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.

July 2025

SOCIAL EVENT – FRIDAY 4TH JULY 4-6PM

  • Join fellow Fylde coast business owners for an informal networking opportunity after work at the end of the week
  • We will fire up the barbie and you’ll get a burger and a pint (if the weather is bad, a light finger buffet will be offered instead!)
  • Fully Funded – no cost to attend

Held at Peel House, Fylde 10am until 1pm on Wednesday 9th July 

This is a scale up session for businesses who have a marketing function or intend to install on in the near future and require clarity on:

  • Whether they should hire an apprentice, experienced marketing employee, agency or freelancer
  • Understand the pros and cons of all your options to help you make an informed decision
  • You have a marketing function (be it employee or agency) and you are unsure whether they deliver a return on investment, because you don’t know how to measure results or how to KPI the function
  • What systems might you use to track the work your marketing employees are doing
  • Perhaps you find that you are paying someone to do a marketing job, but you find yourself spending more time checking it than if you had done it yourself
  • How do you know your marketing employees are working on tasks that move the needle commercially? Do you feel they may be working on vanity projects that don’t deliver a return?
  • This session is designed to get your marketing function delivering results – or giving you the knowledge to start recruiting/installing a marketing function in the near future

This session is for high growth and scale up businesses only, sorry (Turnover minimum £100k+ , with business premises or employees) 

Held at Wyre Civic Centre in Poulton, 10am until 1pm on Monday 14th July

An introduction to Digital Marketing for beginners, providing an overview of:

  • Websites – different types, expected costs, how to get an affordable website
  • SEO and why it matters for your business
  • Social media and how to reach people using digital marketing

Held at Wyre Civic Centre 10am until 1pm – Lunch is provided

Held at Wyre Civic Centre 10am until 12pm

This workshop is designed for new businesses and people planning to start a business.

This session will cover:

  • The basics of managing your accounts and book keeping
  • Your legal responsibilities to HMRC
  • How to pay yourself
  • Managing  cashflow in your business
  • Funding your business and the various options available to you
  • How to start planning your financial forecast

Held on Zoom – Tue 22nd July 10-12pm with Jean Atkinson

In just two hours, you’ll learn how to harness the power of one of the world’s most popular email marketing platforms to grow your business or organisation. Email marketing remains one of the most effective digital marketing channels. Whether you’re a small business owner or marketing professional, Mailchimp provides an accessible yet powerful set of tools to connect with your audience.

In this workshop, we’ll cover everything from setting up your account and building your subscriber list to creating engaging email campaigns and analysing their performance. You’ll leave with practical skills to immediately implement email marketing for your organisation.

  • Introduction to Mailchimp
  • Account Setup
  • Building your Audience
  • Email Campaign Creation
  • Automation Basics
  • Analytics and reporting
  • Integration with your website/store

Delivered online by the fabulous Jean Atkinson.

Held at Peel House | Thur 27th July 10am til 1pm (lunch provided) 

Hands on interactive workshop delivered by the exceptional Karen Tems Networking extraordinaire!

  • Do you go to networking events and ‘hope for the best’
  • Do you feel awkward?
  • Do you see other people doing really well from networking and you aren’t sure what they know that you don’t?

Leave this Masterclass confident, able to walk up to a group of people and have the right words, end the feeling of awkwardness and start being a Networking Ninja!

Held at Peel House | Wed 30th July 2025 | 10am until 1pm with lunch included 

An intensive session with Nikki Hesford learning how to generate leads quickly and effectively using Meta Ads (formerly Facebook)

  • How to set up your business ad account
  • Creating simple lead generation campaigns to win new customers
  • Different audience types and how to create them (core, custom and lookalike)
  • Using Datasets (Pixels) and why we need this
  • Copywriting your ad and producing a visual

This session will be held at our training facility at Peel House (FY4 5JX) 10am til 1pm, with lunch provided.

August 2025

Wed 2nd July 10-2pm held at Peel House (inc lunch)

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 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

Lunch will be provided.

Held at Wyre Civic Centre 10am until 1pm – Lunch is provided

Held at Wyre Civic Centre 10am until 12pm

This workshop is designed for new businesses and people planning to start a business.

This session will cover:

  • The basics of managing your accounts and book keeping
  • Your legal responsibilities to HMRC
  • How to pay yourself
  • Managing  cashflow in your business
  • Funding your business and the various options available to you
  • How to start planning your financial forecast

Held over Zoom 10am until 12pm | Monday 23rd June

Over two hours you’ll learn how to create stunning visuals with one of the most user-friendly design platforms available today. In today’s digital world, eye-catching visuals are essential for engaging your audience—whether you’re promoting a business, managing social media, creating educational materials, or simply wanting to express yourself creatively. Canva makes professional-quality design accessible to everyone, regardless of your experience level or creative background.

This workshop is designed for beginners with no prior design experience. We’ll start with the basics and build your confidence step by step, giving you practical skills you can use immediately. By the end of our session, you’ll be comfortable navigating Canva’s interface and creating professional-looking designs for various purposes.

  • Introduction
  • Account Setup and Navigation
  • Creating your First Design
  • Working with Elements
  • Typography and Text Editing
  • Branding and Design Consistency
  • AI Features
  • Sharing and Scheduling

Delivered online by the fabulous Jean Atkinson.

Held at Wyre Civic Centre in Poulton, 10am until 1pm on Monday 14th July

An introduction to Digital Marketing for beginners, providing an overview of:

  • Websites – different types, expected costs, how to get an affordable website
  • SEO and why it matters for your business
  • Social media and how to reach people using digital marketing

Workshop Booking Form

Please complete all fields in the form. If you have any issues please email: bookings@thesmallbusinessacademy.co.uk.

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