When last year’s overall Merseyside Independent Business Awards was announced, Paul Growney, CEO of Caring Connections couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Here, almost one year on, we asked him just how transformative the award win has been for the rapidly growing independent social care business.
First of all, tell us a little bit more about the work Caring Connections does.
Paul said: “We’re a registered charity and provide social care and a range of charitable services to reduce social isolation and improve health and wellbeing across the North West. We’ve been in Knowsley for the last 30 years and now provide support across the north west.
“We deliver home care services for local authorities, which includes helping individuals with personal care, cooking and other daily tasks, as well as provide community services, such as bereavement counselling and suicide awareness and intervention. We work in the most deprived areas and often with the most vulnerable people.”
What’s happened since we last saw you?
“Well, you could say the award gave us a transformative boost. Since last year’s awards ceremony we’ve grown from a team of 130 to 230, are on track to hit a turnover of £4.8m (compared with £1.5m in 2021-22) and we’ve opened another three branches in Blackpool, Warrington and Wigan. It’s been an incredibly busy year as we’ve expanded our reach within Merseyside and across the North West for the first time.”
Tell us, how has the award win helped Caring Connections?
“Winning Employer of the Year and then the overall Merseyside Independent Business of the Year gave our team a real lift. Social care is a challenging sector to be in and with Covid, it’s been a difficult and emotionally-draining few years. During that time social care received very little recognition, so winning the awards felt like a pat on the back and that the wider business community appreciated and valued our work. To have someone recognise your efforts is tremendously powerful and humbling too.
“It’s also helped us to stand out and compete with private providers and franchises. We may be a charity, but we’re run like a business, which means we’re regularly tendering to secure lead provider contracts and we’re often up against significantly bigger players than ourselves. The award win is a badge of honour. It’s helped to open the eyes of commissioners and local authorities and given us even more credibility.”
What did it feel like, right in that moment, when you were announced as winners?
“It was the proudest moment in my professional life, truly, and it was so very unexpected. We were euphoric when we won in the Employer of the Year category, but it was an off the charts feeling when they announced we’d won the overall Merseyside Independent Business of 2022 as well. It felt like the whole city of Liverpool was applauding us.”
What made you enter the MIB Awards?
“Our people put themselves out there, providing thousands of vital care hours and support each month so we wanted to showcase and celebrate that. We also knew that entering the awards would offer an invaluable opportunity to highlight our work and raise the charity’s profile.”
What advice would you give to an independent businesses just starting out in Merseyside?
“It might sound cliched but be resilient and keep at it. You’ll get knock backs, that’s inevitable, but it’s important to keep going. Merseyside offers fantastic support for those starting out and there are lots of other independent businesses willing to help and share advice too. Lean on that as much as possible.”
Who are some of your favourite independent businesses in Merseyside?
“There are so many brilliant independents it’s hard to narrow it down. But I’d say from the third sector, the Open Door Centre in Wirral is simply amazing. It’s an independent charity for young people using arts and culture to provide mental health and wellbeing support. My favourite independent restaurant has to be Big Bowl Noodle on Berry Street in town.”
Finally, what would you say to anyone thinking of entering the MIB Awards?
Paul concluded: “There’s nothing to think about. The MIB Awards is one of the most genuine, inclusive and widely respected awards in Merseyside. We had become a little cynical about awards in recent years, but the MIB Awards really carry weight and prestige. Even if you don’t win, the process and the awards night means you’ll be celebrated by like-minded businesses and that’s something very special indeed.”