“I believe that if you don't learn something every day, life is not worth living.”

Laura Farkas is on a journey with Lancaster University Management School (LUMS) that has involved learning new things each day as both a programme member and as a mentor.

Laura is Chief Marketing Officer and Chief Funnel Architect at LMNts Marketing in Liverpool. During the Covid pandemic, she was questioning the business’s focus as the UK adapted to new ways of working.

Laura joined the Small Business Leadership Programme (SBLP) in LUMS, funded by the UK government Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. The free 10-week programme started her relationship with Lancaster.

Since completing the SBLP, Laura has gone from trying to be everything to everyone, to having a focused mission. And for the last three years they have been named in Top 100 Elite Business SMEs.

Laura is now a mentor on the Small Business Charter-accredited Help to Grow programme in LUMS, a programme designed to spur long-term growth in participants’ companies.

Here, she can share the knowledge she has accumulated through her business and through working with Lancaster – a relationship she credits with such a positive effect on her success.

“The SBLP made me realise the need to focus on more than just marketing to make the business work,” says Laura. “It was about the mission, clarifying that mission and communicating it to clients. You cannot sound wishy-washy; you have to make it understandable to clients. Putting that together during the course, that one-sentence mission really helped us clarify our goals and communicate our values to our clients.

“It gave me the confidence to be ourselves. The brand has grown so much stronger. If I did not have the clarity from the course, I would probably be still all over the place and talking about everything. The support I have had has been amazing. I was always in the picture; I always knew what my responsibilities were.

“As a small company, we have been punching above our weight and we have that top 100 ranking now. Our work with Lancaster has clarified our mission and vision, and that was a massive part of the application process. I had the clarity to put it down on paper and send it over, saying this is what we stand for, this is how we make a difference, that made a huge difference in the application process.

“I'm grateful for the university, because it's been a journey. They have given me something that is still in my head today. That's the beauty of it, it stays with you, and when time is right, you can implement more and more. You can always revisit it. You can always think that now is the right time.”

On the Help to Grow programme, Laura is able to help other business leaders who are in a similar position to that which she found herself before starting SBLP.

She can pass on expertise and experience to her mentees, while continuing to learn new things herself.

“I felt I had to take the opportunity because it doesn’t come to everyone,” explains Laura. “I had been approached by other people looking for mentors, and it felt like they were just looking for numbers. Lancaster was more personalised. They talked with me about my strengths, what I brought to the table, and I felt valued. The selections of mentees was also relevant to my skillset – it felt like they were handpicked for me to help them based on my strengths.

“I knew that if I shared some of my experiences and the journey we had been through because of the SBLP programme, then it could benefit them massively.

“When Help to Grow started, I think a lot of businesses were wondering if they should give up or give it another push. That is how it was for me when I started SBLP. I knew I could work remotely, but did I really have what it takes to succeed?

“The people I have mentored are all really smart. But it was challenging for a lot of them with a full-time job to pick out that one aspect that they should prioritise and focus on and make actionable plans.

“Most of the time when I am mentoring people, I sit down with them and ask them what is going on. We can then go back to the modules, see what they said, and create a plan of how you could implement that. Giving them that structure really kept them focused. They saw the benefits in their organisations.”

She adds: “You are broadening your perspective when you have mentees.

“You understand the thinking of managers and directors, business owners. I didn't really have that before. It opened my eyes and made me think of new solutions we can provide here at LMNts. It allowed me to see what people really need.”

Details of the Help to Grow programme at Lancaster University Management School can be found here: https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/lums/business/help-to-grow/