On the 19th of June, the latest cohort to complete the Help to Grow: Management Course at Birkbeck Business School had a special guest at their graduation event. Lord Bilimoria, member of the House of Lords and founder of Cobra Beer, joined SME leaders who recently completed Birkbeck’s 7th cohort to share his experience and answer questions.
Lord Bilimoria, an avid believer in the power of learning, outlined how education enabled him to propel his businesses to new heights and added that this is why courses like Help to Grow: Management are so important.
Reflecting on his own experience, he discussed the risks he took and the challenges he faced. These included finding a name for the brand, securing distribution, and overcoming resistance from retailers to Cobra’s signature bottle shape, This prompted questions from the alumni who were able to gain valuable insights in a range of areas such as marketing, time management, and entrepreneurial attitudes.
The Help to Grow: Management graduation and alumni events provide small business leaders with the opportunity to network with their peers and to continue building on the knowledge that they have gained.
Speaking about the course Veda Kanala, alumnus and Head of Technology at Sahaj Software commented: “As Lord Bilimoria said, when you haven’t studied business specifically, you’ll find elements like finance and marketing as new challenges on the job.
The Help to Grow: Management Course gave me a structured way to learn about business without enrolling on an MBA.
"Time management is always my biggest concern, and the course gave me a good amount of time to learn, network, and reflect on my learnings.”
Agnes Kiss, Office Manager for Somers Baker Prince Kurz added: “The course was extremely useful. I didn’t believe it would be as thorough as it was but there are so many tools that I am now able to bring back into my business., It has also helped me with the new management responsibilities that I have on the back of my promotion.”
Dr Pamela Yeow, Head of the Centre for Professional Development at Birkbeck Business School said: “It was fantastic to hear from Lord Bilimoria and for the alumni to get his insights from over 30 years of experience.
“These alumni are now part of the Birkbeck Business School network and that means they’ll have opportunities to meet other leaders and develop.”
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