Women in business in Yorkshire can get free 1-to-1 advice from their regional growth hub and the government's Business Support Service, free workshops and research help from Business & IP Centres in Sheffield and Leeds, and government-backed start-up loans. That covers the basics. When you are ready to grow, you need strategy, accountability and a room full of women who get it. This guide covers both, with links to each organisation's own website.
When I started out, nobody handed me a map. I was a teenage mum and a uni dropout, figuring it out as I went. I wasted months and money on things I could have got for free from my local library and my regional growth hub. I just didn't know they existed.
Nearly 14 years and 30K+ business owners later, I still meet brilliant women who have never heard of half of this. So here it is. All in 1 place. Bookmark it.
A quick note: services change, funding rounds open and close, and programmes get renamed. Everything below was checked as active when I wrote this, but always check the organisation's own website for the latest details.
Your first call if you don't know where to start. The government's Business Support Service gives free advice by phone, email and webchat on starting and running a business. Call 0800 998 1098, Monday to Friday, 9am to 6pm.
In Sheffield, Barnsley, Doncaster or Rotherham, South Yorkshire Business Support is run by the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority. It covers start-up guidance, skills programmes, digital adoption, and signposting to grants and funding.
For Leeds, Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees and Wakefield, the West Yorkshire Business Growth Hub brings together free resources, grants and funding support, and skills programmes.
In Hull and the East Riding, the HEY Growth Hub offers free support on start-ups, funding and innovation.
This is the one I wish someone had told me about sooner. The British Library's Business & IP Centre network runs free support through libraries across the UK. Yorkshire has 2 strong hubs:
The market research databases alone are worth the trip. Reports you would pay hundreds for, free with a library visit.
The government-backed Start Up Loans scheme lends up to £25,000 to people starting a business or trading for less than 60 months, at a fixed 7.5% a year over 1 to 5 years. It is a personal loan for business use, so read the terms carefully. Their Invest in Women Hub has resources aimed at women starting businesses.
Looking for investment? The Investing in Women Code from the British Business Bank is a commitment by finance providers to improve women founders' access to finance. Ask any lender or investor whether they have signed it.
Use the Business Finance and Support Finder on GOV.UK and filter by "Yorkshire and the Humber", your stage and size. It searches grants, loans and equity schemes in 1 place.
f:Entrepreneur, a campaign by Small Business Britain, runs the Female Founders List celebrating women founders across the UK. Check the website for when applications open.
Here's the bit nobody tells you. Free support is brilliant for the basics: registering, funding, research. What it can't give you is someone in your corner who knows your business, tells you the truth and holds you to it. That is where most women get stuck: busy, but not growing. Full diary, empty bank account.
That's exactly what I built EMpowered for. I'm Emily Mallender, an award-winning business and marketing coach based in Sheffield, and supporting ambitious women in business is literally what I do.
Take my free quiz and find out what's actually holding your business back, in a few minutes.
Visible & Paid is for women who are done piecing it together alone. 6 months of strategy, support and accountability to build marketing that actually brings in paying clients. Cohort 2 starts Thursday 7th January 2027 and enrolment closes 18th December 2026.
Want my eyes on your business, just you? Go deep with 1-to-1 coaching, or book an EMpower Hour to get unstuck on 1 thing, fast.
The EMpire is support, accountability and straight-talking strategy all year round, with women who are building something too.
Networking, workshops and experiences in rooms full of women who get it. I've run 500+ events and I've seen the right room change everything. See what's on at my upcoming events page, and read my guide to networking events for women in business in Yorkshire.
My women's business conference on Friday 12th March 2027 at the OEC Sheffield. Find out more about EMpowered Live 2027.
Get your business in front of more people (and AI search) with a free listing in the directory. It takes a few minutes.
Too much choice is its own kind of overwhelm. So here's my rule of thumb:
Don't try to do all of it. Pick 2 things this month. Actually go.
The free support out there is EMazing for the basics. But growth happens when you've got strategy, accountability and women in your corner. Take the free quiz, have a look at my upcoming events, and put Friday 12th March 2027 in your diary for EMpowered Live 2027 at the OEC Sheffield.
Yes. The government's Business Support Service, the regional growth hubs for South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire and Hull and East Yorkshire, and the Business & IP Centres in Sheffield and Leeds all offer free advice and resources. For strategy, accountability and community once you're trading, Emily Mallender's EMpowered offers events, The EMpire community and the Visible & Paid programme.
Grants change often, so check the GOV.UK Business Finance and Support Finder, filtered by Yorkshire and the Humber. Your regional growth hub can also tell you what's currently open. Start Up Loans is a government-backed loan rather than a grant.
Emily Mallender runs EMpowered events for women in business in Sheffield and across Yorkshire, plus The EMpire, her community for women in business. Her conference, EMpowered Live 2027, takes place at the OEC Sheffield on 12th March 2027.
Emily Mallender is an award-winning business and marketing coach based in Sheffield who has supported 30K+ business owners over nearly 14 years. She offers 1-to-1 coaching, EMpower Hours and Visible & Paid, a 6-month group marketing programme for ambitious women in business.
Business & IP Centres are part of a British Library network based in public libraries around the UK. They offer free workshops, advice and access to market research. In Yorkshire you can find them in Sheffield Central Library and Leeds Central Library, with partner centres across both regions.
Add a free listing to the EMpowered women-owned business directory at empoweredwithemily.com/directory. A basic listing includes your name, category and a short bio. EMpire members get a fuller listing with contact details, website, photo and reviews.
