Going for Growth has given me a fresh set of eyes that I needed and new possibilities I didn’t know were there before now. Meeting such amazing women along the way was a huge plus. It has been the best experience in my 5 years running the business to date and I look forward to joining the Going for Growth Community going forward.
I am so very grateful to have been chosen for Going for Growth. It really made me focus on the areas of my business that I was neglecting. I felt so supported by the group of women and my Lead Fidelma. I felt seen and heard. I felt safe sharing and being vulnerable with my team which is so important. There was tears and laughter and lots and lots of support. Thank you so very much for all the help.
The 12th Cycle of Going for Growth was a fantastic experience for me. If you are interested in growing your business, hiring more staff, reaching levels of global success that you didn’t think were possible for you, then this is the business programme for you! Going for Growth will help you achieve your business purpose, live your company culture and solve the problems you and your company set out to solve for your customers globally. It is fun and interesting too and you will meet company CEO’s who are ahead of you in your experience and business journey and they will help, guide and inspire you.
Going for Growth is a great opportunity to meet like-minded businesswomen and to be a part of a support network that hosts entrepreneurs from all sectors. The programme has provided our business with relevant training in different areas, as well as with structure for growth going forward. We are delighted to be part of this great community and look forward to celebrating together soon.
Going for Growth was very professionally run and organised. The experience was extremely positive. Had the programme ran as normal, the structure was really good and developed your thoughts, made you plan and held you accountable. Obviously with COVID19 kicking off shortly into our cycle, all of our requirements changed and it wasn’t practical to continue solely on a growth path. Our Lead Entrepreneur brought us through COVID19 with great support, understanding and resilience, which is exactly what we needed. She told us it was normal for us to feel worried, not in control etc. She brought us together as a group to support one another. It was a very surreal experience through COVID19 but it was fantastic to have excellent support from such a great mentor and group.
Going for Growth is without doubt an exceptional programme. I had the privilege of being on the 12th cycle and from beginning to end it was incredibly well thought out and supportive where women supported each other at every turn. It really made me understand my business and gave me the gift of allowing myself to work on my business as well as working in the business. It has truly been invaluable and I would recommend it to any ambitious female entrepreneur. Thank you so much to everyone involved who despite Covid kept us all inspired motivated, challenged and connected. What a gift you have given us all.
I feel like I have gained more confidence in myself as a business owner and leader. Being heard in a forum and having other business owners engage with me and listen to me as well as sharing ideas with me has had a really positive impact on my confidence and belief in myself. Overall, the big win is the positive impact on my business. Thanks to the programme we have really shifted our focus to take a long-term view of the organisation with everything we do. We have a clear strategy for the remainder of 2020 as well as for 2021. We have mapped out our internal team structure for the next 3 years, which has resolved many internal issues and created many opportunities for existing and new employees. The organisation is in a really good place and I have to apportion a lot of that to the Going for Growth programme.
I took part in the 12th cycle of Going for Growth which unfortunately happened to coincide with the COVID-19 pandemic but I feel lucky to have been on this cycle as it gave me additional tools and support to navigate the Covid challenges. The programme is very well structured and gives you the tools to dig deep into your business and develop a blueprint for the future that is strategic, focused and true to your goals and values.
I walked into a room full of women last Spring and didn’t know a single one! I feel very lucky to now call these people my new network and to consider those within my round table group as friends.
Going for Growth is a fantastic opportunity to work with amazing Lead Entrepreneurs who give of their time, energy and support so generously. The programme forces you to take time out and focus on your business, look at key areas and plan out goals. I was very impressed how the groups are put together with an appropriate Lead for your stage and also the other companies within your group. Going for Growth gives you the opportunity to be exposed to some of the most incredible woman and your group provides support and insight which was particularly important as we tried to navigate the challenges of Covid-19. Going for Growth is so professionally run by Paula Fitzsimons and her team and I cannot recommend it highly enough to female entrepreneurs who are ambitious and want to grow their business and meet fantastic people.
Going for Growth provides a focus on working on the business as opposed to working in the business. It provides the space, time and support to get clarity and prioritise where you want to go and how to get there. My business is all the better for being a part of it.
I was first introduced to Going for Growth by a work colleague who was helping me get to grasps with the business. I had the attitude, sure I’ll apply with no hope of getting a place. I was shocked when I got the acceptance email and was elated!! I was nervous on the opening day but when I arrived the reception I received was amazing. The friendly faces welcoming us, putting us at ease straight away. The group of women I was with were all in the same boat as me and we all just relaxed into each other and the support from the very start was second to none! Our Lead Entrepreneur was a strong, positive woman with such a caring nature that instantly made you relaxed. I went from a scared, non-confident, daughter of the owner/ employee to a very confident business woman whom people sat up and listened to by the end of the cycle. I pulled the company into the 21st century, re-structured the financial side, re-structured the day to day processes, started an e-commerce website during Covid, kept the company float, kept all our staff and still turned a small profit thanks to the support of my amazing mentor and girls on my table. I couldn’t recommend the programme highly enough and I can’t wait to get together and meet with everyone again.
Going for Growth has had such a huge impact on my life and my business that I don’t think I can quite appreciate how much, just now. My group and Lead Entrepreneur have supported and pushed me, in equal measure, through what was not the period of excitement and growth that I though 2020 would be, and was instead a time of such upheaval that it could have spelled the end of my business. Through Going for Growth I have found access to government funding that is proving invaluable during the Covid Pivot, I have gained understanding of what it really means to be a business woman and I have made a group of friends for life. At first, I felt hard done by that my Going for Growth experience happened during a time when growth for my company didn’t seem at all possible, but as time has worn on, I’ve seen that in fact I’ve been luckier than any group before or after, to have had this focus and friendship to get me through.
I am so delighted that I was part of Going for Growth 12th cycle. It’s hard to put into words how positively it’s affected both my relationship to my business and the overall health of the business itself. I feel I understand so many more aspects of the business and have spent some very valuable time thinking about it from a birds eyes view. White Mausu has grown dramatically during the cycle even with Covid and its restrictions. Some of that growth is due to being a part of Going for Growth. Our Lead Entrepreneur was so generous with her time and knowledge and I’ve gained some new friends that I can imagine supporting and being supported by for a long time to come.
When I started my Going for Growth journey I never could have imagined what lay ahead with Covid 19 and how drastically things would change in the events industry. The support and encouragement of all of the Going for Growth team has been more than I could have ever expected. My Lead Entrepreneur and team of amazing ladies that I was lucky enough to be with were such a breath of fresh air to deal with during such a surreal time. Having a group of such likeminded females for support and encouragement is invaluable. Going for Growth is a must for any dedicated female entrepreneurs out there.
From beginning to end the programme delivered on everything I had asked for and more. Thank you to everyone.
Going for Growth takes you to another level and motivates to really focus on the strategic direction of your business. Too often as business owners, we are stuck in the trenches of operations and struggle to find the time to lift our heads to review the business to steer it in the direction best aligned to growth. Our Lead Entrepreneur encouraged me to take this perspective by reviewing our business planning activities and identifying our target markets. We have navigated our way through COVID and are confident of our future. Going for Growth was a great support mechanism through these challenging times. The network of people I met I have no doubt will be very valuable in the future.
Going for Growth Cycle 12 has enabled me to take a fresh and clear overview of my business – The Irish Biltong Company. Having completed this cycle during COVID was invaluable to me. My Lead Entrepreneur was able to pivot immediately to offer support during a very worrying time for all businesses. My group were supportive towards each other and together as a group we learned what needed to be done for everyone to survive during this crisis. The feedback, experience and knowledge we shared helped me to analysis and redesign my business over a very short period of time. I have most definitely emerged from the Going for Growth programme stronger and more confident in my own ability as a business woman. The support received from not alone my Lead but the overall group of Leads and organisers has been phenomenal. In addition I have gained a new group of like-minded friends in business.
Going for Growth is an excellent programme to be a part of. It’s a safe space that alleviates the loneliness of being a business owner, which is very real. Not only does it offer huge business help, support and advice it also offers a wonderful sense of community. It was a wonderful experience!
Going for Growth was been a lovely worthwhile experience. It was great to get advice, mentorship and lots of encouragement from the Lead Entrepreneurs, the webinars and the women from our group. I would recommend it!
I was so thrilled to be selected for the 12th Cycle of Going for Growth. I had big plans and then along came Covid-19. In my head I thought what a year to be selected. This will ruin my Going for Growth but how wrong I was. The level of support I received from my Lead Entrepreneur, my Team Members and also from everyone behind the scenes was immense. We were not going to bury our heads in the Covid Ground but fight to adjust to new ways of doing business and ensuring we had a much stronger business when we returned. Going for Growth has given me the clarity of where I want to grow my business and the drive to do so. It had also given me a fantastic group of friends.
For me Going for Growth opened the door to a group of women the same as me in that are all navigating their businesses through various stages of growth. That are experiencing similar hurdles and pitfalls in trying to achieve their ultimate goal of having a successful and profitable business. This combined with a group of women who had already achieved their success that are willing to share their experiences in their own time can only be a good thing. The Lead Entrepreneurs are inspiring, informative, supportive and world of knowledge.
This is the BEST use of your time. Even if all you do is to take the time for yourself and your business to write down on paper your goals it will be so rewarding. If you do get accepted then prepare to learn faster than ever from real life businesswomen who are there to help, support and guide you every step of the way. The energy and friendship you will experience along with the accountability makes your dreams possible. You will be further down your journey than you ever thought possible with this programme and the support it offers. I have learned so much but the feeling of knowing I have so many people to turn to ask all those ‘stupid’ questions and know that I’m not on my own. Our Lead Entrepreneur was insanely helpful and the group are my girlgang of the business world! It is so professionally run, a credit to Paula and the team.
Going for Growth is an excellent opportunity for businesswomen to learn and grow with each other le by amazing Lead Entrepreneurs. It may not have turned out as planned due to Covid 19 but I know that my round table ladies and Lead Entrepreneur have been such a blessing when my business came to a crashing halt. Their support and wisdom has helped me to become a more resilient, resourceful business owner. Thanks so much so much to Paula and the team for everything you contribute to Going for Growth, I am truly grateful for one of the best opportunities I have had.
I had the honour of being accepted to Going for Growth. I felt proud and a little overwhelmed to be in the company of such impressive businesswomen. I definitely had a little ‘imposter syndrome’ and discovered that everyone in our group had a bit of this feeling too which was really unfounded as they were so competent and capable. I don’t feel so alone anymore since the first ‘Going for Growth ‘ session 6 months ago. Our Lead Entrepreneur was brilliant. She was both sensible and ambitious for our businesses, absolutely no nonsense and gave very valuable advice. I know I can reach out to this group of strong businesswomen running their businesses with the same stress and conflicts that we all have and receive and give support back to keep us all focused on success. We all had the added pressure of running businesses during a global pandemic. It was so good to have this extremely valuable support system already in place. It helped during this tough time. I have no doubt that the women in our group will be successful as I see such life skills in all of them as they make well thought out choices for their businesses. I am proud to know all of them and I know we will continue to be in touch to support each other.
