Testimonials

“As one of the owners of IN Freight Solutions, I found the UK-US Free Trade Agreement session valuable for my own knowledge and for supporting our business. It gave me a clearer understanding of how the agreement can streamline cross-border logistics and reduce barriers for UK companies trading with the US. I gained practical insights into compliance requirements and identified opportunities for growth in the American market, which will help us refine our international strategy for clients operating in this area. Overall, the session was highly useful and will inform our approach to engaging with American trade opportunities."

- Nicola Lees, Owner

“I found the Website Development - Planning to Launch workshop to be very informative and well structured. The speaker took us through each stage of the workshop in very manageable pieces. I found it incredibly interesting to see examples of different websites (the pros and cons) and how AI can help with building sites also. The speaker's knowledge and statistics also helped me to identify which platform I would like to use when building a website and how I can check the health of my site.

I am now currently in the early stages of building a website and feel much more confident about the process thanks to the support from the workshop. My newfound knowledge has helped me with the draft designing of the pages to target the client's/ customer's needs.  As a result of the workshop, I have since booked onto the WordPress Masterclass workshop for next month to help me finish building my site on this platform to a standard that I will be proud of."

- R. Davies, Owner

“I found the 'HR Essentials' course very interesting and well presented. I have used a lot of the information from the course whilst doing my role, including updating contracts and policies with the new legislation. There were some very helpful hints and tips."

- Nicola Parsons, Business and Administration Manager

“Thank you very much for the masterclasses, when you’re just starting out and not yet sure if you’ll succeed, these classes support you, help you shape your path, and make you feel that you’re not navigating it alone but have support along the way.

My website has already launched, but I’m still in the process of setting up sales. I think I need Google Shopping ads to be more active on social media.

I'm looking forward to attending more Accelerator events."

- Kateryna Tor, Owner

“I recently attended the Modern SEO course from the Accelerator project. To be honest I've attended this course several times over the past few years as SEO best practices change and this course is always up to date.

The content is outstanding and broken down into easy to understand sections. Each section can then be implemented into your website and Ian is always happy to show live examples of how to do what he's taught you on your site.

The knowledge I've gained from this course has not only helped me make sure my website has the best chance of showing up when someone searches on Google, but I have passed what I've learnt onto friends and together we've updated their websites as well as created their SEO strategies.

For any East Midlands business who has a website and hopes to show up on Google rankings, attending the Modern SEO course is a no brainer."

- Paul Cox, Owner

“I've done a few Accelerator events, both online and in person. I originally found out about these events when I was signed up to the Introduction to Marketing AI & ChatGPT workshop in the first few weeks of my role at Avanti Homecare. I found it really engaging, and the speaker was clearly very knowledgeable about the topic.

Since then, I kept checking for more events that may be helpful in my role, and the Optimising Social Media Profiles webinar really jumped out at me. I enjoyed the interactive aspect, and how they would look at each businesses profile individually to show possible improvements. It was extremely helpful to get that external viewpoint from an unbiased perspective.

We definitely changed up how we manage our social media now to make it as comprehensible as possible for potential clients. I've found all the courses very useful, particularly Liam's Paid Video Marketing for YouTube & Social Platforms, and Ian's Modern SEO. They are excellent, engaging speakers, and I would really encourage anyone in marketing to attend these events."

- Libby Morrell, Marketing

“The WordPress Masterclass course was brilliant and a real benefit to my business. I’ve used WordPress for several years but the depth of knowledge from the tutor, his ability to make everything simple and jargon free was refreshing!

I learnt so much from the course and had so many hints and tips that have saved me time and money. I’d highly recommend the course."

- Dawn Spendlove, Founder

“All these courses were helpful and informative. Since attending, I have put into action much of what was learnt.

From How to Plan, Build and Launch a killer Website I gained a number of things, include clarity on using Shopify, understanding how to add Google Analytics to my website; focussing on my target customers and the importance of planning before jumping straight in. As a result, my website is now fully launched; it has tracking pixels and analytics added!

From the Email Marketing workshop, I learnt the benefits of different platforms, how to organise groups within my mailing list, scheduling with Buffer, what content to include and the benefits of certain features. Since the workshop, I’ve set up and am now using the MailerLite platform. I’ve established a mailing list and send out a regular newsletter. I have automations in place to follow up new subscribers, have social media posts scheduled using Buffer and use ChatGPT for writing appropriate copy.

From the Paid Social Media Marketing workshop, I gained an understanding of audiences and targeting. It helped me find my way around meta business suite and ads manager – this was invaluable to me! I can now use Creative Hub on meta. I also understand the role of tracking pixels and how to use them. The course has given me the confidence to add Facebook and Google pixels to my website, which had all seemed very scary in the past.

As a result of what I learned on this course I have just launched my first ad campaign on meta with positive results. Tracking pixels are in place and I know how to use the data generated.

I’m now using the business suite with increasing confidence. I am a newbie to social media marketing and I could not have done this without the excellent training received.

Thank you to everyone who has inputted into me and helped me on my journey to date. The training has been excellent and has definitely impacted my business journey!”

- Jan Mace, Director

Wellington Films is a film production company that has recently celebrated its 25th anniversary in helping to originate acclaimed feature films. As a business that develops projects and then sets up businesses to run them, there are many moving parts.

Support from an Accelerator Growth Voucher is enabling co-founders Al Clark and Rachel Robey to tap into expert consultancy on financial risk management systems and put in place the software to manage financial projections.

Chamber Business Adviser Richard Crowden also introduced the pair to the Export Accelerator project which led to a successful bid for grant funding to cover the cost of attending the Toronto International Film Festival.

“Support from the Chamber’s Accelerator project has been two-fold: the financial training through Growth Voucher support gives us the foresight to make sure our forecasts are as robust as possible and to take early corrective action where needed.

Attendance at the Toronto International Film Festival, which would have been too expensive for us to attend without Export Accelerator support, has enabled us to pitch a new project to potential financiers and other co-producers alike which has helped to significantly raise our international profile.”

- Al Clark, Co-founder

“It's been incredibly valuable to have Charles's support over the last couple of months. He's offered exactly what I needed. I'm pleased to report we've expanded from just me, to routinely employing 4-5 people, albeit on short term contracts for the moment.

Turnover has increased by a similar factor, so I expect to be able to move one or two to full time employment from the end of the calendar year.”

- Ben Foster, Managing Director

“Steve Phillips was very informative about how the support could make a difference to a small business. He listened and got to know Nordicana Homewares really well and made sure he knew the story of how it all started and the ethics of the shop, having a low carbon footprint and being environmentally aware.

Although the business is busy in the shop, social media wasn’t driving customers to make purchases on the website. Steve discussed social media strategies and gave advice on what could work better. He also discussed how a new website linked to social media could work.

Steve is very good at listening and understanding a business and how actions can move it forward. I’m very thankful for his help. I am now using a local company that employs local people to build a brand-new website that is more customer friendly and increases sales."

- Neil Hunt, Owner

“I would like to express my sincere appreciation for the opportunity to attend the recent Copilot workshop. As a startup business owner, I found the experience truly eye-opening. The insights I gained into Copilot AI were both informative and inspiring, and I was impressed by its practical applications—particularly in streamlining email communication, which has already saved me considerable time.

The workshop was exceptionally well delivered. The facilitator demonstrated professionalism, confidence, and a strong ability to engage with all participants. I felt fully included throughout the session, and the supportive environment made it easy to absorb the content.

Since attending, I have begun integrating AI into my business communications, and I can already see the benefits. I am confident that as my business grows, Copilot will play a vital role in enhancing various aspects of operations, including the development of care plans.

Given the chance, I would be eager to attend future Copilot workshops to build on the knowledge I’ve gained. These sessions are incredibly valuable, and I truly appreciate being part of them.”

- Tsalani Malyi, Director