Digital Bulls is a small business based in Bristol, offering consultation, production and promotion of podcasts for businesses of all sizes.
Matt Allen, Director of the business, set up a successful music services company 12 years ago, which was affected by all the restrictions the COVID-19 pandemic brought about.
“I realised quite quickly during that time, that the business needed to pivot, due to the effects of the pandemic”, explained Matt, “and something that became really apparent to me during lockdown was how popular podcasts had become and how similar it was to music, in the way that it is an audio product and consumed on similar platforms. So originally, I was after some support on how I could pivot effectively and how I could position the new offering in the best way.”
Matt started working with Business Skills Advisor, Claire Bedding, as part of the Workforce for the Future programme, who opened up opportunities for the company, such as taking part in the Kickstart Scheme, which provided funding to employers to create jobs for 16 to 24 year olds on Universal Credit.
“We took on four Kickstarters in the end”, explains Matt, “and they're a fantastic team - really skilled. They didn't know the industry before starting here and they've come in, they've completed training courses, they've represented us at exhibitions and they’ve made a real impact.
"They work across both the music and podcasting companies and have helped to save the business.”
Working with Claire, Matt also had the chance to create and host two unique events, a webinar and in-person masterclass, engaging businesses across the region on the subject of podcasts.
Matt explained, “Claire had other businesses she was working with who were interested in podcasting and keen to learn more about how it can help a business reach new audiences and engage with them in an authentic way, so she came to me with the idea of us creating a bespoke webinar for businesses - an introduction to podcasting, which was really popular. We then followed it up with an in-person masterclass which was fantastic and a broad range of people attended. It gave me the opportunity to connect with new businesses and get our name out there, but it also gave me a confidence boost, of knowing people were interested in what we do.”
As well as the Kickstart scheme and events Digital Bulls got involved in, Claire also helped to mentor Matt as his business changed.
“Claire and I hit it off straight away and she really got our business and what we were trying to achieve. What I learned through lockdown, was that it’s time to start investing in myself and spend time working on my business rather than in my business and Claire helped me to realise that it is worth investing my time into that. I’ve also worked with other partners on the programme who have helped with things such as accessing training courses, which have also been brilliant for my team.
“I really can’t praise Workforce for the Future enough. My business is growing because of the support and opportunities I’ve had via the programme and I’ve already recommended it to others.”
Claire commented, “Supporting Matt from Digital Bulls via Workforce for the Future opened up some wonderful opportunities for his team to engage in funded learning programmes in leadership, and subsequently provided other businesses on our programme a chance to learn about podcasting via the events we held. I wanted to give Matt a platform to create something useful, practical and inspirational and working together to bring the webinar and workshop to life was great fun.”
If you missed the Digital Bulls Podcasting webinar you can watch the recording here.
To find out more about how Business West can help via the Workforce for the Future programme click here.
To find out more about Digital Bulls visit their website.
About Workforce for the Future
Business West is delivering Workforce for the Future in collaboration with other partners and the West of England Combined Authority.
For more information on Workforce for the Future, please visit the West of England Growth Hub. The Growth Hub is the West of England Combined Authority’s dedicated business support service which offers free, one-to-one advice and guidance for SMEs.
The West of England Workforce for the Future programme has received £4m of funding from the European Social Fund as part of the 2014-2020 European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme in England. The Department for Work and Pensions (and in London the intermediate body Greater London Authority) is the Managing Authority for the England European Social Fund programme. Established by the European Union, the European Social Fund helps local areas stimulate their economic development by investing in projects which will support skills development, employment and job creation, social inclusion and local community regenerations. For more information visit: https://www.gov.uk/european-growth-funding.
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