As we all get our heads back into the business game in 2025, it is easy to plough straight into your inbox and your ever increasing to do list and jump right back into the business of your business.
But at Broxbourne Enterprise Centres (BEC) we know just how important leaving space for BIG PICTURE planning and visioning can be, and creating regular space throughout the year to continue work on your business, NOT just in it.
Our Innovation Director Julie Creffield, who this year celebrates 30 years in business is here to remind you that business is a marathon, not a sprint and that collaboration and creativity is what will keep you solvent and sane as you continue to grow your business.
Julie is based across our two sites, and delivers all of our inhouse coaching and mentoring, as well as feeding into our place making by developing partnerships, collaborations and a dynamic events programme helping to create a thriving ecosystem of business growth and innovation for local founders, MD’s, CEO’s and Solopreneurs alike.
But what exactly does an Innovation Director do?
An Innovation Director is a strategic leader responsible for driving innovation within an organization, fostering a culture of creativity, developing new products or services, improve processes, and identify opportunities that give the organization a competitive edge. Innovation Directors bridge the gap between strategy and execution, ensuring that fresh ideas align with business goals and generate measurable impact.
For the companies that are based with us at Broxbourne Enterprise centres Julie is on hand to support companies as they start up, grow up and scale up. This could be anything from having an informal coffee and catch up to talk through a current challenge, right the way up to spearheading strategic planning for growth, or helping companies to access funding for exciting new developments or innovations.
Julie has been in post since April and has worked with many of our companies in intensive ways to develop strategies, establish new partnerships or projects, or signpost to opportunities delivered by a range of local and regional partners.
She says,
“No two days are the same in this role. All of our companies are different, so our business support has to reflect this. Once trust is established and companies can see the power of having a fresh pair of eyes its been amazing how things can shift. The last 8 months have been a wonderful way of using my extensive skills and experience and I can’t wait to see what 2025 brings for our community of business owners”
Business support comes FREE as part of our flexible license agreements and the customers who engage in this service tell us how valuable it is to have additional strategic support to help them grow.
We are NOT a let and forget operator…we are invested in your business success, and have a range of tools, resources and partners to help you reach your goals.
Here are 10 examples of how Julie could support your company in 2025.
1. Help you create or update your strategic business plan
2. Help you review your marketing and lead generation strategy
3. Help you develop new partnerships and collaborations
4. Help you design new product, service or programmes offerings
5. Help you source experts to support your skill or knowledge gaps
6. Help you with grant applications, or sourcing finance
7. Help you to ramp up your PR, apply for awards, become more press worthy
8. Help you with your people strategy, recruitment, capacity building, leadership
9. Help navigate challenging environmental factors affecting your business
10. Help with strategic introductions to local, regional or national stakeholders
And much, much more!!!
Dual Centre Manager Zoe Galea’s advice to companies that join us is,
“Get a meeting in the diary with Julie ASAP…the more she knows about your business the more we can all support you”
It is easy sometimes to think that innovation and creativity is for “other” types of businesses, when often its just about exploring other avenues, thinking in different ways, looking at challenges from a different perspective.
So Julies top 3 questions for January…
- What NEEDS to change in 2025 in your business?
- Where have we been putting off making changes?
- Who do I need to be to lead this business towards 2030?
Let’s make 2025 the year your business flourishes at Broxbourne Enterprise Centres.
On January 15th January from 10am-12.30 we are hosting a FREE strategy workshop for business owners. Held at our Theobalds Centre site in Cheshunt you will also have the opportunity to take a tour of the facilities and meet our staff and customers.
