Export Champion

Two of the US2U Consulting team were in New York City during the recent seventieth anniversary and were delighted to be invited to a reception in celebration of The Platinum Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. This was hosted by Emma Wade-Smith OBE, pictured above with Rachel Blackburn, who is Her Majesty's Consul General to New York and HM Trade Commissioner for North America. It was held at the Lincoln Center's Hearst Plaza in Manhattan and was followed by a silent disco featuring legendary DJ Mark Ronson.

Emma said, "Thank you to all who have made New York's Platinum Jubilee celebrations a roaring success."

"As we hold the British Department for International Trade Export Champion status for the third year it was great to be able to participate in this extraordinary event and meet so many interesting people" said Rachel.

We also met Helena Nolan, Consul General of Ireland in New York, pictured with Rachel Blackburn below. We have completed several projects for clients in Ireland over the years and look forward to developing these relationships further.

We are thrilled to have been re-appointed as an Export Champion by the Department for Business & Trade for 2023/24. The Department for Business & Trade is the UK Government department for economic growth. It supports businesses to invest, grow and export, creating jobs and opportunities around the country.

Our role as Export Champions is to inspire other businesses to grow through exporting, drawing on our experience of entering various international markets in the last 12 years.

As a UK-based business, US2U Consulting recognises that exporting is fundamental to getting our economy back on track. Our goal is to make a positive difference across various international markets by exporting our leadership development services.

In particular, our Executive Coaching, Transformational Change and Teambuilding Services have made a significant impact in businesses in various territories from Canada through to Ireland and Dubai. We also work with UK-based businesses on specific projects to support development of their scaling up and overseas business development strategies.

Andrew Mitchell CMG, Director General, Domestic and International Markets and Exports, Department for Business and Trade, said "Export Champions play an integral role in the Government's Export Strategy - a partnership with business to encourage trade with every market in the world and realise our ambition to reach £1 trillion in exports in goods and services by 2030."

Rachel Blackburn, Founder and Director of US2U Consulting (pictured) said "We are excited to be part of this inspiring initiative; we can all play our part whether directly, or as part of the supply chain, to make an impact on this ambitious target for 2030."

Feel free to drop Rachel a line if you'd like some advice! This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

US2U Consulting has been proud to have been awarded Export Champion status by the Department for International Trade back in 2020. We often use our international trading experience to support our clients' overseas business strategies.

As part of International Trade Week, 31 October - 4 November 2022, we were pleased to have a presence at an Export Champion networking event on 31 October at Lancaster House, London, hosted by Andrew Mitchell, Director General, Exports & UK Trade, at the Department for International Trade.

The event was organised for the start of the Department for International Trade's (DIT) International Trade Week to celebrate the contributions of the 2022-23 Export Champion cohort. Export Champions inspire and encourage other businesses to export. This event was an opportunity to thank Export Champions from across the UK for their services and it was an excellent platform to network with other Export Champions across the country.

Our client, Alan Hardingham, Chief Financial Officer of ETA Green Power said, "It was really interesting to meet so many different people who have a track record of exporting and discuss the challenges we are managing."

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to find out how we can assist your organisation with your international strategy.

Over 6 months on from the beginning of the Coronavirus pandemic, at US2U Consulting we are really pleased that we have remained open for business throughout, having continued to support our clients across the UK and internationally with their priorities.

Our flexible and creative approach to the challenges of Covid-19 has seen us continue to make a positive difference, and it is great that the Autumn has seen our team get back out on the road engaging in more face-to-face activities, thanks to the reopening of many of our clients' workplaces. (After all, 'us-to-you' is what we are about!)

Some of our successful adaptations over the last 6 months have included:

• We are delivering socially-distanced Leadership and Change Workshops in Covid-secure workplaces (see an example in the photo). We are adapting activities and exercises so that we still meet the objectives but in a safe way, recognising that a lot of management teams have not been working together face-to-face for some months and are keen to get more interaction to develop the way they are leading their teams through this level of unprecedented change.

• We are delivering options for face-to-face coaching and workshops online or on-site depending on preference and locations. This is enabling us to deliver some international projects which is great as we are 2020 'Export Champions', as appointed by the UK Department for International Trade earlier this year.

• Our office is Covid-secure in line with current UK government regulations and we have been pleased to welcome people to this safe space for one-to-one coaching - and we always get positive feedback as rural Norfolk is a great place to learn.

• We have taken this opportunity to produce two open online learning courses - Producing a Robust Business Plan and Influencing Skills to Achieve Your Goals

• We are helping clients adapt and manage their 2020 challenges including ensuring appropriate levels of support for mental health and wellbeing, communication strategies when some people are home-based, and encouraging and more proactive approach to encouraging diversity in the workplace.

While we will all continue to face work and social challenges in the coming months, US2U Consulting are always available with our wide range of tailored services, ready to make a positive difference to any organisation.

View our services here or contact us to find out more.

US2U Consulting have been awarded the prestigious title of 2020 Export Champion by the UK Department for International Trade.

This is in recognition of the international work we have done over the last few years, with international projects and trade visits to the likes of Belgium, Ireland, Canada, USA and across the Middle East - along with the insights our teams can share with other businesses looking to export their goods and services.

In this role US2U Consulting will provide peer-to-peer support, offering advice and inspiring others to export; raise awareness of UK DIT's services; and act as a sounding board for what exporters want, to help create a supportive exporting ecosystem.

Please get in touch to find out more about how we can assist with your export strategy.

Kerwin and Rachel Blackburn were pleased to meet Toby Usnik (pictured, left, with Rachel) - Head of Communications at the British Consulate General in New York recently to discuss potential opportunities for our services in the US. Our meeting took place in the iconic location of Grand Central Terminal, New York (pictured below).

Whilst Toby currently works for the British Consulate General in New York, he has a commercial background and was able to share positive insights into the Executive Coaching market. We are planning our US strategy so please get in touch if you have contacts who would benefit from our services in that part of the world.

Linked to this story is that the British Department for Business and Trade have asked US2U Consulting to be an Export Champion for the fourth consecutive year. Part of this role is to advise other businesses on their international strategies.

Our first year of being awarded Export Champion status was 2020 - read about this here.

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to find out how we can assist with you export strategies.