Mersey Reporter - Merseybites News

A Wirral greeting card firm has hailed the impact of a government programme designed to help businesses scale more sustainably.

Hype Associates is a long established publisher of character greeting cards featuring some of the world's most recognisable characters and brands including:- Hello Kitty, Snoopy and Wallace and Gromit.

As the business looks to build on its legacy and drive future growth, including exploring export opportunities, it joined the:- 'Help to Grow - Management Programme' to take a more strategic view of its direction.

The programme was delivered by:- The University of Salford's Salford Business School, which has supported 252 businesses across more than 60 sectors in the last 5 years.

Paula Ford, Founder, Hype Associates, said:- "The course has been fantastic. After more than 35 years in business, it was really helpful to step back and think about our brand, vision and mission with an outside perspective. It has helped us start to evolve our message and think much more clearly about how we present ourselves and where we are going as a business. We are now focusing on 3 key areas, our brand, our customer journey and our systems. Bringing in new tools and improving how we manage things like stock is already giving us much better oversight. These changes are helping us build a more sustainable business as we look to grow, including:- into export markets. Meeting other business owners has also been incredibly inspiring. Hearing different perspectives has helped us see what we are doing well and where we can keep improving."

Hype were among the 18th cohort to complete the 12 week programme. Participants took part in workshops, 1 to 1 mentoring and peer learning, using the programme to:- develop clearer growth plans, introduce more structured systems and strengthen leadership within their organisations.

Business leaders reported immediate benefits, including:- stronger financial and operational decision making, clearer organisational structures, more confident brand positioning, and greater readiness to adopt digital technologies and artificial intelligence to improve efficiency and support future growth.

Dr Ann Mulhaney, Associate Professor for Change Management at the University of Salford, said:- "This latest cohort marks an important milestone for the programme as we pass 250 SME leaders supported over the past 5 years. What has been particularly encouraging is seeing how businesses are using the programme to strengthen leadership, improve operational discipline and create more sustainable foundations for growth. The calibre of leadership, openness to challenge and willingness to reflect has been exceptional. Over the 12 weeks, we’ve seen participants move from firefighting to making confident, informed decisions about how their businesses grow, lead their people and adopt new ways of working."

Help to Grow: Management is delivered through a national network of 64 accredited business schools, with the ambition to support 30,000 SMEs across the UK.

The 12 week, 50 hour programme is:- 90% Government funded, reducing the cost to:- £750 per participant. On completion, participants join a national alumni network, providing ongoing opportunities for support, collaboration and continued development.

To learn more, visit:- Salford.AC.UK.

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