Dance school’s step in the right direction

ALL smiles . . . (from left) Pheobe Kiernan, Katie Soliman, Bronte Wood, Dan Illingworth and Carys McGuinness

THE owners of an Oldham dance school have highlighted the benefits of a Greater Manchester mentoring service to help small businesses expand.

Katie Soliman and Dan Illingworth of Infinity Dance used expert advice from the Business Growth Hub to develop their venture which they launched three years ago.

The Business Growth Hub works with a range of businesses, from start-ups to established firms with 200 or more staff, and believes that every business can benefit from an expert mentor.

In the early years, Kate and Dan hired halls around Oldham to hold their dance classes. Now they have their own studio at Hill Street, off Huddersfield Road, catering for children and adults with a range of dance classes including tap, jazz and zumba.

Katie said: “The Business Growth Hub provided a mentor, Ian Settle, who is a director of commercial banking at NatWest. He helped us by improving the business’s financial structure and marketing campaign, to raise our profile.

“It’s very important to get good quality, neutral business advice. Ian knows lots about running business, both small and large, and has loads of experience.

“He made us think about all sorts of ideas that we wouldn’t necessarily have considered. He visited us a number of times at the studio and we are still in contact with him. We would encourage everyone in business to have a mentor.”

Katie and Dan, both aged 26, are former Hulme Grammar School pupils. Katie is a part-time teacher at St Joseph’s Primary School in Mossley while Dan works in marketing. They hope to expand their dance business and employ more staff as it grows.