Masterclasses and Workshops for Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre Businesses

Unfortunately we are unable to collect funding for businesses who have already received funded business support with us, or with Boost, between 1st Jan 2024 and 31st March 2025. As a goodwill gesture we are happy to allow existing customers to access Zoom sessions.

November 25

Peel House 10am to 2pm – Wednesday 25th November – delivered by John Woodruffe

This ‘Scale Up’ Masterclass is designed for businesses who have at least 1 employee, and are ambitious to grow.

Some of the topics covered in part 1 of this Masterclass delivered by John Woodruffe include:

* Leadership and management session for scaling businesses
* Business productivity
* Communication
* Culture in a growing team

There will also be an opportunity to chat confidentially with a small group of like-minded scale-up business owners about your experiences of managing employees and valuable networking opportunities over lunch.

Strictly limited to 12 businesses maximum

Lunch will be provided.

December 25

Held at The Robinson in Blackpool – 10am until 12pm Tue 2nd December

Covering the basics of managing your finance as a new business and planning for taxes:

  • What tax returns are due, and when
  • How much tax you need to pay and how this is calculated
  • How you pay yourself
  • Forecasting your revenue and expenditure
  • Understanding whether you’ll make a profit and how much profit you will make!

This is a 3 hours intensive crash course on Meta Ads (Facebook Ads) delivered by Nikki Hesford and covering:

  • Compliance and account set up
  • Creating Pixels (data sets) and using them
  • Creating a lead generation campaign
  • Creating custom audiences (retargeting email database, website traffic and more)
  • Why your creatives are tanking and how to write better ads

This session will as always, become fully booked! Lunch provided. In person at Peel House

Held at Blackpool Enterprise Centre 10am until 1pm

This is is a wonderful entry level Social Media Workshop for those with only a little or no knowledge of using Social Media in a business capacity.

Covering:

  • How it all works, and what is and isn’t important
  • Facebook, Insta, TikTok, LinkedIn – what’s what and why? Which ones do you need to be on?
  • How to create content and what it means to create content effectively
  • Understanding video, reels and other aspects of social media management
  • What not to post!
  • Avoiding scams and keeping your account safe

Delivered by Amy Mantle and includes lunch

Held at Blackpool Enterprise Centre 10am until 1pm delivered by the superb Hayley Caine

Do You Struggle With Your Sales ?

  • Are customers buying on price alone ?
  • Is it difficult to get new orders ?
  • Do you know what to say in sales

meetings / calls / emails ?

  • Is your confidence low ?
  • Are you demotivated and don’t know

where to start ?

  • Do you know who to sell to and who

will love your offer ?

  • Is your sales target enough ?
  • Are you charging the right price ?
  • Have you spent money on marketing

that didn’t work

 

Why Do You Need a Sales Plan ?

 

It can help you to secure the future for you and your family so you have choices

It can eradicate wasted sales effort when you are short of time doing it all in your own business

It gives you ideas and steps so that you can stop you worrying and fearing the worst

“ What if I can’t sell enough to make my business work”

“ I don’t know how to get orders in  and I have tried everything”

What Your Plan does   – Reduces time spent on wasted sales effort

Hit your targets more efficiently          – worry less

Spend less time selling                                   – work less hours

Sell to the right customer                   – spend time with people who value what you do

Charge the right price                                     – don’t sell champagne for beer money

Your Sales Plan                   

You will know your practical, simple steps in the right order that will achieve your sales goals

We Review, Develop and Finalise Your :

  • Ideas and approaches
  • Sales Plan
  • Sales process and steps
  • Price Right
  • Product Offer
  • How people buy from you
  • Method to convert quotes to orders
  • Report to Measure Targets
  • Managing your cash flow

Join us at Peel House for a festive couple of hours of networking on a Friday afternoon

There will be a 20 minute speaker slot ‘Why Bee’s Make Better CEO’s than people’ from Simon at The Bee Centre which is always uplifting, funny and festive.

Nibbles, mince pies and refreshments provided!

Held at Wyre Civic Centre – 10am until 1pm on Wed 16th December

Covering the fundamentals of what you need to know to start a business:

  • Startup costs and whether you need funding
  • Vital expenses
  • Taxes
  • Tax returns
  • Marketing and sales
  • Personal survival planning
  • What a business plan should include

January 2026

This ‘Scale Up’ Masterclass delivered by John Woodruffe is designed for businesses who have at least 1 employee, and are ambitious to grow.

Some of the topics covered in this Masterclass include:

  • What is Leadership?
    • Defining what is meant by leadership
    • The differences between leadership and management

Leadership Skills

    • What are the skills required to be an effective leader and manager?
    • Exploring why these skills are needed

A simple approach to leadership

    • Using a simple leadership model to understand how it’s done
    • Looking at a range of leadership approaches

Basic Leadership Skills

    • Questioning and Listening
    • Motivating and Inspiring the Team
    • Assertiveness
    • Influential Communication

Managing Performance

    • Dealing With Under-Performance
    • Setting SMART Goals and Objectives
    • Effective Performance Management Discussions
    • Performance and Development Planning

Decision Making and Problem Solving

    • Pro-actively Identifying Problems
    • Problem Solving Tools
    • How to Make Effective Decisions

Skills Practice

    • An opportunity to practice the skills

There will also be an opportunity to chat confidentially with a small group of like-minded scale-up business owners about your experiences of managing employees and valuable networking opportunities over lunch.

Strictly limited to 12 businesses maximum

Thur 15th January – Fylde Borough Council training centre, St Annes Square

(nearest train station is St Annes On Sea which is walking distance from the venue)

Lunch is provided!

This is an entry level Digital Marketing workshop to go through the fundamentals of:

  • Websites (what? how? why?)
  • SEO
  • Social Media
  • Paid Ads
  • Email marketing
  • Strategy and sales

This is designed for the business owner who feels they don’t have a grasp of the basics of digital marketing and want to undertake a mental review of all areas in a simple, accessible fun way.

Delivered by the incredible Jean Atkinson

Held on Zoom 10am until 12pm on Wed 21st January 2026

Applications will open for both the BIBAS and The Eva Awards in January – so this Masterclass has been strategically timed to prepare you for both.

Awards are not a ‘popularity contest’ and while there is a cost to attend these awards ceremonies, these are a tax deductible business expense, and a business who is struggling to afford to buy a ticket is probably not at the right stage to be considering entering awards just yet.

Aside from all else, they are an incredible networking opportunity – being in a room with 900+ other successful local entrepreneurs!

We will be covering:

  • What makes a good / poor award application
  • Why you have not been successful in the past
  • Common mistakes
  • What the Judges are looking for and how to give them what they want

Nikki has a 100% success rate of being shortlisted for awards both for herself, and for clients when she used to write them in her capacity as a marketing agency.

Held at Peel House FY4 5JX – 10am until 1pm including Lunch

Monday 26th January 10am to 1pm

Running a hair or beauty business takes strategy, focus, and smart systems. This results-driven workshop is designed specifically for salon owners, mobile therapists, and freelance beauty professionals who want to take their business to the next level.

In this practical session, you’ll learn how to streamline your operations, attract and retain ideal clients, and improve your pricing and time management to boost profitability without burning out. Whether you’re just starting out or ready to grow, this session will equip you with the tools to work smarter, earn more, and build a beauty brand that lasts.

We’ll cover:

  • Proven ways to increase bookings and client loyalty

  • Strategies to maximise your time and income – Profit for Effort!

  • Pricing and productivity tips for better profit margins

  • Marketing methods that attract your ideal customers

  • Mindset shifts to help you step confidently into growth

Coached by Nikki Hesford this session will give you a fresh outlook on how to grow your business and some new skills to win customers.

Workshop Booking Form

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