Nottingham Business School has doubled its commitment to self-employment course Marketing Mavericks, offering more students the opportunity to gain first-hand experience of running their own business – thanks to a Mansfield company.

The business school, part of Nottingham Trent University, was the first in the UK to offer the practical self-employment training for students last year to help graduates see the benefits of working for themselves.

Twenty-five students graduated from the course after it was first made available to just marketing students. With the course continuing to be oversubscribed, the university has now invited Marketing Mavericks to support a total of 60 students and made the course available to all Nottingham Business School students.

Students are provided with a step-by-step guide to setting up their own business with practical hands-on advice and mentorship. The course breaks down all the key elements of setting up a business into modules run across a mixture of in-person and online learning, with ongoing mentorship from entrepreneurs.

It is run by entrepreneur and marketing expert Victoria Prince, who owns Touchpoints Marketing, based in Mansfield. “There is a lot of information for students on entrepreneurship and theory, but what we found was students needed more help with the practical skills to boost their confidence and let them know that starting a business was possible,” she said.

“They want to be able to ask questions and talk to people who have been in their position. A big part of the course is being there as they pitch for their first client or set up their business structure so they have the confidence of having someone there to show them and help them if needed.

“I appreciate self-employment isn’t for everyone, but if we are to encourage more start-ups in the UK then we need to be giving students the opportunity and skills to realise it is possible.”

Victoria was recently awarded the UK and Ireland’s Marketing Strategist of the Year accolade in the Enterprise Nation Awards 2022, being singled out for her specialist marketing support to help businesses realise their ambitious growth plans.

Tom Spencer, head of Undergraduate Programmes at Nottingham Business School, Nottingham Trent University, said: “Students are very knowledgeable in their field, what they need to take that leap into self-employment is the practical skills to set up their own business. We are really pleased by the response to Marketing Mavericks as it is such a useful tool in helping to prepare graduates for their next step.”

More information on the course and how it is helping to train the next generation of entrepreneurs is available at www.touchpointsmarketing.co.uk/mavericks/