Invest in Angus

Business Finance Viability
2023-06-08 09:30 - 12:30 UTC | Friockheim Hub, Eastgate, Friockheim, DD11 4TG
Led by experienced advisers, this workshop takes the fear out of finances, providing practical tools and guidance to help you confidently manage your business’s budgeting and forecasting. You’ll learn how to identify the hidden costs of running your business, including the cost of hiring staff, maintaining stock levels, and other crucial expenses.
Through a series of engaging exercises, you’ll gain a deeper understanding of your business’s financial viability, helping you make informed decisions about its future growth and success. Whether you’re a new entrepreneur or have been in business for a couple of years, this workshop is tailored to your needs, providing you with the knowledge and skills to take your business to the next level.

DigitalScotland: Tayside
2023-06-08 08:30 - 16:30 | Abertay University, Bell Street, Dundee, DD1 1HG
In 2023 Futurescot are delivering a series of economic and digital transformation events across Scotland and we are pleased to announce that the first of these unique forums will be DigitalScotland: Tayside.
Like many parts of Scotland and the UK, this once thriving region is remaking itself in a new era. The digital age is disrupting industries old and new, with Dundee, Perth and the wider Tayside region seeking their own place in the firmament of global digital pioneers.
Fortunately, Dundee, along with Angus, Fife, Perth, and Kinross are developing a vibrant tech scene: as the home for a new cyberQuarter, to gaming companies, a drone port, agri-tech disruptors, and a new generation of med-tech spinouts, the region is seizing new opportunities.
With government support through city region deal funding, civic leaders are determined to bring to bear new skills and press their economic advantages to become more productive, competitive, and ambitious to connect to global markets.
This full day conference will bring together policymakers, business leaders, educators, and community stakeholders to discuss the next steps for the region’s ongoing rejuvenation.

Green tease: Launch of the creative degrowth network Scotland
2023-06-07 15:00 - 18:00 | Dundee Contemporary Arts, 152 Nethergate, Dundee, DD1 4EA
Over the course of an afternoon, this launch event will expand people’s knowledge on degrowth and what it means for Scotland. It will explore the role of culture, and how people can use it to tell positive post-growth stories in our communities.
At the root of the climate emergency is a crisis of political imagination. The current political and societal structures are limited in what they can achieve. Economic and societal systems are currently driving the climate crisis in pursuit of profit and power: systems where we have been conditioned to value GDP and economic growth at the cost of people and planet.
The planet does not have the resources for endless growth, and neither is endless growth working for people, creating an immensely inequitable distribution of wealth. People will need radical, collective visions of alternative futures to drive transformative action. Art and culture can help to rethink current systems. Hence, the creation of the creative degrowth network Scotland.
The launch of this network aims to challenge and reframe the dominant narratives that have been driving the climate crisis. It aims to build stronger connections between cultural, climate, economic and community professionals in order to develop this urgent work towards a sustainable future. The afternoon will include contributions from Enough! Scotland, and Rachel Grant, Programme Manager at the Barn. You will also hear from members of the network and get a chance to form its future. The question asked will be: How can culture play its full role in the necessary transformation of society?

Ready, Steady, Grow: How to Expand Your Business
2023-06-07 09:30 - 12:30
This workshop will take place online via Zoom. Joining instructions will be shared with you once you have reserved your space.
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!

Developing Your Start Up Action Plan
2023-06-06 09:30 - 12:30
This workshop will be held online via zoom. Joining instructions will be shared with you once you have booked your space.
This online workshop 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 workshop, you will have the information required to start building an action plan and be confident about understanding the next steps.

Develop your Workforce Skills
2023-06-01 13:00 - 14:00
As we look to the future, now is the time to think about the development needs of your workforce.
Join us to find out how our fully funded Graduate Apprenticeship Programme can help you to develop the knowledge, skills, and experience of your workforce, whilst helping your business grow.
With fully funded courses available in Business Management, IT Management for Business, IT Software Development, Civil Engineering, and Engineering, Design and Manufacturing, a GA Programme can help you develop employees from across your business.
At the event, you will hear from both apprentices and employers who are currently utilising the Graduate Apprenticeship Programme, so you can find out about their experience first-hand and the benefits the programme can bring to your business.
You will also hear from Engagement Manager Wayne Paul, along with some of our lecturers, so you can find out everything you need to know about the Graduate Apprenticeship Programme, and how it can help you to develop your talent, boost your performance, and grow your business.
How does it work?
These fully funded Graduate Apprenticeship Programmes give you the opportunity to develop current or new members of your workforce (of all ages) to honours degree level at no additional cost to your business.
There are fully funded and easily accessible places available on five different courses:

Business Management
IT Management for Business
IT Software Development
Civil Engineering
Engineering, Design and Manufacturing

Graduate Apprentices spend one day a week studying at the University and the remaining four days of the week working in their role. At the end of four years they will receive the same level of degree as a student studying full time.

Planning & scheduling your online content
2023-05-31 14:00 - 16:00
Businesses who plan their content in advance, aligning their channels with actual business objectives, customer themes and national events, and then schedule it to ensure it reaches the target market at the right time, on the right platform – hugely increase the chances of achieving impact.
In this webinar, you will learn how to:

Plan content based on your business and your customer needs
Evaluate current social media dashboards and management tools
Create a social media content calendar and schedule updates automatically
Reach more people through automating your blog and email newsletter content
Implement simple automation techniques to increase efficiency

Having great content is just the start. This webinar will help you better organise and setup your content strategy through simple planning and effective scheduling, to achieve great business results.

HR – Recruiting, managing, and retaining staff
2023-05-31 13:00 - 15:00
One of the scariest things you can do as a business is take on staff – from hiring, interviewing, payroll, pensions, contracts, remote working and more, it is a minefield for the business owner.
This webinar will allow you to have the key information in your possession to take on staff and manage your team.
Topics covered:

Recruiting, managing, and retaining staff
Attracting and recruiting the best and right people for our business
Our obligations as employers
Managing people to stay with us
Moving on
Dismissal
Restructure/Redundancy

We will also look at:

How in the current climate you can manage staff and teams in a remote environment, considering their productivity, efficiency, and the issues of home working
How you can best manage staff to ensure productivity is kept and mental health is supported
The impact of companies who may be considering restructuring and therefore redundancy for the first time and how that can be managed

Paid for advertising
2023-05-31 10:00 - 12:00
This webinar is designed to help you make more informed decisions about where paid for advertising fits in to your digital marketing strategy. During the webinar we will discuss various key considerations of paid advertising, provide advice on planning, explore platform options and look at measuring the impact of your ads.
By the end of the webinar, you’ll have a better understanding of:

Key concepts of paid ads and how it fits within your strategy
Best practice during ads setup
Importance of planning for paid Ads
How to evaluate and understand performance of paid ads

LinkedIn for business
2023-05-30 14:00 - 16:00
No longer just an online CV, LinkedIn can be an incredibly powerful – and profitable – business tool. Like any tool, you must learn how to use it, and this webinar gives you expert guidance.
You will:

Learn how to create a LinkedIn strategy to boost your business reputation via marketing and brand promotion initiatives.
Learn the difference between personal and company profiles and how to optimise them for both maximum visibility and brand awareness.
Understand that content is king on LinkedIn, and we’ll show you how to plan and produce captivating content that enriches your brand.

The essentials of bookkeeping and what expenses you can claim
2023-05-29 13:00 - 15:00, 2023-05-22 14:00 - 16:00
This webinar is for those who are entering business for the first time or require an understanding of what is involved in financially managing a business, including basic bookkeeping, and creating a profit and loss account. You will also get an understanding of what expenses the business can claim and then how to fund your business. At the end of the session, you will receive a workbook on excel to help you manage and monitor costs and sales.
At the end of this session, you will be able to:

Implement basic bookkeeping skills across your business
Create a profit and loss account
Understand what expenses can and cannot be claimed
Use financial management to increase revenues and profits
Understand capital and revenue costs and how they are treated

Digital tools to help run your business remotely
2023-05-29 10:00 - 12:00
Are you ready to ‘go live’ and engage your audience with a live stream? What about running webinars or working remotely with clients or collaborators on the other side of the world? Let us guide you through:

How to use video live streaming, webinars and remote collaboration tools to get results for your business
Equipment you need to get started
An overview of the tools and platforms currently available
Examples of what others are doing
How to monetise this way of working

An introduction to business websites & what you need to consider
2023-05-26 18:00 - 20:00
This webinar will take you through all the steps required to design, build and host a business website. You will learn about:

The need to determine website objectives
The importance of knowing who your audience is and measuring results
Setting clear calls to action and creating engaging content
Creating your brand’s visual identity online, your site’s blueprint and how you can structure your site map
What’s involved in registering your domain, maintaining your site content, and options for hosting it

This webinar will also offer guidance on when and how to outsource your website development. Covering topics such as choosing a suitable content management system, what to organise first and costing for the work.

Women Into Business - Visualising Your Personal Brand
2023-05-25 18:30 - 20:30 | Potter Rhoney, 261 High Street, Arbroath, DD11 1EE
Come and enjoy a relaxed evening of informal networking to explore your personal brand and how it relates to your business.
Networking session with Wendy Maltman from The Malting House Marketing and Design.

WIB Networking Evening - Visualising Your Personal Brand
2023-05-25 18:30 - 20:30 | Potter Rhoney, 261 High Street, Arbroath, DD11 1EE
Spend a relaxing evening exploring your creative side and informally network whilst enjoying painting pottery.
Do you have a personal brand and values? Wendy Maltman will talk with us about personal values and brands in business followed by a relaxing session of pottery painting with tea, coffee, biscuits and some informal networking.
How would you visualise your brand?
How does it relate to your business?
Relax and enjoy painting on a piece of pottery and meet some like-minded people over tea, coffee and biscuits.
This event is open to anyone who is thinking about or has started a business and is looking to grow their network in a relaxed stressless environment and unleash your creative side.

How to protect and manage your intellectual property
2023-05-25 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

Blogging for business
2023-05-25 10:00 - 12:00
This webinar will provide you with the knowledge and understanding you need to create a blog that promotes your business.
We will cover:

What a ‘blog’ is, how to set one up and what it takes to make them work
Other small and medium sized businesses who already blog successfully and what you can learn from them
Options for monetising a blog
How to promote your blog
How your blog can help move your website higher up search engine rankings
Understanding analytics and measuring the impact of your blog

Build your ecommerce sales on Amazon
2023-05-25 10:00 - 11:00
With more than 80% of UK online customers using Amazon, all product-based businesses need to control how their brand appears on the channel.
In this webinar, we look at the critical points to help you grow a successful brand on Amazon, both at home and across global marketplaces.

How to start a business: The basics
2023-05-24 18:00 - 20:00
Whatever your reasons may be for considering being your own boss, Business Gateway is here to support you and help you decide if this is the right path for you. Helping you consider your plans from exploring your potential customers to looking at the key activities and costs involved.
We will cover:

Personal finance planning – how much do you need to earn?
Researching your market – who your customers are, understanding your competition and what the trends are within your chosen field
Business structure – what are the core 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
Marketing
Pricing
Naming the business
Basic bookkeeping
Forecasting
Financing, banking, insurance, and VAT
Tax

Online Sales: Improve, develop & make more money
2023-05-24 14:00 - 16:00
What’s the best way to sell your products online? The key to improving your online business is measuring its effectiveness – you can then take steps to optimise its performance. Should you be using your own eCommerce store or Amazon, neither or both? This webinar will help you decide.
We will cover:

Factors to consider when selling online.
What eCommerce options exist, and the benefits of each
Differences in available eCommerce platforms
Benefits of automation
Key items to optimise performance

Strategies to Grow your Business
2023-05-24 13:00 - 15:00 | Old & Abbey Church, West Abbey Street, Arbroath, DD11 1EQ
Ready to take your business to the next level?
Join us for a masterclass from expert consultant, Alastair Donald, of The Consultancy Network. This session is designed to support businesses across Tayside in achieving their growth ambitions.
Alastair will provide valuable insights, and you’ll have the opportunity to expand your network during the event. This event is suitable for businesses of all sizes and sectors, so don’t miss the chance to invest in your business’s success.

How to improve your Google search rankings - Part 2: Off page optimisation & technical considerations
2023-05-24 10:00 - 12:00
Join us as we take a further, more detailed look at how the Google search engines indexes and ranks websites based on a number of external (off-page) and technical factors. Implementing this learning will increase your chances of customers discovering your business through Google – the world’s leading research tool.
We will cover:

How to block or control what websites are allowed to ‘index’
The importance of a fast loading mobile website
How security and usability influence Google
What “off-page” optimisation means, and tactics to generate back-links
The importance of Local SEO, and why a “Google Business Profile” is vital

How Artificial Intelligence (AI) can help your business marketing
2023-05-23 18:00 - 20:00
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.

The business benefits of running a sustainable business
2023-05-23 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

The basics of trading on eBay, Etsy and Amazon Marketplaces
2023-05-23 10:00 - 12:00
As a consumer, you’ve almost certainly purchased online from one of the global marketplaces such as eBay, Etsy or Amazon, so why wouldn’t your customers do the same and buy from you?
We will cover:

Why to sell via a Marketplace, your own website, or both
Choosing the right Marketplace – looking specificly at eBay, Etsy and Amazon

Understanding Profit Margins and how Marketplace fees affect them

An overview of some of the rules and regulations enforced by these platforms
Trading internationally – what’s possible?

You’ll leave with a better understanding of how online marketplaces can help you reach your target audience, which marketplace is best for you, and how to get started selling quickly and easily.

How to generate and increase sales
2023-05-19 14:30 - 16:30
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

Utili-Tay Launch Party
2023-05-19 13:00 - 16:00
As a valued customer, connection, supplier and friend to Utili-Tay we would like to invite you to celebrate with us at our official launch party.
It has been a busy time behind the scenes, we have been creating our “Carbon Hub” where we can demonstrate and share our NEW and extended product range that will support businesses to reduce energy consumption.
You will also be among the first people to see our NEW website…. thanks to Amanda and Ross at Due North Creatives. We hope you like it as much as we do!
We are delighted to be joined by the founding partners and creator of our NEW carbon monitoring product, they operate all over the world and will share how the technology works and what it means to Utili-Tays clients.
John Thomson from DC Thomson will be sharing why Net Zero is a key focus for the business, the journey they have been on to research the market place on the best solutions for the range of premises they have. Utili-Tay are delighted to be supporting them on the road to NetZero.
Our partners at Everflow will share tip tips for reducing water consumption and ways to maximise water efficiency. Water can be the forgotten utility cost for a business but it is still a cost that you can directly impact.
Utili-Tay believes it has a responsibility to support charities and communities to this end they donate time, expertise and money on a quarterly basis to a nominated charity. We are delighted to introduce you to TCCL and 58 Bonnygate to share the amazing work they do across Tayside and Fife for families faced with child cancer and leukaemia.
Our technology, support and information is only part of the solutions we also need to focus on the culture and mindset within the business, we have invited Jamie from YMindset to share his top tips on gaining employee and executive commitment and changing behaviours.
Once the official event finishes you are welcome to stay and network.

Move, Breathe, Be Mindful
2023-05-19 13:00 - 13:30
Closing the week with a combination session incorporating elements from each session of the prior week. Move, breathe and be mindful, finding ease in your body and mind, setting you up for a wonderful weekend.
The session is suitable for all, no touching of toes or gym gear required, and no prior experience of breathwork or mindfulness needed.

Fife Tourism Talks: Youth Development - inspiring the next generation
2023-05-18 15:30 - 16:30
The Fife Tourism Partnership is hosting a series of webinars on key current issues in the tourism industry.
These free webinars are a great way of hearing from industry experts, case studies from local businesses and a chance to meet other likeminded businesses. All the sessions will be held on Thursday afternoons at 3.30pm, via Teams.
This session welcomes Amanda Liddle from DYW Fife to chat about inspiring the next generation about careers in tourism.
