Are you ambitious? Are you looking for opportunities to improve and grow your business? Your wait is over!
At the Centre for Employment Competitiveness and Growth, at the University of Kent, we are fascinated by the process of growing and running Small to Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs). We really want to get close to, and understand the world of, the business owner-manager and how they create more successful businesses, more often. And this is where a programme of ongoing, high quality research is helping to find some answers…
“Promoting Sustainable Performance”, or PSP for short, is a unique research programme that is revealing key insights about business growth and the experience of those that own and run businesses in the Kent region, and beyond. These insights have led to a much deeper understanding of the key characteristics of business success (known as ‘The BIG Ten’). They have also resulted in the development of support programmes, such as the BIG Journey and the BIG Network, for those ambitious business-owner managers who hold the desire to work with like-minded individuals to improve and grow their business.
Data has now been collected through the PSP programme on the growth and performance of SMEs across Kent prior to the recession, during the recession, and we are now looking for interested business owner-managers to take part in a phase of post-recessionary research. This research starts with a an anonymous and confidential high level survey questionnaire, which takes around 15 minutes to complete, and works its way through to deeper engagements with those business owner managers, and their businesses, who want to dig deeper.
“… we could not have anticipated the profound impact PSP would have on our business. From the first conversation we were forced to reflect on what we were doing and the opportunity to take part in events and learn from the experiences of similar businesses was invaluable. Anyone who is looking to move forward should grab the opportunity to take part with both hands”.
Dan Dickey, CEO, Art Projects for Schools
Take part in the high level survey and receive a free invitation to a business growth and development workshop, where we will share in the findings, help you to apply these findings to your business, and provide an environment for you to meet and network with like-minded ambitious owner-managers. We do not simply analyse outputs and publish reports, we talk to and work with those growing businesses all the time. We have also run and continue to run our own businesses, and like you we want to develop our understanding of what makes a successful business.
To date this work has seen those businesses who take part in our programmes report an average increase in sales turnover of 18.8% and an increase in employment levels of 13.6%. This resulted in £2.8m being added to the South-East economy, and 111.5 new jobs, driving up the competitiveness of SMEs in the region. The learning that we are achieving together is shaping future opportunities and understanding which will be of great benefit to owner-managers, and those with whom they work, and society as a whole.
As a couple of business owners and participants of the programme testified:
“Our turnover has grown by a 1/3rd as a direct result of the programme”
Martin Young, Managing Director, Positive Noise
“We’ve got £30k of new orders as a result of the programme”
Helen Fairley, Director, 6|2 Design
Please participate in our PSP 2014 Survey, and we look forward to welcoming you to the Kent Business School to share the results.
The Business Improvement and Growth (BIG) Team
Kent Business School, University of Kent