Volunteer mentors deliver 30,000 hours of support to UK's small businesses

A national network of volunteer business leaders and experts have delivered more than 30,000 hours of support to help the UK's small business community to grow.

The heroic effort has seen thousands of small businesses on the Help to Grow: Management Course receive one-to-one support from an experienced and rated business mentor to help them put growth plans into action.

Since August 2022, the consortium behind the Help to Grow: Management mentor matching service has recruited and trained more than 3,000 volunteers from across the UK, with around 2,000 active at any one time, the largest network of volunteer mentors in the UK.

The mentors are from all areas of industry and specialisms, offering support to firms operating in food and drink, construction, finance, technology, charities and everything in between - and their work is already cutting through.

Volunteer mentor and sustainable business growth expert Arianna Cerrito is a former global brand strategist and senior executive with a track record of leading market expansion and brand growth for beauty and wellness companies.

London-based Arianna worked with chartered counselling psychologist Dr Nerys Owen in 2024, as part of the Help to Grow: Management course, quickly helping to boost profits by more than 50 per cent.

Based in Frodsham, Cheshire, Nerys, who runs a growing online psychological service, with a 21-strong team of expert associates supporting individuals with a broad range of difficulties, said:

"The Help to Grow: Management course and the mentoring from Arianna has dramatically changed the way I approach business.

"As psychologists, we're used to having assigned supervisors and active supervision every month. But outside of my professional work, there was nothing like that for me on the business side of things. It made it feel a bit strange and lonely.

"I guess you could say from a business perspective, I was consciously incompetent. I knew there was stuff that I didn't know so joining the Help to Grow: Management course at Manchester Metropolitan University and then working with Arianna was wonderful. I absolutely loved it!

"Now I've got a plan, I've got a new website being developed and I know where I'm going, whereas before I was just very impulsive. I've also made some big changes, including rethinking my advertising strategy on Arianna's advice - and as a direct result, I made more profit between April and September 2024 than the entire year before.

"It was having a sounding board that I trusted that helped me to make some really good decisions and implement changes - and it only gets better."

Nerys explained that, even after completing the Help to Grow Management Course, Arianna has continued to mentor her, providing guidance that has helped her adopt a more sustainable approach to work and avoid burnout. She added:

"Rather than eating quickly and answering emails, followed by sleepless nights, I now take time out, eat better and take more meaningful breaks which has really helped me be more productive and provide more thoughtful and varied schedules for my growing team."

Arianna, founder of the London-based StartUpandRise consultancy which supports entrepreneurs and operational leads of large corporates, added:

"I worked, and continue to work, with Nerys on the mission and values behind her business and help her develop practical frameworks for organising things like outsourcing. I also show her techniques to understand return on investment including advertising for instance. Understanding how to actually monitor business growth and performance is vital for growth and now the business is on an amazing upwards trajectory."

The pair still speak every week as Nerys' business grows.

Emma Jones CBE, founder and CEO of small business support platform Enterprise Nation, which developed the mentor matching platform as part of the consortium, said:

"When we started to recruit volunteer mentors to support small businesses, we had no idea what the response would be. It involved pledging at least 10 hours of your own time per candidate, as well as undergoing training, but time and time again we have seen thousands of knowledgeable individuals step forward to help, with many mentoring multiple founders.

"We've been genuinely blown away by the most amazing national network of business leaders and advisers willing to step in and help businesses to thrive.

"Small firms support their local economies and create sustainable jobs with all the benefits that brings to their local community. Good mentoring for businesses is so key to success for everyone."

Malcolm Cohen, managing director of the advice division of Newable, said:

"30,000 mentoring hours delivered as part of this amazing Government scheme is an astonishing achievement and a testament to the success of this unique model, that encourages the business community to come together in a collective effort aimed at driving growth and prosperity across the UK.

"We are glad that the government recognises the enormous value experienced business mentors bring to UK SMEs helping them to improve their growth prospects.

"The Help to Grow: Management Course is making a powerful difference to the British economy by boosting management performance and driving structural, long-term productivity, and we are proud to be part of the delivery team."

Georgina Waite, CEO of the Association of Business Mentors said:

"The growth and productivity of small businesses across the UK is fundamental to the success of the UK economy and the society we live in. With 65% of business leaders saying business mentoring directly impacted their growth and profits, and more than 70% saying it helped improve their mental health and confidence, business mentoring sits at the heart of shaping the UK's economic future.

"The Help to Grow: Management course has been instrumental in helping businesses to grow, with almost 3,000 professional mentors delivering over 30,000 mentoring hours since 2022. These mentors are experienced business leaders trained with professional mentoring skills through the programme. The UK business community is significantly stronger due to the mentoring relationships developed through the programme."

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.

Help to Grow: Management offers senior business leaders 50 hours of leadership and management training across 12 weeks, with the government covering 90% of the costs involved.

Training is delivered via a national network of over 60 business schools. Sign up to be a mentor 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.