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Manna from Devon

Manna from Devon

“We are an award-winning cookery school in South Devon and at the point we contacted Business Mentors South West we were uncertain about the next stage for growing our business.

“We were looking at options for opening a bakery and changing premises.

“We were introduced to a mentor, Ann Osmond, who had previously set up, developed and sold a successful food business prior to joining a large bank - so the match couldn’t have been better. We explored all aspects of the decisions we had to make in depth with Anne; and felt that her expert independent scrutiny resulted in us being able to make sound and well balanced judgements. This input to our strategic thinking was something which we would not have otherwise benefited from. We would recommend mentoring to other small developing companies.

“We were uncertain about the next stage for our business. We were trying to decide whether to open a bakery. In the end, the time wasn’t right although it is still something we are thinking about. But to help us decide, we wanted input from a mentor. Ann Osmond is a business mentor from HSBC. But the best thing about Ann was that she had previously set up and run and sold her own successful bakery as a going concern. The match couldn’t have been better.”

Ann Osmond is an employee of HSBC Bank and a business mentor.