The award-winning Little Seed Group, run independently by Director and Founder Ellen Cole over the last four years, is sprouting a new cutting as it takes on its first ever intern to help support and establish a brand new, inclusive e-learning platform. With support and guidance from City of York Council Business Growth Managers, Ellen has been able to take the next steps in growing and developing her marketing, PR and social media services business.
A proactive business owner, Ellen began working with us in April, joining our network as a Visit York member. Conversations led to a connection with Business Growth Manager Louise Saw, and Ellen has been able to access invaluable one-to-one support for making her ideas for diversifying and expanding her business services into reality.
This summer, the Little Seed Group will be taking on an intern from the University of York Internships Programme, a connection which also led the business into successfully receiving funding from the Santander Universities SME Internship Programme. The internship will be focused on the research and development of an e-learning resource, focusing on providing accessible and affordable training as more businesses look to adapt and upskill as they connect with their customers and stakeholders in a digital space.
As the first and only approved Mailchimp Partner in North Yorkshire, Ellen’s aim is to share her knowledge and fill the access to training gap for smaller businesses struggling to afford this through more traditional routes – a need only heightened as businesses work through economic recovery following the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ellen Cole, founder and director, says:
I have been working with Louise for a few months now and have been surprised how much support there is out there for businesses like mine. She has put me in touch with other like-minded connections, forwards business funding opportunities to me and helps me work through business challenges when I am being indecisive. Taking on an intern through the University of York is something which I never would have done without Louise’s help.
"Expanding my business from being just myself and bringing another person into the mix was a daunting business decision but something I felt passionate about doing to expand the reach and accessibility of the services I offer. Being able to share the aspirations and direction of where I wanted to take the business and gaining support, ideas and connections to do so means I now have the opportunity to launch this new training platform to new audiences, and helping businesses to upskill.
If any York-based B2B sole-traders or organisations are looking for some support to grow their business, don’t hesitate to get in touch with Louise and the Business Growth Managers team.”