Free Start Up Support in Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin
Tired of living someone else's dream?
Take control of your life...
Help to get your new business venture off to a flying start with the
Marches Step Up Business Support Programme
Free Start Up Masterclass - Your best first step...
Small groups of likeminded people working together
Experienced personal coaches to help you get started
New intake every week – start whenever you’re ready
Flexibility (Choose from Monday Evening, Wednesday or Saturday mornings)
Open to any residents of Shropshire or Telford & Wrekin who want to start a business
Funded by Telford & Wrekin Council, Shropshire Council and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)
The programme is made up of eight live workshops. These run on a rolling basis so you can start this week or whenever you’re ready. All are delivered live online and you receive one-to-one coaching to help you put it all into place…
“The future is looking really exciting, I know where I want to go and I now have the strategies to achieve what I want to in the next few years”
[Katie Nutt – Social Media Fanatic]


Previous Clients:







All the knowledge and confidence you need to realise your dream of starting your own business

Eight-part StartUp Masterclass & Individual Coaching
FREE * places are available subject to eligibility
Which best describes the stage you are at on your business start up journey?
Eligibility for funding checklist (For would be entrepreneurs)


Eligibility for funding checklist (Newly formed businesses)




- We employ fewer than 250 employees
- We turnover less than €50 million per annum
- Our balance sheet value is less than €43 million
- We are not more than one quarter (25%) owned by firms that do not comply with the above requirements
Eligibility for funding checklist (Established businesses)




- We employ fewer than 250 employees
- We turnover less than €50 million per annum
- Our balance sheet value is less than €43 million
- We are not more than one quarter (25%) owned by firms that do not comply with the above requirements
If your business has been trading for over one year, you will need to register here:

Still unsure if you qualify?
Give us a call on 01746 330730
Business Start-Up
inspiration — resources — assistance
knowledge and confidence to start and grow your business
The beginning of your ‘start-up journey’ is likely to be one of the most exciting things you’ve contemplated. At the same time, though, it may well be one of the most worrying.
The Step Up Programme is here to support you so that you can realise your dream of successfully starting and running your own business.
If you’re based in Shropshire or Telford & Wrekin Local Authority Areas you can access all this support for FREE.
(places are available subject to eligibility)If you are based elsewhere, Good2Great can still support you – your personal circumstances will determine what’s available to you, please register your interest and we’ll have a chat
how it works...
Eight-part Masterclass | Individual Coaching | Structured Support | Added Bonuses
It is split into two parts:
1. Eight-week masterclass – learn what you need to learn and plan what you need to plan
2. Four-week launchpad – Step by step action and individual coaching for a successful launchYou will cover all aspects of successfully starting a business
The programme is run on a rolling basis which means you can enrol at any time
The pace of the programme allows for you to move quickly but also do everything properly
You will be working throughout alongside your coach and other people who are at the same stage as you – this means you can travel the journey together
Plan your business launch so your business gets off to a flying start
The eight-week Masterclass ...
A comprehensive support programme to give your new business the very best start possible...

All meetings take place over Zoom.
It’s efficient, flexible, safe, easy to use and gives us the opportunity to see each other and share screens so we can work on things together, ask questions and get involved.

For more information on each module, Click below:
Why dreams are important as we need something to hang on to when the going gets tough.
The importance of the business owner – why you need to be looking after yourself before you can help others – wearing your oxygen mask – how you think and behave will have such an impact on your business
success planning process – time to stop thinking about business as traditional functions and begin to think more in terms of what activities you should be doing: creating demand, producing/delivering what you do, administrating your business and building a team.
Strategy and tactics – the ‘what you’re going to do’ and ‘how you’re going to do it’ and how to make sure you are doing the right things effectively – and doing them efficiently to create a thriving business.
We introduce you to the Smarter Growth Plan – a one page plan which provides a step by step approach to what you need to do and how you’re going to implement it
What realistic timescales to set around your new business and what resources are you going to need?
Being able to articulate your Why? Why do you do what you do? We hear from Simon Sinek who helps us think differently about our motivation to start our business and begin to be able to communicate our purpose
We look at two key strategic questions – Who are your customers and What will you do for them? – and to answer that we really need to understand the market
Marketing is: Meeting Customer Needs Profitably – it’s all about striking the right balance… between the needs of business owner and the needs, wants and desires of the customer…
Mapping the marketplace – and identifying who your competitors are and where you will position yourself in the market.
Understanding who your customers are – are they A-class awesome superstars or really a bit of a D-class disaster sapping you of time and energy?
Did you know that it’s significantly more cost effective to market to existing customers? However – 68% of customers leave due to a ‘perceived indifference’.
Exploring the difference between ‘features’ and ‘benefits’ – and do we have the confidence to distinguish between the two? What is it that makes your business unique and how will you convey the benefits to your ideal customer.
Putting your marketing strategy into action – why should people choose you? What do you want to be known for? What makes you unique and how do you create a brand around those answers.
20 minute branding workshop – when we look at your businesses reputation – your reputation and how people will perceive you….
The famous marketer David Ogilvy often said: “You need to be damn good before you can risk being famous…”
Carmel Allen CEO of Tate Commerce and formerly Brand Champion of Heal’s, Editor in Chief of GDR Creative Intelligence and Creative Director of Linley London, talks to us directly about branding in this special session all about market positioning
Building a brand is like building a tribe – how do we engage with and get to know our customers? And why is important to build a strong brand identity (Harley Davidson)
Golden tips about how to develop a logo – how to make sure your logo gives off the image you want to create for your business
Working on how you communicate effectively – without being too overbearing and ‘salesy’ yet leaving people interested to find out more about what you are doing….
How to find the right voice to speak to your customers – not shout at them!
This module is all about creating demand – getting your name out there. Showing yourself in the best light and thinking about where to find your customers? (which one sells)
Look at tools to reach customers – you need to find out where they are – are they on social media? We need to find out the best way to engage with them….
Account management and how to retain our existing customers? Talk to them and give excellent service…
In the breakout rooms we will talk about how to make your customers more ‘sticky’
Setting a fair price – which strategy to use? And fully understanding the difference between mark up and margin (also could use your pic of cash register)
Preparing a quote to make sure that there are no nasty surprises – for you and the customer and how to invoice correctly as well as making it easy for people to pay – removing the friction
This module is all about new customer acquisition – a real ‘nuts and bolts’ session about what strategies we use to create demand and find customers, and to do that we need to learn how to sell…
The sales paradox ‘People hate being sold to, but they love to buy’ . This week we hear from Elmer Wheeler – who coined the famous phrase ‘Don’t sell the steak, sell the sizzle’ back in 1936. Still as relevant today as it was then.
The customer journey – being able to put yourself in the shoes of your customers – helps remove friction and enables a great level of service
Planning your marketing activity – how only using one lead generation strategy is like putting all your eggs in one basket…. the best idea is to use more than one and less than 10…
We introduce you to one of Good2Great’s greatest tools in our client toolkit – our Lead Generator – a simple online tool which anticipates and predicts sales through targeted marketing activity – taking the guesswork out and allowing you to plan, budget, track and trace your marketing strategy.
In this module you will start understanding the numbers – and measuring what matters. Gaining confidence to manage your business finances.
Do you understand what working capital is? Have you accounted for it in your business plans? We will walk you (gently) through it…..
Breakeven – it sounds such an obvious thing to understand. It’s when we cover all our costs right? Do you know exactly what your breakeven point is? And how to calculate it and how it feels very different according to what type of business you are starting…
All about being as effective as you possibly can – focusing on 3 areas: the entrepreneurial mindset, building great relationships by using DiSC to become more self aware, and learning to prioritise and plan with better time management skills.
The entrepreneurial mindset – learning to think in a different way. What are the key determinants of success?
Exploring the 5 essential attitudes of entrepreneurial people: Opportunity takers, humility, active dreamers, creative problem solvers and evaluators (is the juice worth the squeeze)
The key to business success if about the relationships you build. In this module we are joined by DiSC expert Heidi Blakeway of the Fruitful Toolbox who guides us through a journey of self awareness which will help us understand ourselves – and others – better!
Time management – making the most of your most valuable resource. How to prioritise and plan. And we hear from Tim Urban about procrastination in his acclaimed Ted Talk and look at Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.
We walk through and give you the template to plan your ‘perfect week’ to help you learn to prioritise what’s important.
This module is all about your future ideas for growth and sustainability. We examine what makes businesses more resilient; a healthy business owner, risk mitigation, understanding the need for a strong balance sheet and the need for knowhow and efficient systems and processes.
We cover the legal aspects of starting a business: how to register with HMRC, how to find funding for a new business and some of the legal documents you will need in place, such as terms and conditions, contracts and confidentiality agreements.
Systemising the small details of your business will lead to great efficiency and great profitability – we will cover digital systems, CRM systems, banking and insurance, as well as take a look at intellectual property.
The four week launchpad...
One-to-one coaching programme to help you put your plans into action...

One-to-one coaching from people who understand what it takes to start and grow a business, because they’ve done it themselves…
As well as having a detailed understanding of our proprietary business growth models and being great at helping individual business owners like you to unpick the challenges in front of you to help you realise your business dreams; every trainer and coach in the team knows the journey you are on.
Each has first hand experience of starting and growing their own businesses



Your One-Page StartUp Business Plan
A lot more than ten boxes... A framework for business success!
The One-Page Plan is a visual, single page strategic growth plan which outlines your tactical plan for implementation… As you go through the programme, you will explore all areas of the plan and then work with your coach so you know exactly what to do and how to do it.
What & How
What’s more this single page will also capture your milestones for the achievement of your goals as well as a plan for the resources of time and money you will need commit as the business grows.

Entrepreneur Profiling tool
Increase your self-awareness and become a successful entrepreneur
To assess our entrepreneurial strengths and weaknesses we can’t, unfortunately, rely on gut feeling alone to get an accurate picture.
To help us get a more accurate view, we can benefit hugely from the ‘E-Scan’ tailored entrepreneur tests and tools to assess and develop both ourselves and our businesses. This is a hugely valuable component of your one-to-one coaching support.
The assessment is equally valuable for potential entrepreneurs who are thinking about starting a new business, and for business leaders who want to turn a new idea into entrepreneurial success.
In other words, the focus is the person behind the business.

The E-Scan will help you to check how ready you are to be your own boss. It’s more than a simple entrepreneur quiz, it’s a serious entrepreneurial personality test that has helped over 1,000,000 people to uncover their entrepreneurial potential, traits, and skills.
In just 15-minutes, this online scan gives you a detailed and accurate entrepreneurial self-assessment profile. This will provide you with an action plan for business success and help you to get the most from the support available through this programme
And there's more - five bonuses:
To help make sure your business gets the very best start in life, we’ve included five bonuses to help you on your way
BONUS 1: The Good2Great Business Toolkit
Free online access to make sure you have the right tools for the job:
The Good2Great suite of management tools will be at your disposal and you will be free to use these how you wish to benefit your business:
- Lead generation planner and tracker
- Sales Pipeline Manager
- Cash-flow templates
- KPI Tracker & Budgeter
- Pricing and GP matrix


BONUS 2: DiSC behavioural analysis
Understand yourself and those around you better:
You will use this tool to build successful teams, develop effective working relationships with customers and suppliers, and increase the your leadership, management and sales performance.


BONUS 3: Professional, high quality resources
Understand yourself and those around you better:

bonus4: Three months free membership of growthclub
As a reward for getting going, your first three months will be completely free so you can meet new colleagues and build your network.

As soon as you launch your business, you will be invited to join GrowthClub. This is a proactive and supportive network of local business owners who all come together twice per month to learn and grow together.
You will have access to the weekly and monthly accountability systems which will help to ensure that you stay on track, develop good business habits and achieve the success you want.
bonus 5: Online promotion of your new business:
As soon as you launch your business, it's time to shout about it...

As you launch your business in Shropshire, you’ll receive promotional activity to help spread the word and help you to make sure that your prospective customers hear about what you have to offer.
For most this will involve targeted posts on social media. For others, it may involve an in-depth interview on the Saturday Strategy podcast. If you are in Telford or Bridgnorth, we can tap into the extensive networks of LoveBridgnorth and LoveWellington. And for one or two, it could mean a full PR launch with coverage on local television, local radio and coverage in both the mainstream local press and specialist business publications.

