Don't be a dummy Glos Growth Hub urges business

Mannequins have appeared all around Gloucestershire in heavy footfall areas to highlight a free-of-charge service available to local companies looking to grow their business and to celebrate the opening of Gloucestershire Growth Hub's new Gloucester base. Anyone spotting the dummies and capturing a selfie with one could also win three hours of free business advice and a hamper of goodies from local brands.

The Growth Hub is not just aimed at start-ups and small businesses concentrating on growth; but also larger and more established companies that want to take their business to the next level. In its latest move to reach out to businesses that may benefit from the free service, The Growth Hub has placed a number of mannequins around the country.

The ‘You’d Be A Dummy Not To Use Us’ campaign from www.thegrowthhub.biz has seen mannequins placed in 30 locations around the county, including in Gloucester, Cheltenham, Cirencester and Tewkesbury; all dressed to represent that businesspeople are not all suited and booted, but individuals with great minds and ideas.

The Growth Hub aims to help businesses to maximise their potential; offering face time with experts, workshops and online guides and resources to help with everything from sourcing funding and developing their teams to expanding into new markets and mastering their social media. The service is completely free to use, with works spaces available at all The Growth Hub locations, offering free Wi-Fi, a friendly working space and tea and coffee on-tap.

The Growth Hub's Gloucester has relocated to the University of Gloucester's new business school building, a purpose-built development on the same site. Bases can also be found in Cheltenham, Cirencester and Tewkesbury.

Anyone spotting a mannequin from The Growth Hub is encouraged to take a selfie and tweet it to @thegrowthhubbiz with the hashtag #glosgenius to be in with the chance of winning three hours of business advice and a hamper full of goodies from local businesses.

A video of the mannequin set up, along with a list of 30 reasons why a local businessperson would be a dummy not to use The Growth Hub, can be found on the campaign’s online portal here www.thegrowthhub.biz/dummies.

Sarah Danson, Manager at The Growth Hub, said: “Our mannequin campaign has been fun to set up and roll out, and is fully intended to be rather tongue in cheek, but there is a serious underlying message. So many businesses in the local area do not know that The Growth Hub exists and that it’s a totally free service that could really help to fast-track their growth plans.

"Many think this sounds too good to be true, but it really isn’t. Not only do we offer Wi-Fi, great working spaces and as many hot drinks as you could get through, but the resources and workshops that we offer really are so good that we joked that you’d have to be a dummy not to use us… and so the mannequin campaign was born!”

Chris Couzins Short from Tudor Rose International, a company that has experienced the benefits of The Growth Hub first-hand, said:

“The Growth Hub offers a one-stop shop for support, be that funding, training or general expertise. There are very few other providers that can offer the same services that The Growth Hub can, and that’s why we use them.”

Since its opening in 2014, The Growth Hub has welcomed more than 10,500 visitors, assisted almost 1,000 high growth businesses in the area with intensive support and provided 8,000 businesses support interventions.