White Bicycle Ltd
Taking online training up a gear.
Leah Holroyd, owner and founder of online learning company, White Bicycle, explains how peer network programme Group2Grow provided her with reassurance that she was taking her business in the right direction, and gave her a valuable opportunity to talk to other business owners at a similar stage in their own journeys.
With a mission to ‘Help your people learn’, White Bicycle designs and builds interactive and engaging online learning courses. Creating bespoke online and blended programmes, everything they do is tailored to the client: their budget, timescale and most importantly their audience. With experience working with a wide range of organisations, including Universities, NHS trusts, professional bodies and private companies, White Bicycle can advise on suitable approaches to online or blended learning, as well as editing and structuring content, producing video and animation, and building interactive activities, whilst guiding clients on common pitfalls and ways to improve learners’ experiences.
Owner and Founder Leah Holroyd has worked in education and online learning for over 12 years. She set up White Bicycle with her brother Finn in December 2019. Many would think the timing of this business couldn’t be more perfect, with a national lockdown beginning just months later, and many institutions making a quick switch to remote learning, but actually that couldn’t be further from the truth.
“When people made the switch to online learning in 2020, it was very much a quick decision, a response to a problem – live sessions delivered via Zoom, for example. Our courses aren’t a quick fix – it can take months to produce a high-quality bespoke package that’s been reviewed and refined to make sure it will meet a client’s needs.”
Having come out the other side of the challenges of the pandemic, White Bicycle has been able to focus its attention on how to continue to grow. There has been a shift in the way that we approach learning, and work, and as such attitudes towards remote learning have changed, with many more organisations looking at investment into online learning programmes to upskill staff or reach new audiences.
“We’re seeing organisations become more willing to invest in online learning as a more sustainable option, and this is really positive – it gives learners more flexibility and improves access. Not everyone is able to attend in-person classes or training days, so being able to access learning around your other commitments creates opportunities for people who might otherwise have been excluded.”
Leah came across Group2Grow peer network programme through an email communication on business support available to Essex Businesses. The programme offered by business support programme ‘Backing Essex Business’ and delivered by Let’s Do Business Group brings together business leaders and professionals to collectively discuss common challenges and share experiences and potential solutions. Run across 8x2 hour sessions, and hosted by an experienced business coach, the scheme is fully funded by Essex County Council, in order to facilitate business growth.
“The business had been operating for a couple of years, so we had tested its viability, we knew it was working, but we wanted to do more. It was an exciting time but also nerve wracking, so I was looking for support while I developed a plan to grow the business.”
Each week, the Group2Grow sessions cover different topics, all agreed in advance by the cohort members. The Business Coach host sets the scene, and then opens up discussion, creating a safe space for participants to share their challenges, previous experiences and opinions.
“Talking to others in the same position as me has been invaluable. It gave me reassurance that I was on the right track. Working from home can make you feel quite isolated, and it’s easy for self-doubt to creep in. Being able to talk it out with the group and with our business coach David, really helped to dissipate that.”
Alongside the group sessions, participants are also offered 3 hours of 1:2:1 mentoring support from the business coach. This enables them to discuss individual or sensitive concerns they do not wish to share with the group, or develop the ideas that the sessions have created.
Having now completed the programme, Leah is keen to move forward with her plans for expansion and growth. With White Bicycle currently looking at employing two additional members of staff, and working on future plans to create its own courses that can be sold directly to customers, we are sure it will be on the road to success.
“I went into the programme wondering whether the challenges faced by other businesses would be the same as mine, and I left realising that the kinds of issues I have to grapple with aren’t unique to me or my business. Being a part of Group2Grow has shown me the power of talking things through with people who are in the same boat.”
