Invest in Angus

Deep dive into the EOT
2023-10-25 10:00 - 11:00 UTC
How does the EOT work in practice? Attend this webinar for an overview of the tax implications of the EOT.
Since its introduction in 2014, the Employee Ownership Trust (EOT) has proved to be a feasible exit option for many business owners. It’s a flexible option, and by making the right choices, you can meet the requirements for tax incentives and achieve the best results for the seller, company and employees.
Aimed at professional advisers, this session will let you hear directly from legal experts Douglas Roberts and Nimarta Cheema of TLT Ltd. They’ll cover the following topics:

benefits and drawbacks of the EOT
financial aspects
legal conditions
protections
warranties and controls

Build an effective strategy to grow your business
2023-11-02 09:30 - 11:30, 2023-11-30 10:00 - 12:00, 2024-01-26 09:30 - 11:30
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

Build a customer focused business
2023-11-07 10:00 - 12:00, 2023-12-06 10:00 - 12:00, 2024-01-18 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 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
2023-11-09 09:00 - 11:00, 2023-11-20 13:30 - 15:30, 2023-12-11 10:00 - 12:00, 2024-01-10 14:00 - 16:00, 2024-01-23 18:00 - 20:00
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

How to generate and increase sales
2023-11-10 09:30 - 11:30
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

How Artificial Intelligence (AI) can help your business marketing
2023-11-13 14:00 - 16:00
You’ve heard of Artificial Intelligence, but do you know how it can help you as you run your business? This brand new practical webinar will explore how AI can help revolutionise your business marketing to be more efficient and cost-effective, through the automatic creation of content for all your digital platforms; as well as helping you better understand your customers and business opportunities.
This webinar will include:

What is Artificial Intelligence
Current AI tools and systems to use right now (including ChatGPT and Dall-E 2)
Automating Digital Content for Blogs and Social Media
Using AI for business strategy and customer profiling
The pros and cons of AI for small businesses

This webinar will help you understand how you can integrate AI into your existing marketing, looking at the potential consequences (good and bad) of Artificial Intelligence, and its impact on small businesses and their customers.

How to protect and manage your intellectual property
2023-11-16 10:00 - 12:00, 2023-12-14 10:00 - 12:00, 2024-01-16 10:00 - 12:00
You have invested time, energy, and money into your project, however, have you protected the innovation?
Following this webinar, you will understand how to manage your intellectual property (IP) or how to start the process of registering it.
Topics covered include:

What are intellectual assets (IA)?
What is intellectual property (IP)?
How to use IP (in the real world)
Where to get more insight and information

Participants will leave with:

An understanding that all businesses create IA/IP
A framework of knowledge about IP
A little more knowledge about the diverse types of IP
An insight into how to identify, protect and exploit IP/IA
Context of why IP/IA matters
Links to useful learning resources

Recognition & Reward – Share Schemes within the EOT Business
2023-11-22 10:00 - 11:00
Since its introduction in 2014, the Employee Ownership Trust (EOT) has proved to be a feasible exit option for many business owners. It’s a flexible option, and by making the right choices, you can meet the requirements for tax incentives and achieve the best results for the seller, the company and the employees.
Aimed at professional advisers, this session allows you to hear directly from share scheme experts Rodger Cairns and Gavin Charlton at Shepherd & Wedderburn. They will cover the following topics:

overview of incentives
share incentives vs bonuses
choosing a share plan
share plan admin
communication

Keep your business safe online
2023-11-24 10:00 - 12:00, 2024-01-12 10:00 - 12:00
Join us to find out how criminals are targeting small businesses online, the risks you face, and what you can do to minimise your exposure to online crime.
This webinar includes a number of live demos, covering the following areas:

What are the main online threats to your business?
The 5 pillars of prevention (Backup, Malware prevention, Securing your hardware, Passwords & Phishing attacks)
Simple and practical measures you can implement to protect yourself and your business
Best practice recovery steps for your business if the worst should happen

As a result of attending this webinar, you will gain a deeper understanding of the digital threats facing your business and what you need to do to secure your website, social media and company data from cyber criminals.

Ready, Steady, Grow: How to Expand Your Business
2023-12-06 16:00 - 18:00, 2024-01-17 10:00 - 12:00
Ready to accelerate your business growth but unsure where to begin?
Look no further than our Ready Steady Grow workshop focused on accelerating business growth. Led by experienced business advisers, this session is designed to help you identify your growth potential and create a roadmap for success.
Through collaborative discussions with like-minded businesses, you’ll gain new insights, tools and knowledge to help support your growth plans. You’ll also walk away with a network of fellow business owners to connect with for ongoing support.
Don’t miss this opportunity to take your business to new heights!

The Basics of Starting a Business
2023-12-07 16:00 - 18:00
This webinar will give you the information needed to build a start up action plan. The plan will enable you to consider which actions are relevant to your plan, start building a set of SMART Goals, give thought to business skills development and provide a clear path for steps to launch your business.
You will also learn about the key considerations when starting a business and what steps you will need to take from legal, financial and strategic standpoints.
By the end of the webinar, you will have the information required to start building an action plan and be confident about understanding the next steps.

The business benefits of running a sustainable business
2023-12-19 14:00 - 16:00
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

An Introduction to Innovation
2024-01-11 10:00 - 11:00
This one hour webinar is run by Scottish Enterprise Innovation Specialists.
The session will introduce you to the key innovation concepts around culture, strategy and processes, tools that can help you on your innovation journey and the Scottish Enterprise support available to help your business innovate and grow.
There will also be a Q&A session that will allow you to ask questions and discuss content with specialists and peers.

Selling your business masterclass
2024-01-18 10:00 - 12:00
Have you considered a succession plan for your business? It’s never too early to start thinking about your options. Employee ownership is fast becoming the preferred exit route for business owners.
Aimed at business owners considering an exit from their company, this online session will give attendees the opportunity to hear market-leading IT support and solutions company Microtech Group and building supply merchants Caley Timber & Building Supplies explain what they considered in choosing employee ownership and how things have worked.
Carole Leslie from Ownership Associates will talk through all ownership succession options before focussing on employee ownership and how to ensure the employee buyout is a smooth process.
Timings:
10.05 Welcome – Glen Dott, Scottish Enterprise
10.10 Ownership Succession Options – Carole Leslie, Ownership Associates
10.35 Employee Ownership Case Study – Microtech Group
11.00 Employee Ownership Case Study – Caley Timber & Building Supplies
11.25 Support available – Glen Dott, Scottish Enterprise
11.30 Q&A
11.45 Close
Attend this workshop to learn how employee ownership offers a tax efficient exit route that protects your company’s legacy while providing a competitive price for the business. Could it be the right succession solution for you?

Becoming Fearless - The Entrepreneurial Mindset
2024-01-23 09:30 - 12:00
Successful business owners know that their brains drive their business goals and results. But being a business owner can be lonely and that isolation can be demotivating, particularly when there is no one to encourage you when things are tough or to celebrate with you when things go well. Being the driving force behind your own company has the highest highs, and at times, the lowest lows.
Our Fearless workshop delves into this rollercoaster in lots of detail and aims to give you the tools you need, to enjoy the ride!
Agenda:
*Exploring the Entrepreneurial Mindset
*Talking about mental fitness for entrepreneurs
*Exploring the impact of isolation in business
*Building and nurturing your network of support
*Peer support, goals setting for success, communicating your needs, and managing your priorities

Train to become a CPD-certified Green Champion
2024-01-23 10:00 - 12:30
Rising energy costs, the climate emergency and increasing consumer pressure continue to challenge the way that businesses across Scotland manage their environmental performance.
The Green Champions online training course is already helping organisations across Scotland prepare for this challenge by providing knowledge, tried-and-tested techniques, best practice examples, and free tools and templates.
This free webinar, designed for small and medium sized enterprises, will pack the entire Green Champions foundation course into one session. Join and get the skills and knowledge that over 4,500 other professionals have already learnt through the Green Champions training course.
You’ll find out about the changing resource landscape and the growing need to be resource efficient, before learning how to gather valuable data from around your organisation to help you plan improvement projects.
You’ll also learn a range of techniques that can be used to interpret and visualise the information you have collected on your resource use, and how to use that knowledge to set realistic environmental goals for your organisation.

Fair Work Workshop
2024-01-24 09:30 - 12:30
Fair Work is an investment in everyone, for everyone. It can improve productivity, innovation, organisational reputation and recruitment. It can also reduce staff turnover and help create inclusive workplaces with a richness of talent and a diversity of ideas.
For staff, Fair Work can increase financial security, physical health and psychological wellbeing. For businesses, it brings more engaged, committed and adaptable workers who spot challenges and opportunities, solve problems, offer insight and ideas for business improvement, and create value.
What’s the event about?
This is a fully funded programme which will help participating companies to:

Understand the benefits of fair work (for both the business and its staff)
Develop an action plan to embed or improve current people practices
Prioritise and take next steps to implementing an action plan

The type of projects and actions that could result from a fair work action plan include:

Improving people and fair work practices
Skills, leadership and management development
Creating a positive culture and values-based approach
Improving employee engagement and supporting performance management practices

Commercialisation with Data and AI
2024-01-24 10:00 - 12:30 | Scottish Enterprise, 99 Haymarket Terrace, Edinburgh, EH12 5HD
Join this session, organised by Scottish Enterprise in collaboration with Effini, on data and commercialisation.
This is the second workshop in a series aimed at helping business to understand how data and AI could benefit their business. This session is aimed at SMEs who want to learn, gain an understanding of, and overcome challenges associated with data. This session will bring together the opportunities that data and AI can bring to your business. We’ll consider;

How data and AI can be a revenue source
Common approaches
Building a strong data foundation for scalability
Common blockers (and ways to overcome them)

These workshops are designed to help you understand the basics of data and AI, and how they can benefit your business.
Attendees will learn from experts in the field, who will guide them through practical exercises and real-world examples. The tone and format of the sessions is friendly and informative. You’ll also get the opportunity to network with other SMEs and share experiences and challenges.
The workshops are suitable for SMEs from any sector or industry. They are aimed at businesses that are keen to understand how data and AI could help their business.
The workshops are delivered in person at Scottish Enterprise’s offices in Edinburgh, in a flexible and interactive format.
Ideally, it is recommended that you attend all four of the sessions. This will enable you to leave the final session with actions to take away for implementation within your business.
Following the session, there will be opportunities to discuss any plans on a one-to-one basis with specialists from Scottish Enterprises Digital Transformation team.
