Apply now & get up to £2,000 towards Strategic Business Advice

Starting a small business nowadays can be a daunting prospect. Often, people have great ideas, the passion to succeed and enough capital to get them going. However, best laid plans can sometimes fail to come to fruition due to a lack of strategic advice and many SMEs find themselves struggling to grow.

Growth is important for every business but especially SMEs that are just starting out

This is a problem that the UK government has recognised and, in an attempt to address it, the £30 million Growth Vouchers programme has been introduced this year.

So what is the Growth Vouchers scheme?

First announced by the Chancellor in his 2013 Budget, the scheme aims to subsidise strategic business advice and connect SMEs with advisor’s in the following five categories:

• finance and cash flow
• recruiting and developing staff
• improving leadership and management skills
• marketing, attracting and keeping customers
• making the most of digital technology

The aim is to accelerate growth for thousands of small businesses at the most crucial stage of development. It is thought that this critical growth will lead to long-term sustainability.

Why was the scheme introduced?

As previously mentioned, the government recognised the importance to SMEs of strategic advice during their important growth phase. However, it has never been established just how crucial this advice is and, until now, it has never been measured.

The Growth Vouchers scheme will run for 15 months and allow the government to scientifically determine exactly what advice small businesses really value. This will also enable state-backed business support to be shaped in accordance with business needs.

Furthermore, it has also been highlighted that the advice SMEs receive at present is often sporadic and varies greatly. Under the scheme, advisor’s’ credentials will be established from the outset and business experiences will be recorded via a feedback system for everyone to see.

How does the scheme work?

Businesses seeking advice can apply to the Growth Voucher programme online and will then be asked to complete an online questionnaire or face-to-face assessment. Some businesses will then be randomly chosen to receive a growth voucher up to £2000 towards the cost of business advice in one of the specialist areas.

The Growth Vouchers scheme is designed to subsidise the advice that businesses receive and will cover up to 50 per cent of the total spend. So, in other words, you can spend up to £2,000 on advice and the government will match it – therefore a total spend of £4,000 is possible. Anything above this figure will need to be funded by your business.

The Growth Vouchers need to be redeemed through the Enterprise Nation Marketplace and SMEs can select the appropriate advisor for their business issue. Payment for the advice will be made by the business direct to the supplier and subsequently claimed back (up to £2,000) from the government.

Finally, who’s eligible?

Well I successfully applied to the scheme and was awarded up to £2,000 to spend on strategic advice, which is proof that it is definitely worth your time.

The scheme is available to small businesses in England who:

• have been trading for at least one year
• have less than 50 employees
• have not sought strategic business advice in the last three years

Anyone considering applying or who simply wants more information should check out the scheme’s full terms and conditions.