Case study: Grant helps double eighty3creative turnover

“It took days to get the grant, not weeks”

Wombourne business set to double turnover every year thanks to a £5,000 growth grant

Craig Slater and Amie Whale have come a long way from the days of being creative graphic designers.

Set up in 2008, eighty3creative had been growing steadily year on year; moving to Wombourne and new offices just before the pandemic hit.

By working hard and helping as many local businesses to get online to survive the pandemic as possible, the duo doubled their turnover last year.

But with only so many hours in the day, growth was plateauing, so they applied for a £5,000 ‘To Thrive’ grant from the Staffordshire Means Back to Business scheme. A partnership between Staffordshire County Council and the county’s district and borough councils, the scheme has already helped over 640 businesses to get their growth plans back on track.

The grant paid for business coaching and a business consultant to review the performance and workings of the business, as well as exploring new growth opportunities. Now eighty3creative is more streamlined, is turning around jobs much quicker and getting the most out of their investments.

Moreover, they’ve now got plans to rebrand and support their clients with a fully integrated and managed digital marketing service that they hope will double their current £250,000 turnover every year for the next five years.

“The coaching and planning we bought in really is making a difference,” said Craig, “and the process of getting the grant was really easy.

I think most business’ experiences is that getting funding takes weeks or months and is incredibly hard work. Not so with the To Thrive grant. It took days from start to finish– that’s all.

I absolutely urge every business wanting to get their growth plans back on track to move quickly to apply for a grant now. It took our growth from the back-burners to front and centre, without the investment risk.”

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