Two South Wales businesses are flourishing after husband and wife, Christopher Morgan and Louise Morgan, completed the same government-funded SME leadership course at Cardiff Business School.
Louise Morgan, who founded Penarth-based communications and content agency TMPR in 2011, has recorded year-on-year growth and recently purchased a new building for her business. Her husband, Christopher Morgan, is meanwhile targeting more than 15% turnover growth and has taken on two new employees at Planet 3 Wealth, the Cardiff and Swansea financial advice firm he established with two partners a decade ago.
Both have achieved the growth since participating in the 12-week, 90% government-funded Help to Grow: Management Course at the business school - with Christopher following Louise onto it in early 2025.
Christopher Morgan, director at Planet 3 Wealth, explains: "Louise actually spotted the course first and grabbed the opportunity. I decided not to join her at first, as I’d done four years of studying business at university and thought, 'what more can the course teach me?'
“It did look really interesting though and as soon as Louise started it, she loved it. Watching her return after each session energised and full of new ideas for her business made me realise that I had perhaps made a bit of a tactical mistake. So I signed up for the next cohort myself."
For Louise, who began TMPR intending to go freelance, took on her first employee in 2017 and has since built a portfolio of construction, engineering and manufacturing clients, the course proved a turning point.
Louise Morgan, founder of TMPR, says: "It's no coincidence that since I participated in the course, we have been on a growth trajectory. I've become a lot more confident as a leader and we've made a number of changes and investments, including buying our own building. It's a very different business today than it was before I went on the course, and I'm a very different leader."
In particular, Louise credits the breathing space the course gave her. "It was stepping out of the business that gave me the thinking time, it made me feel that I wasn't alone," she adds. “The combination of the insight and practical knowledge delivered by the Cardiff Business School team, the peer network, and the support of my Help to Grow: Management mentor meant that I was able to start applying what I had learnt straight away.”
The impact has been just as pronounced at Planet 3 Wealth. Christopher has restructured roles, hired new staff and introduced short and sharp weekly meetings to keep the leadership team focussed and accountable while chasing that 15%-plus growth target. The value of the course, he says, lies less in learning new theory than in the rare chance it provides to step back and work on the business, rather than in it.
Flora Hamilton, Executive Director of the Small Business Charter which delivers the Help to Grow: Management Course, comments: "To see two SME leaders from the same household both complete the programme and grow their businesses is a fantastic example of what the Help to Grow: Management Course exists to do.
"92% of alumni surveyed would recommend the course to another leader, and Christopher and Louise's story is a perfect illustration of what can happen when SME leaders encourage each other to take the leap and reach the next level. We see many similar stories of peer support across the over 60 Small Business Charter-accredited business schools that deliver the programme, although this may be the first husband and wife story!"
The Help to Grow: Management Course is delivered by a network of Small Business Charter accredited business schools. The course runs over 12 weeks and includes online and face-to-face sessions, 10 hours of 1-to-1 mentoring and peer networking. Its mission is to increase economic growth and productivity through improved management and leadership practice.
The next Help to Grow: Management Course at Cardiff Business School starts on 30th September 2026. You can find out more and register your place on the Help to Grow: Management Course website.
About Help to Grow: Management:
Help to Grow: Management is a 12-week course designed to support business leaders and their senior managers to increase resilience, innovation, and growth within their organisations.
Developed and delivered by the network of Small Business Charter accredited business schools, the course is available in more than 60 locations across the UK and is 90% government funded. It is designed to fit around existing work and personal commitments, providing business leaders with more than 50 hours of online and in person training including 10 hours of one-to-one mentoring. Individuals completing the course automatically join the Alumni Network, where they have access to exclusive events, content and partner offers, as well as the support of a UK-wide peer network.
The Small Business Charter (SBC) empowers small business success through its network of expert business schools. Developed 10 years ago by Lord Young, the previous Department for Business, and the Chartered Association of Business Schools, the SBC was established to signpost entrepreneurs, small businesses, and local economic stakeholders to business schools in their region with the expertise to help them thrive. There are 67 SBC accredited business school centres of excellence across the UK which are trusted partners of local stakeholders and the national government to deliver effective leadership and productivity programmes and small business support to drive economic growth.