Inclusive and Minority-Owned Business Growth

The owner leads; you support. You will be able to listen first, agree working terms openly, and support an owner's decisions without taking over their business.

• Ask what success means to them.
• Strengths first: skills, products, customers, community.
• Avoid assumptions and labels.
• Agree how information is stored and shared.
• Begin the first meeting by asking the owner to tell their story in their own words for ten minutes, taking notes and repeating back what you heard before suggesting anything.
• Agree how you will work together, including how often you meet, what stays private and who makes final decisions, and write this down in a short plain-language note.
• Meet the owner in a place they choose.
• Use the owner's words in every document.

Activity. Hold a listening session and write the owner's goals in their words.

Standard to meet. Confirm the summary with the owner.

Common mistake. Arriving with a plan before listening.

Check yourself. What did the owner say success looks like?

Know where the business stands. You will be able to score six business areas on a simple scale, giving the owner an honest starting picture to measure against.

• Money in and out; margins; debts.
• Customers: who, how many, repeat rate.
• Operations: capacity, quality, suppliers.
• Skills, tools, records, legal basics.
• Score six areas from 1 to 5, such as sales, cash, records, customers, people and tools, to give the owner a simple picture they can understand at a glance.
• Take the two lowest scores and ask the owner what changed in the last year, since a recent drop often points to a cause that can be fixed.
• Note strengths before problems.
• Ask what help they have already tried.

Activity. Complete the health check.

Standard to meet. Score each area with evidence.

Common mistake. Only listing weaknesses.

Check yourself. What are three strengths?

Barriers are often access, not ability. You will be able to separate barriers of money, knowledge and access, and match each with a practical route the owner can actually use.

• Common barriers: credit, networks, information, language, procurement rules.
• Routes: programmes, networks, supplier schemes, mentors.
• Check eligibility and cost.
• Prefer fair, transparent routes.
• List every barrier under three headings (money, knowledge and access) and pair each with a realistic route, such as a local support scheme, a mentor or a shared tool.
• Ask the owner which barrier hurts most today and start there, because early progress on their biggest worry builds trust.
• Explain every term in plain language.
• Check eligibility rules before suggesting a scheme.

Activity. Research five routes with steps and costs.

Standard to meet. Rank routes by fit.

Common mistake. Naming barriers as if they were the owner's fault.

Check yourself. Which barrier is about access, not ability?

Growth needs buyers. You will be able to identify an owner's best customers, test one low-cost new market, and judge whether demand is real.

• Who buys now and who else could.
• Offers and prices that fit.
• Online and local channels.
• Reviews and referrals.
• Help the owner name their ten best customers, what each buys and how often, then count how many arrived through recommendation to see which channels work.
• Test one new market cheaply, such as a market stall or an online listing for two weeks, and record the number of enquiries and sales it produces.
• Never promise funding you do not control.
• Keep a list of free local mentors.

Activity. Draft two outreach messages and a price list.

Standard to meet. Write specific messages.

Common mistake. Sending mass messages.

Check yourself. Whom will you contact first?

Fair finance helps; unfair finance harms. You will be able to build a monthly cash table and cost per sale, helping owners judge fair finance and avoid harmful borrowing.

• Know the full cost of the money: rate, fees and length of loan.
• Grants, small loans, savings groups, supplier credit.
• Avoid pressure and hidden fees.
• Keep simple records.
• Draw up a simple monthly cash table showing money in, money out and what is left, using real bank figures from the last three months.
• Show the owner the true cost of one sale and the smallest price rise that would increase profit, using an actual product from their own sales.
• Offer to read forms together.
• Record the owner's decisions, not yours.

Activity. Compare three finance options.

Standard to meet. Total cost shown for each.

Common mistake. Taking the first loan offered.

Check yourself. What is the total cost of each option?

Small upgrades make big differences. You will be able to match skills gaps to short training or peers, and teach one simple tool that saves the owner time.

• Records, pricing, online listing, safety.
• Free training and mentors.
• A simple tool stack.
• Plan learning time.
• Identify two skill gaps that block growth, such as pricing or online selling, and match each to one short training session or a peer who can demonstrate the skill.
• Choose one free or low-cost tool, such as a basic spreadsheet or an online booking page, and teach the owner to use it in a single practice session.
• Share only agreed information with others.
• Celebrate small wins in writing.

Activity. Pick two skills and a learning plan.

Standard to meet. Plan fits owner's time.

Common mistake. Training that is too long.

Check yourself. Which skill will be used this week?

A short, dated plan beats a long wish list. You will be able to write a dated 90-day plan with three numbered goals and weekly actions that fit around a busy owner's week.

• Three goals; each with three actions.
• Owner, helper, date for each.
• Measures: sales, orders, customers, savings.
• Review day 30 and 60.
• Set three goals for the 90 days, each with a number and a date, for example 10 new customers by day 60, and display them where the owner will see them daily.
• Break each goal into weekly actions of under two hours each, and agree a ten-minute check-in call every Friday to review progress.
• Review progress with the owner every two weeks.
• Ask what support is still needed at the end.

Activity. Write the plan with the owner.

Standard to meet. Obtain the owner's sign-off.

Common mistake. Plans with ten goals.

Check yourself. Which three goals did the owner choose?

Measure honestly and hand over power. You will be able to compare day-one and day-ninety scores, then hand over a summary so the owner keeps control after you leave.

• Compare with the health check.
• Celebrate what worked; adjust what did not.
• Document what the owner can repeat.
• Plan next steps and who supports.
• At day 90, compare the starting health-check scores with the new ones and show the owner the changes in a simple table so progress is clearly visible.
• Hand over a one-page summary with next steps, useful contacts and the date of a follow-up call, so the owner can continue without your help.
• Hand over every file and template.
• Write a short lessons note with the owner.

Activity. Write the progress report.

Standard to meet. Report uses numbers and owner quotes.

Common mistake. Taking credit for the result.

Check yourself. What did the owner say?

A large buyer offers a contract that needs three times current capacity.

Question: What do you advise?

Model answer: List what is needed, test a smaller first order, discuss financing and refer to a finance adviser.

A "support programme" asks for an upfront fee.

Question: What do you check?

Model answer: Verify the organisation, ask for written terms and warn the owner about pressure.

On the slide: L1 Basic · Basics of enterprise

Notes: Describe what a small enterprise is and what it needs to survive. Notes: talk to one local owner. Standard: a list of three needs they named.

On the slide: L2 Awareness · Awareness

Notes: Describe barriers small owners face (finance, access to buyers, rules, networks) and which are fixable. Notes: sort ten barriers into fixable and structural. Standard: reasons given for each choice.

On the slide: L3 Foundation · Foundation

Notes: Carry out a business health check on a practice case: sales, costs, records, customers and risks. Notes: use a standard checklist. Standard: five findings ranked by effect.

On the slide: L4 Practitioner · Practitioner

Notes: Plan 30 days of action for one practice owner with a budget, a buyer list and a measure. Notes: agree each action with the owner. Standard: every action has an owner, a date and a measure.

On the slide: L5 Specialist · Specialist

Notes: Work with one owner or a practice case to produce a health check, a 90-day growth plan and a progress report. Notes: include access to buyers and finance. Standard: report shows the baseline, the actions done and the change in a chosen measure.

On the slide: L6 Advanced · Advanced

Notes: Lead a support programme for several owners with referral partners, fair selection rules and results reporting. Notes: add an annual fairness review. Standard: selection rules published and results reported for all groups served.

On the slide: L7 Super expert · Super expert

Notes: Set the fair-opportunity method for business growth (access to buyers, finance, mentors) and teach the advisers who use it. Notes: review who was reached and who was missed each year and change the outreach.