here.

ENDS

About Newable    

Newable is the leading provider of Money, Advice and Workspace to SMEs. Now employing over 1,000 professional staff, it has grown to become a national business with a presence from Aberdeen to Brighton, serving over 43,000 client companies each year. 

About Enterprise Nation    

Enterprise Nation is a business support platform and provider delivering support to more than 50,000 small businesses every month. Its aim is to help people turn their good ideas into great businesses -- through expert advice (including a comprehensive resources library), events, acceleration support and networking.  

Enterprise Nation was founded in 2005 by British entrepreneur Emma Jones CBE, also co-founder of national enterprise campaign StartUp Britain. She is author of best-selling business books and is a frequently called-on and regular media commentator on a range of issues which affect the UK's growing number of SMEs. 

About the Association of Business Mentors   

The Association of Business Mentors (ABM) is the UK's leading professional body supporting the business mentor and coach sector while raising the profile of the value of business mentoring to small business owners.