As we approach the 14th anniversary of Social Progress, I’ve been reflecting on that start up journey and who helped, but didn’t know it at the time.
Conversation Number One
Before setting up Social Progress I was very fortunate to be a Business Link Yorkshire Business Adviser. I didn’t apply to be there. I was TUPEd in (transferred in when Business Link Yorkshire took on the contract for skills brokerage).
Before delivering the skills brokerage services, I’d also worked for a training provider delivering bespoke training and teaching NVQ Assessors to be Assessors.
The Business Link service right across the UK was axed by the government in 2011. Thus, making all staff redundant in a couple of stages.
We used to out-source the delivery of workshops to key specialists in the area. As a Business Adviser part of my role was to attend the workshops, introduce the speakers and thank them at the end. As we were coming to the end of the contract, I asked one of those speakers, Mike Astrop, who used to deliver a workshop on ‘Bringing a New Product to Market’ what he was planning on doing once Business Link closed. Knowing it would be a gap in business for Mike.
I suggested he looked at LinkedIn for opportunities. I’d started using LinkedIn and found it really useful for connecting with people and finding clients for the Business Link service. Little did I know at that time it would lead me to where we are today.
Mike explained he didn’t know much about LinkedIn and so I offered to show him how it all works. Mike’s response was that we could do this when Business Link closed and he’s pay me for my services. Instantly a light bulb when on in my head. Maybe this was something I could do – LinkedIn training.
Conversation Number Two
As Business Advisers, we also used to deliver a workshop at Business Link Yorkshire called ‘Build a Better Business’. It was ten things to do to build your business with a set of cards that helped you to define what you already had in place, what you didn’t need right now and some areas to focus on for growth.
One of the ten things to consider was online marketing and specifically LinkedIn. I asked the delegates about their business and if business to business, were they using LinkedIn. One lady, Linda Matthews from Datech Scientific Limited explained they’d not really focused on LinkedIn. I offered to help Linda and the business with some LinkedIn training in exchange for feedback if, and only if, I’d done a good job and the training had been worthwhile. I didn’t know if I could deliver LinkedIn training at that time and needed a willing ‘guinea pig’ to try it out on.
I contacted Linda a few months after to see if it had made any impact. Thankfully I had and this was her feedback:-
Datech Scientific Limited
“Datech Scientific Limited are a small business located just north of Sheffield, and we operate in quite a niche market in the UK and Ireland. Although we do have a website, we do not on the whole attract customers through the site, our business usually comes from existing customers or others within our industry fields.
We felt LinkedIn would be of use to try to establish a closer link with professionals from within our industry sector, to keep them up to date with new products and solutions.
From an initial meeting with Janet Bebb, from Social Progress Ltd, she explained and assisted me in setting up a presence on LinkedIn, and has demonstrated how I can now continue to add links, and to search for suitable individuals and companies. She was a great help to myself in speeding up the process of registering, and setting up my profile. I have had little experience with social networking in the past, and Janet certainly has given me far more confidence to proceed with LinkedIn and to appreciate the advantages that it may bring. She demonstrated great patience, and enabled me to achieve something that without her help I’m sure I wouldn’t have persevered with.”
Linda Matthews, Director, Datech Scientific Limited
Conversation Number Three
Although I operated as a face-to-face Business Adviser, my role was split between that role and as a Systems, Process & Knowledge Change Manager at Business Link Yorkshire.
Having gained a little, very little, confidence that LinkedIn Training was something I could try to do, I then muted the idea with a couple of colleagues I worked along-side. One being Lorna Marsh, who wasn’t a Business Adviser but a Service Development Manager at Business Link Yorkshire. We worked together on the delivery of services.
I explained to Lorna that I’d had an idea to set up delivering LinkedIn Training when I finished working at Business Link Yorkshire. Lorna suggested I had a brand identity developed and a website. Stupidly, and unbelievable to me now, I didn’t think either of those were necessary. How wrong could I be.
And imagine that, a Business Adviser that doesn’t think a new business setting up would need a brand identity or a website. Incomprehensible in today’s world and we’re only 14 years on.
Needless to say, she convinced me, even though I though they weren’t needed and I couldn’t afford either.
The irony being, our Social Progress branding and website are two of the most important elements in promoting our business, along with our office on the main traffic lights on the road from Huddersfield to Holmfirth and of course our own social media.
Conversation Number Four
The fourth and final piece of the puzzle in starting out was someone else delivering LinkedIn Training.
As we were coming to the end of Business Link Yorkshire, I had started to look for jobs, and used LinkedIn in my job searches. Something not a lot of people were doing back in those days. I found a few jobs for colleagues and some for myself, before my decision to set up Social Progress.
I also sat down with a few colleagues on a 1-2-1 basis to show them how to fully optimise, and use LinkedIn, to find the right roles for themselves.
Whilst, this was welcomed by my team mates, it was also recognised by HR that as the business was closing down it would be useful for them to provide LinkedIn training on a more formal basis.
HR explained that although they could see that the LinkedIn training, I was offering was extremely helpful, employees wouldn’t necessarily see this as formal training and so they commissioned an external trainer to come in to deliver some sessions. One of which I attended.
This also, built my confidence. I knew I could deliver this specific training having observed the LinkedIn trainer but didn’t want to simply set up and be seen as a direct threat to her business.
So, I asked to meet for a coffee to explain what I was thinking of doing. To my delight, she gave her blessing, explained where we were similar but that we weren’t actually competition at all as her business was more about recruitment through LinkedIn. Whereas, my target market was businesses looking to enhance and optimise their LinkedIn Pages and Profiles to gain sales.
Sadly, I can’t recall the lady’s name or what her business was called. Otherwise, I would gladly thank her for being one of the four that guided me on my way and, although all the people mentioned in this article possibly didn’t know at the time, each one was instrumental in Social Progress being formed.
Thank you Mike, Linda, Lorna, LinkedIn trainer.