12 October 2020
As an experienced business coach and mentor who has helped transform the fortunes of dozens of companies in the past 16 years, Yvette Lamidey is perfectly placed to understand the needs of the modern business owner.
The ‘key’ to her success is the ability to have what she describes as “unlocking conversations” with clients – sowing the seed for a major shift in the way companies operate and prompting an injection of new ideas.
Having the ability to talk things through with an external pair of eyes and ears is often vital. Yvette believes programmes such as Peer Networks – a Government scheme due to be delivered locally by SEMLEP’s Growth Hub – can prove pivotal in changing the fortunes of ambitious businesses with an appetite for growth.
She said: “The business world can be a lonely place, particularly if you are leading an organisation. You need a safe space where you can talk about the challenges you are facing, discuss any ideas you have and get honest feedback from people you can trust.
“Peer Networking is an ideal way of finding out what others have done in similar situations. You can tap into that wealth of knowledge and use best practice to your advantage.
“You are never alone in these things. If someone has the guts to stand up and say it in a meeting you can guarantee there is someone else in the room also going through it too.
“We’ve seen it throughout COVID – none of us knew what to expect at the start, we were all finding our way and seeing what could be done.
“It was tough for business owners as you don’t want to show those vulnerabilities or weaknesses to staff, they need assurances rather than more concerns, but high quality networking gives you somewhere to go and talk.”
Yvette is an expert in ‘the business of business’, working directly with business owners around strategy, implementation and alignment with values.
For the past 12 months she has chaired a peer-to-peer networking group, run in conjunction with Buckinghamshire Business First. The group meet monthly, with high-quality speakers in the morning followed by a round-table discussion in the afternoon where members talk through issues in a non-judgmental way. COVID forced the group to work online and they all found the peer-to-peer support crucial to getting through the early months.
She added: “We’ve discussed the impact of COVID, the furlough scheme, supply chain issues and people issues. It’s been fascinating and we’ve all learnt a lot. It’s shown a clear demand for this kind of facility and I’m delighted SEMLEP’s Growth Hub is now able to make Peer Networks available to even more businesses.
“As well as the sessions themselves they provide businesses with a direct entry into the wider SEMLEP eco-system, with access to our network of business advisers and the possibility of joining the Growth Curve programme. It plugs them in to a whole new world of support.
“It will also allow us to better understand the concerns of local businesses and report that back to Government to ensure future programme are tailor made to address those needs.”
Sign up today
Our Peer Networks programme will be delivered through a series of high-impact group sessions, with each cohort led by a trained facilitator.
The programme includes:
Register here and a representative of SEMLEP’s Growth Hub will then be in touch to discuss further details about your eligibility, the cohorts and start dates.
Places on the Peer Networks programme are limited so fill in the enquiry form today to guarantee your place in the first set of cohorts.
Back
