Island Holiday shines with Help to Grow: Management

After a few years of rapid growth, Emma was keen to evaluate her management style and find further opportunities for growth. When she saw a social media post about the Help to Grow: Management Course at the University of Portsmouth Faculty of Business and Law, it seemed to be exactly what she was looking for.

“I really needed was to take myself out of the every day running of my business and see it from the outside looking in rather than being involved in everything.”

Emma was looking evaluate her management style and find opportunities for growth.

One of the most valuable modules for Emma was ‘Employment Engagement and Leading Change’.

“It really resonated with me and made me realise that I have a communicative approach. I always want to get staff involved but I’d wondered if that was right because there’s no guidebook to follow. You just try to do your best all the time and you learn from your mistakes.

“Of course, when you have errors in business there can be financial consequences.

As she took time out of the business, Emma found that she needed to implement more targets for The Island Holiday Company.

“I was working in the office every single day and being entwined in the day-to-day, so it was impossible to move the business forward because I didn’t have the time.

“The course gave me time to set goals and look forward. I realised that I could employ more people because it was part of the business plan.”

“In total we’ve gone from a team of 17 people when I joined the course in 2023, to 27. I’ve promoted internally to increase our marketing capacity, taken on an apprentice, hired a Marketing Executive as well as a full time Operations Manager. With more staff I can focus on our strategy and operations rather than the day-to-day.”

Alongside 12 modules and the peer group sessions, the Help to Grow: Management Course also includes a 1-2-1 mentor to help alumni directly apply their learning to their business.

“I was lucky enough to be matched with a mentor that lives on the Isle of Wight which meant that I was able to meet him face to face and I’m still in contact with him. During these sessions we were able to analyse my business and pose questions that made me consider what was best for growth.”

“My mentor introduced me to a helpful piece of software that enabled me to analyse our data and finances. We are now able to project revenue from properties before we take them on. That's been a really helpful tool in getting properties on our roster, giving accurate projections, and getting us to grow.”

Not only has Emma expanded her team, but with accurate data on properties she has managed to expand her business across the Isle of Wight.

“Last year we had 71 properties, we've already grown to 128 so far this year. Now we are the biggest independent holiday letting agency on the Isle of Wight and we are seeing rapid growth.

“Considering the contracts in our pipeline, I would be very surprised if we don't hit 130 – 140 properties by the end of the year.”

With this growth in mind, Emma reflects on the Help to Grow: Management Course, "I don't think the business would be where it is now without the course, because it gave me the insight to become an effective business leader."

“You've got to come out of your business to look at how it's being run and how you want to move forward. If you're in the day-to-day running, you haven't got the headspace to process and put an action plan in place to drive your growth.”

You can find out more about the Help to Grow: Management Course here.