Participants in the second cohort of Two Zero’s Women Scaling Up programme have held their final group session, a celebration of their achievements on the programme with inspirational talks and activities at Outdoor Elements near Padiham.
The programme, which is two thirds funded by Lancashire County Council through Two Zero and led by business support provider Role, was designed specifically for the needs of female business leaders in Lancashire to overcome the unique challenges they face and prepare their business to be ready to scale.
The celebratory final day took place on April 12 and included a ‘leap of faith’, designed to build confidence and encourage the 12 participants to step out of their comfort zone, a culmination of their participation in the programme over the past 10 months.
The event also included an inspirational talk from Michelle Mellor, managing director of employment consultancy firm Cummins Mellor Recruitment and chair of the Recruitment and Employment Confederation. Michelle discussed multigenerational workforces and the importance of talent in business.
In addition, participants received certificates of completion of the programme, presented by Role’s Wendy Bowers and Katy Mason as well as Two Zero programme manager Amin Vepari.
Amin said: “The Women Scaling Up programme focuses on the unique challenges female leaders of growing Lancashire businesses face on a daily basis. It was launched in direct response to the need for greater support for female businesses in Lancashire.
“This is our second cohort and it’s brilliant to see how much the participants have gained. They have developed their resilience, leadership and business knowledge through the expert coaching from Role but also built a strong network of connections to support them as their business scales.”
The first Two Zero Women Scaling Up programme took place between June 2022 and early 2023. It was launched in response to the Growing Women, Growing Lancashire report commissioned by Boost, which analysed the barriers to women growing businesses in Lancashire and across the UK and made a number of recommendations, including for greater business support for female business leaders.
An independent report on the success of the first cohort commissioned by Two Zero showed an average 63 per cent growth in turnover among businesses taking part.
