Businesses in Leicester and Leicestershire can apply for free places on a series of masterclasses run to support start-ups and entrepreneurs.
DMU award-winning Crucible programme, which has supported 70 businesses over the past five years, is making its monthly masterclasses free of charge to the business community.
Places are limited but can be booked now. Sessions are practical and cover business essentials such as marketing, finance, intellectual property law, copywriting, and growth management.
The sessions are:
- Discover, Design and Diversify – January 23 and 24
- Copywriting – February 9 and 10
- Intellectual Property – March 23 and 24
- Finance and your business – April 13 and 14
- Marketing and Social Media – May 25 and 26
- Project Management – June 1 and 2
Each session is delivered by a businessperson who is also an expert in that area because of their personal experience with their own business.
For example, the marketing session is led by Jenny Cross, founder of marketing agency, Cross Productions. Branding and funding is led by Cristian Zuzunaga whose company creates a range of fashion and homewares using textile designs.
Interior designer Abigail Hall who creates high end interiors shares her expertise in business and change management.
Percy Emmett, director of DMU’s MBA programmes, who oversees The Crucible, said:
“Businesses will have workshops with our team of experienced trainers who are all businesspeople with years of experience across a range of sectors.
“This will be supplemented with advice and mentoring through personal one-to-ones.
“The Crucible is DMU’s flagship business start-up programme, and we are pleased that we are now able to offer our training to SMEs.
“Our philosophy at Crucible is to focus not just on the business idea, but on developing the resilience and confidence of these emerging entrepreneurs. That’s what’s really different about Crucible.”
Last year, DMU teamed up with Business Gateway, which is part of the Leicester and Leicestershire Enterprise Partnership to offer places. Some 99 masterclasses were delivered to SMEs as a result.
If you’d like to find out more, email Percy Emmett at crucible@dmu.ac.uk
