Ready, Steady, Grow: How to Expand Your Business
2022-06-07 18:00 - 20:00, 2022-08-30 18:00 - 20:00 UTC
Are you a business that has been trading for less than five years?
Do you realise your full potential? This is an opportunity for you to gain an outsider’s perspective, which can be essential in realising the potential for your business to expand.
Working with our advisers, you will analyse the current state of your business, and identify key areas for growth. You will also be shown various tools that can be utilised to analyse your business’ performance.
You will leave this webinar feeling motivated, with the knowledge of how to grow your business. You’ll now be able to set new goals, that previously weren’t possible.
If you are an early-stage business looking to grow, book your place now!
This webinar is for businesses located in Perth, Dundee & Angus.

Market Research Made Easy
2022-06-09 09:30 - 12:30
The workshop will look at:

the role of marketing in your business
identifying your target customers
identifying the strengths and weaknesses of your competitors
market research

There will also be information on additional services from Business Gateway and details of other workshops which may be appropriate for you.

Digital Manufacturing on a Shoestring
2022-06-09 13:30 - 15:00
The Digital Manufacturing on a Shoestring project is designed to help small and medium-sized manufacturers (SMEs) adopt simple digital technologies to improve your business and make digitalisation easy and accessible.
By providing companies with low-cost, low-risk solutions that directly address your top business priorities, Shoestring helps:

Improve processes
Upskill your staff
Encourage collaboration with like-minded companies and Higher Education Institutions

In partnership with the Institute for Manufacturing (IfM) and Scottish Enterprise, this webinar will showcase how a Scottish business deployed a simple Shoestring solution and explain how the company has benefited. You’ll also learn why this company is now feeling confident about digitalisation and thinking about what else it can achieve with technology.
During this session, you’ll get a chance to:

Look at low-cost digital options suitable for small manufacturing companies
Hear a first-hand account from a Scottish SME
Explore digital solutions which could address your top business needs
Learn about opportunities for further involvement in the Shoestring project

The webinar is open to any small or medium-sized manufacturing company in Scotland.

Taking a strategic approach to developing your business
2022-06-10 14:00 - 16:00
The webinar is practical, and outcomes driven.
Content will focus on a pragmatic approach to Strategic Planning designed to fit with the needs of small businesses in both B2C and B2B environments.
Topics covered during the webinar will include:

Looking at your business today – identifying your strengths and areas for development
The key pillars of a business and why balancing all areas is essential for success
Personal and business ambitions and using these to guide strategy development
Ansoff’s Matrix as a tool for identifying core growth strategies
The core components of your business delivery
How to develop a methodical, strategic approach to developing your business for future success

You will understand:

How to undertake a balanced review of where your business is that helps identify areas for development
Ansoff’s Matrix and how to use it as a core strategic planning tool
How to create a strategic plan for growing your business

Enhance your business with digital
2022-06-13 10:00 - 11:30
Discover the opportunities using digital could bring your business as well as what you need to consider if your business isn’t online yet. This free webinar will give you the chance to up-skill your digital knowledge and explore some of the common fears and barriers associated with moving your business online, using social media channels and much more.
We will cover:

The opportunities and benefits that doing more digitally could offer your business
Websites and ecommerce
Content marketing and key digital channels, including social media, search and email
Opportunities with cloud computing
Remote working tools
The importance of cyber resilience

Go green to grow your business
2022-06-13 10:00 - 12:00
This webinar will cover a variety of areas, from “what have we learned from Covid?” through to “understanding your new greener customer”, to “reducing your costs and upping your sales”, highlighting where profit can be generated from developing your businesses green credentials.
We will look at:

Understanding the problem
What is sustainability and why it is important
Innovation
Profiting from being a green business
Top tips for going green

Starting a business: Everything you need to know
2022-06-15 18:00 - 20:00
Whatever your reasons may be for considering being your own boss, Business Gateway is here to support you and this webinar will help you decide if this is the right path for you. We will explore your potential customers, the problems your business can solve for them and how you can do that better than the competition. Once that is clear, we will look at the key activities and costs involved in starting and running the business and tools for determining the commercial viability before considering the main options for business structures (sole trader, partnership, or limited company).
We will look at:

Personal finance planning – how much do you need to earn?
Researching your market – to develop an understanding of your market, who your customers are, understanding your competition and what the trends are within your chosen field.
Business structure – what are the main business structures? How to decide which is right for you and how to register as a business.
Creating your start-up action plan – an outline.

Sales – How to find them, make them and keep them
2022-06-17 10:00 - 12:00
Sales are the lifeblood of every business. This webinar focuses on a pragmatic approach to sales strategy and delivery and is designed to fit with the needs of small businesses in both B2C and B2B environments.
We will cover:

Why a clear understanding of what an ideal customer looks like and a good understanding of their problems, needs and wants is key to sales success.
How to develop your sales platform using digital tools, platforms, and techniques.
The different motivations potential customers may have and how to identify which ‘buttons’ your business needs to press.
The key phases in prospecting, qualifying, and converting sales prospects.
The value of a Sales Funnel and how it can be used to help plan and achieve sales.
Why keeping the customers you already have is the best sales strategy of all?
The importance of appropriate customer service in retaining customers.

Writing a business plan – Why it's essential for ALL businesses
2022-06-20 10:00 - 12:00
Just starting up or looking to update your business plan to get funding or take forward developments? Then this session is for you.
We will walk you through what should be included within a business plan, how a business plan is used to improve your prospects for a loan or a grant and how you can develop a business plan to meet your needs.
We will cover:

The business plan structure
What should be included within each section
When and how to use a business plan
The connections (and importance) between the words and the numbers
How to identify and manage cashflow within the business planning process

Customer service: Creating the right response, approach and reputation for your business
2022-06-21 14:00 - 16:00
Did you know that a returning customer will typically spend more than two thirds more with your business than a brand new one?
Did you know that by retaining just 5% of your customer base can give an increase of over 20% in profits for your business?
Having an effective strategy in place for your business to deliver great customer service is critical for your business. From deciding on an initial customer service strategy to how to use customer feedback to help grow your business, this webinar covers the key things you need to consider when thinking about how your business interacts with its customers. Some of the topics covered in this webinar include:

Why good customer service is critical for business growth
What are the essentials of delivering great customer service and how should this be delivered?
How to effectively manage different types of customers and their expectations
How, why, and when should you measure the service a business delivers
How to use the service provided to promote a business and enable growth

Creating value for your customers
2022-06-27 18:00 - 20:00
It’s essential to consider your target market when developing your products and services to ensure you meet their needs and desires. Following this webinar, you will understand the key steps you can take now to understand, create and improve your value proposition.
Topics covered include:

How to create value for your customers
The Value Proposition Canvas
Understanding and maximising your value proposition
The Customer Journey Concept
Customer segments, needs, pains and gains

Webinars, live streams, and video conferences: Running a business remotely
2022-06-28 14:00 - 15:30, 2022-07-25 18:00 - 20:00, 2022-08-30 10:00 - 12:00
There are many tools available to allow you to communicate with people online. Whether you are trying to run a workshop or seminar, hold a meeting or just communicate. Many of these digital tools are easy to use and offer some powerful facilities. Let us guide you through:

What webinars, live streams and video conferences are and what is right for your business
Case studies and examples of how they are used
An overview of the tools and platforms currently available

Marketing Strategy Workshop
2022-06-29 18:00 - 20:00
This new workshop will cover the crucial next steps in what you need to know to ensure successful marketing takes place within your business.
Marketing Strategy is an advancement from our ‘Market Research Made Easy’ workshop, with the specific focus on supporting those businesses that are established and already have the basic marketing methods in place.
This workshop will look at:

Marketing Audit – current knowledge and success.
Understanding what ‘Marketing’ is.
The importance and benefits of planning.
How to develop your Marketing Strategy.
Measuring your marketing output
Top tips to improve your Marketing Strategy

By the end of this workshop, you will come away with the knowledge plus top tips for implementing your own marketing strategy plan into your business.
Register your place now – as always, this workshop is free!
This webinar is for businesses based in Dundee, Angus and Perth.

Protect your business and data from hackers
2022-06-30 10:00 - 11:30
Join us to look at why it’s important for all businesses to give their online security thought and consideration. We will take you through some simple steps to minimise the risks. We will also direct you to available support to help you and your business.
During the session will cover:

Cyber security and why it matters for businesses
Steps to take to protect yourself including (Backups, Malware protection, Mobile devices, VPNs, Firewalls, Passwords and more secure authentication, avoiding scams and fraud)
Basic Good Practice, to prepare and understand what to do if the worst happens.

e-Commerce with Shopify
2022-07-06 10:00 - 12:00
Shopify is a powerful all-in-one e-Commerce website builder that makes setting up an online store simple and straightforward. In this webinar, we will explore Shopify’s features and pull together the building blocks for your first e-Commerce website.
By the end of this webinar, you will be able to:

Understand the essential features that a website needs to have to sell physical and digital products online
Understand what Shopify is and how to use the features it offers to build a secure and powerful e-Commerce website
Use the Shopify page builder and work with free themes to get the design and style of your website on-brand
Understand how to manage orders and deliver great customer service
Understand how to launch your new e-Commerce website and ensure all essential building blocks are in place using a pre-launch checklist

Shopify is a paid monthly subscription costing around £25 per month.

Build a customer focused business
2022-07-14 14:00 - 16:00
Did you know that a returning customer will typically spend more than two thirds more with your business than a brand new one?
Did you know that by retaining just 5% of your customer base can give an increase of over 20% in profits for your business?
Having an effective strategy in place for your business to deliver great customer service is critical for your business.
We will cover:

Why good customer service is critical for business growth.
What are the essentials of delivering great customer service and how should this be delivered?
How to effectively manage different types of customers and their expectations.
How, why, and when should you measure the service, a business delivers.
How to use the service provided to promote a business and enable growth.

How to write a Business Plan and why you need one
2022-07-14 18:00 - 20:00, 2022-08-11 18:00 - 20:00
This webinar will help you create a robust business plan.
The webinar will look at:

creating a description for your business
the business planning process
efficient ways of obtaining skills and resources
presenting your business plan

There will also be information on additional services from Business Gateway and details of other webinars which may be appropriate for you.
This webinar is for businesses based in Dundee, Angus and Perth.

How to write and develop your business plan
2022-07-21 09:30 - 11:30
New and established businesses will require a business plan for getting a loan, grant or just to consider the direction they wish to go in. This webinar will teach you what you need to include and how.
We will walk you through what should be included within a business plan, how a business plan is used to improve your prospects for a loan or a grant and how you can develop a business plan to meet your needs.
We will:

Provide a structure for a Business Plan
Review each section of what should be included within the Business Plan
Explain when and how to use a business plan
Explore the connections (and importance) between the words and the numbers
Look at how to identify and manage cashflow within the business planning process

Build an effective strategy to grow your business
2022-07-22 14:00 - 16:00, 2022-08-12 14:00 - 16:00
This webinar is practical, outcome driven, and designed to fit with the needs of small businesses in both B2C and B2B environments. It will help you develop a strategically led approach that can turbo charge business growth, identify the core growth strategy(ies) that are right for your business, and develop an action plan.
We will look at:

Your business today – identifying your strengths and areas for development
The key pillars of a business and why balancing all areas is essential for success
Personal and business ambitions and using these to guide strategy development
Ansoff’s Matrix as a tool for identifying core growth strategies
The core components of your business delivery
How to develop a methodical, strategic approach to developing your business for future success

After the webinar, you will understand:

How to undertake a balanced review of where your business is that helps identify areas for development
Ansoff’s Matrix and how to use it as a core strategic planning tool
How to create a strategic plan for growing your business

Learning Zone - How to run a more efficient business
2022-07-28 18:00 - 19:00
This session will look at reviewing costs and running an efficient business.

Governance and process
Good financial management
Understanding your sales and costs
Targeting only profitable customers
Reduce stock
Cut wastage (process, people, and projects)

Build a customer focused business
2022-08-10 10:00 - 12:00
Did you know that a returning customer will typically spend more than two thirds more with your business than a brand new one?
Did you know that retaining just 5% of your customer base can give an increase of over 20% in profits for your business?
Having an effective strategy in place for your business to deliver great customer service is critical for your business.
We will cover:

Why good customer service is critical for business growth
What are the essentials of delivering great customer service and how should this be delivered?
How to effectively manage different types of customers and their expectations
How, why, and when you should measure the service a business delivers
How to use the service provided to promote a business and enable growth

How to write and develop your business plan
2022-08-15 14:00 - 16:00, 2022-09-06 14:00 - 16:00
New and established businesses will require a business plan for getting a loan, grant or just to consider the direction they wish to go in. This webinar will teach you what you need to include and how. We will walk you through what should be included within a business plan, how a business plan is used to improve your prospects for a loan or a grant, and how you can develop a business plan to meet your needs.
We will:

Provide a structure for a business plan
Review each section of what should be included within the business plan
Explain when and how to use a business plan
Explore the connections (and importance) between the words and the numbers
Look at how to identify and manage cashflow within the business planning process

The business benefits of running a sustainable business
2022-08-19 10:00 - 12:00
It’s becoming increasingly important to customers to source their products from companies who have strong green credentials. This webinar will show how by becoming more sustainable you can increase sales and profits.
We will look at:
Understanding the problem
What is sustainability and why it is important
Innovation
Profiting from being a green business
Embracing a purpose beyond profit
The sustainability triple bottom line
Developing your own green charter
Examples of those practicing this way of growth with remarkable success
Top tips for going green

Learning zone: Managing risk – How to prepare for the unexpected
2022-08-29 14:00 - 15:00
Having risk is not good, however letting it become an issue is worse. From financial to resource to supply issues, all can have a major impact on your businesses. Therefore, you need to start planning and monitoring well in advance to help you prepare for change
We will discuss:

Risk vs issue
What risks could your business have (people, fraud, flood, late payments, utility issues)?
Financially understand each risk – will it cost you?
What would you do differently if there was another pandemic (paperwork, reserves, processes, accounts)?
Reputational risk
