Graham Prior

Why did you decide to take part in the workshops?
After being made redundant from a previous job I decided to start my own business, but needed help on the financial side of things. When you’re starting up on your own, you need all the help you can get, so when I heard that Business Link was offering this free course I enrolled straight away.


What did you aim to get out of the sessions?
The financial side of running a business was completely new to me – I wanted to build my knowledge from the ground-up and understand all of the financial aspects of running my own business.


What did you enjoy most about attending?
The workshops were really diverse and presented me with scenarios which I’d never normally come across, such as a ‘Dragon’s Den’ style experience. The Raising Finance workshop provided the scenario where we had to pitch for finance from a panel. This was an incredible confidence booster and the kind of dry run you would never normally get to do.


How have you used what you learnt within your business?
Although I’m not at the stage of raising finance for the business just yet, these lessons will prove invaluable as I grow my business in the future.


What benefits have the sessions brought to your business?
I learnt an enormous amount from the experience as it really highlighted which financial areas of business to focus on and where things can go wrong, so I can spot them before they even happen.


Would you recommend the sessions to other businesses?
I found the sessions invaluable, I really can’t recommend the course highly enough.