Invest in Angus

E-Commerce Platforms to Enhance Your International Sales
2022-02-23 10:00 - 12:00 UTC
E-commerce offers businesses a vast range of opportunities, from product range diversification to in-depth analytics that can provide valuable insights into the habits and interests of your clients. Alongside this, you can accompany your sales strategy with high-performing digital marketing campaigns to help you meet your goals.
Over the last few years, we’ve seen traditional companies starting to shift from an offline to an online model to meet the demand of digitally-savvy consumers. With an optimised and well-developed website and e-commerce presence, you can offer your customers a convenient, around-the-clock service that can boost your business offering.
Join us at our webinar to gain more insight into e-commerce opportunities for your business and industry, become better acquainted with digital marketing techniques, learn from the success stories of renowned businesses around the world, and see how you can take your company to the next (international) level.
What’s covered:
– An introduction to e-commerce platforms and their benefits, including Alibaba, Amazon, JD.com, eBay, Shopify, Rakuten, and Walmart
– Trends and global statistics within digital marketing and the evolving world of online shopping
– Choosing the right e-commerce platform for international trade (B2B, B2C, and D2C)
– An introduction to international payment processors and choosing the right payment solution for your business
– Success stories and case study examples from internationally trading companies
– Live Q&A and introduction to additional support services available to businesses
Session host:
This event will be delivered by tech entrepreneur, James Buchan – founder of the multi-award-winning development agency, Zudu, which prides itself on delivering measurable successes for companies looking to break into the digital space. Zudu’s Chinese Digital Platform (NihaoScotland) and Chinese exporting division (Neio) focus on helping UK companies create high-performing digital campaigns and grow their sales in the Chinese market.

Ecommerce platforms to enhance your international sales
2022-02-23 10:00 - 11:00
Ecommerce has become a game-changer for growing international brands and is forecasted to be an important driver of growth in coming years.
Ecommerce offers businesses a whole range of opportunities, from marketing to increasing your product ranges to generating more sales. With an optimised and well-developed website and ecommerce channels you can not only achieve these goals, but also offer your customers convenient service around the clock that can boost your business.
Gain an overview ecommerce opportunities and how they can take your business to the next (international) level.
What’s covered

An introduction to ecommerce platforms – Alibaba, Amazon, JD.com, eBay, Shopify, Rakuten, Walmart
Choosing the right ecommerce platform for international trade – B2B, B2C, D2C
An introduction to payment processors
Choosing the right payment solution to trade internationally
Best in class examples of internationally trading companies
Further info and support
Benefits to your business
You’ll learn to identify which platforms are right for your business to trade internationally.

Thorntons Employment Law Webinar - Managing Organisational Changes in the Workplace
2022-02-23 09:30 - 10:30
When your organisation needs to adapt to new circumstances, your workforce may also need to transform, both in its size and how people do their jobs.
Join Employment Law Partner, Chris Phillips and Solicitor Kerri McIver who will provide practical advice on handling organisational change, whilst also meeting your obligations as an employer, easing any transition and minimising potential claims.
This one hour webinar and Q&A will cover:

What is “organisational change” and the importance of managing change well.
Types of organisation change: redundancy, restructuring and the rise of flexible working.
Top tips for managing organisational changes: defining the issue, planning, communicating, implementing and sustaining.
The impact of organisational change on mental health and how to support employees.

What will I learn?

You will be given practical tips and advice on how to effectively manage organisational change in your workplace.
Who should attend?

Anyone with a role in HR
Managers
Business Owners

Meet the Adviser – HR Surgery
2022-02-23 09:00 - 17:00
If you are an employer or are thinking of taking on staff, our HR Surgery Day is an opportunity for you to book a one to one appointment over Zoom with our specialist HR Advisor, Isla McIntosh and ask any questions you may have relating to HR and employing staff.
These surgeries are for businesses based in Dundee, Angus and Perth.

LinkedIn for business
2022-02-22 18:00 - 20:00
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:

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.
Content is king on LinkedIn, and we’ll show you how to plan and produce captivating content that enriches your brand.

Photography for online business
2022-02-22 14:00 - 16:00
During this webinar you will:

Discover the basic ‘dos and don’ts’ of taking your own pictures, editing them and uploading them onto digital platforms.
See some real-life examples of posts that demonstrate good, bad and indifferent use for businesses.

Tourism businesses: Use analytics to evaluate your digital platforms and get customers
2022-02-22 11:30 - 13:00
By the end of this webinar, you will understand how to find out:

The characteristics of people who are accessing your digital platforms
What people are doing when they access your websites or social accounts
How to set goals and objectives on each platform
The art of measuring the effectiveness of website content and social posts
How to continuously monitor, develop and improve your digital activities

This is a joint VisitScotland and DigitalBoost event which is funded by Digital Scotland and delivered by Business Gateway.

North American market immersion session
2022-02-22 10:00 - 12:00
Tune in and find out why this market is so important to the region and how your tourism business can work with the North American travel trade, to influence the decision-making process of visitors from this market.
You’ll hear from our market specialists on specific characteristics of the North American visitors and how you can tailor your product to appeal to these visitors.
These sessions will conclude with the opportunity to ask questions and find out more about working with this market.

Starting a business: Everything you need to know
2022-02-22 10:00 - 12:00
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.

Maximising the Opportunity in Challenging Times
2022-02-22 08:15 - 10:15
Dundee & Angus College have teamed up with the inspiring team at Shirlaws Group to bring you this interactive webinar to look at how we can maximise opportunities in challenging times.
The event, aimed at Business Owners and Directors, will be led by Fergus King. Investor, business owner, sought-after speaker and now one of the most experienced business coaches in the UK.
Over the last 18 years Fergus has personally supported over 350 owner managed businesses and helped them to be as profitable, valuable and enjoyable as possible.
Addressing both commercial and cultural issues, during the event Fergus will raise questions, share perspectives, and inspire participants to take additional actions to complement what they are already working on.

A Guide to Starting a Business
2022-02-21 18:00 - 20:00
Join us for our A Guide to Starting a Business workshop where, in one day, you’ll go on a whistle-stop tour learning the basic skills needed to start your own business.
We’ll be covering, Business Planning, Finance, Marketing, and the Business Model Canvas to make sure you’re equipped with all the business essentials.
You’ll have the opportunity to network with similar-minded people and engage with one of our start up advisers.

Writing a business plan – Why it's essential for ALL businesses
2022-02-21 14:00 - 16:00
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

Making Tax Digital – what small businesses need to know
2022-02-21 11:00 - 12:00
Interactive session to explore the support available from HMRC, Rhino and FSB to businesses and the self-employed with the upcoming Making Tax Digital rules so customers can submit their VAT returns directly to HMRC and become MTD compliant.

Event details
Everything a business owner needs to know about Making Tax Digital and what business owners need to do to get MTD compliant.
Get ready for Making Tax Digital with FSB
Making Tax Digital (MTD) is an HMRC initiative designed to help businesses and individuals correctly calculate their tax through a system that is more efficient, effective and simpler to use.
All VAT-registered businesses will need to report digital VAT records to HMRC through compatible software from 1 April 2022, regardless of turnover. If you are registered for VAT and your annual taxable turnover is above £85,000, you should already be using MTD compatible software.
In April 2024, MTD for Income Tax and Self Assessments will come into force, affecting all self-employed individuals with a turnover of over £10,000. There’s no need to wait – you can start preparing for the new rules today and streamline your processes.
Get ahead of the curve and find out what you need to do to comply with Making Tax Digital for VAT with the FSB Making Tax Digital App, an HMRC recognised solution for small businesses and the self-employed provided in partnership with Rhino Software Ltd.
Join HMRC, Rhino and FSB to find out all about Making Tax Digital, what it means for business owners and how you can become MTD compliant using the FSB Making Tax Digital app.
We’ve worked with Rhino Software to build an app designed to help small businesses and the self-employed become MTD compliant without the confusion and pressure. Setting up your account is quick and easy. Record your expenses, create invoices and submit your VAT return directly to HMRC at the click of a button.
Get to know the system with a play account, where you can enter details and try out functions without affecting your live accounts. When you are ready you can upgrade to a free edition. Exclusive discounts and online chat available to FSB members only.

Planning & scheduling your online content
2022-02-21 10:00 - 12:00
Businesses who plan their content in advance, aligning all 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 brand new DigitalBoost 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 your blog and email newsletters
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.

CRM Surgery with David Lawrence
2022-02-21 09:00 - 17:00
Our surgery sessions are a chance for you to benefit from free, confidential advice from a range of experts.
David Lawrence, Director of Tecbyte Limited, has worked in the business software sector for over 30 years. He believes that with an effective technology culture, you can do more of what you love when it comes to running your business. His expertise lies in putting business owners back in the driving seat with effective strategies and support to bring their ideas to life.
David can help you streamline your processes so that you can make the most of systems that anticipate change, encourage growth and help you move away from spreadsheets and paper – without complicated processes or breaking the bank.
These surgery sessions are for businesses based in Dundee, Angus and Perthshire.

Tayside Business Support Showcase
2022-02-18 12:00 - 14:00
Whether you’re starting or growing your business, as well as Business Gateway’s services, there is a wealth of additional support available to help you.
Come along to our lunchtime showcase to hear from the people and partner organisations who can make a real difference to your business.
You’ll hear from seven speakers on topics, support and contacts relevant to your business and have the opportunity to chat and ask questions.
Joining us on February 18:

Skills Development Scotland
Supplier Development Scotland
Business Resilience Scotland
Breadalbane Finance
BG Information & Research Team
Healthy Working Lives
Dundee Employability Team
The Business Resilience Centre

This event is for businesses based in Dundee, Perth and Angus.

Launch Pad – Start Your Own Business - Part 2 – Structuring your Business and exploring Financials/Funding
2022-02-18 11:30 - 13:30
This webinar will equip you with all the right tools to set up your business including how you can finance your business when starting out and running it. After this session, you will have a clear understanding of legal requirements, tax requirements and a to do list for starting your business.
You will also learn about start-up costs, fixed and variable costs, cash flow forecasts, a personal survival budget and funding options.

Marketing your business on a budget
2022-02-18 10:00 - 12:00
When budgets are tight it can be difficult to find the funds for marketing. This webinar will help you use marketing to increase customer engagement. We will offer marketing tips and advice that you can then use across your business. Without bursting the bank!
We will look at:

How marketing extends way beyond what most businesses consider it to be and how that provides opportunities for businesses to make transformational change with little or no extra spend.
Identifying Marketing Priorities and using these to reshape your business.
The Marketing Mix as a tool for reviewing how your business plans and delivers its marketing activity.
How your marketing activity is delivered successfully and effectively in your business.
A series of top tips including the importance of understanding your customers, the core components of a brand, the value of strong and consistent branding and the power of of a clear focus and creativity.
The many options available with traditional Advertising and Promotion as a way a company communicates what it does and what it can offer customers, but also looking how this has changed in a world where marketing has moved online.

Launch Pad – Start Your Own Business - Part 1 - Ideas Generation & Researching your Idea
2022-02-18 09:30 - 11:00
This webinar is all about the act of forming ideas and testing out whether these can be transformed into a viable, successful business. After this session, you will have a clear understanding of how to undertake the creative process of generating, developing, and communicating new thoughts and ideas.
You will also understand the importance of conducting thorough market research and how to apply the Business Model Canvas – a strategic management template for documenting your business model.

Complete Guide to Finance for Start-Ups
2022-02-17 18:00 - 20:00
The workshop will look at:

managing a profit and loss account
producing a cashflow statement
working capital
the different sources of finance
the different legal structures of a business

Bookkeeping and finance: The essentials for business
2022-02-17 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 developing 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 both start up and growth. At the end of the session, you will receive a workbook on excel to help you manage and monitor costs and sales.
After this webinar, 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 how you can fund your business

Producing engaging online content
2022-02-17 10:00 - 12:00
Producing quality content is an excellent way of helping your customers develop a meaningful relationship with your brand, services and products.In this webinar we will show you how to source, develop and measure content. It’s ideal for businesses that already have a business website or use social media and now want to take it a step further.
By the end of it you will have the skills to show your audience that you are a trusted operator in your field.
This session will help you:

Understand what kind of content your customers are looking for
How to find, write and package it
How to market it and measure its success.
Amplify your brand and message, and to boost sales and profits.

How best to attract and retain the staff you need
2022-02-17 10:00 - 11:30
In the UK, job vacancies recently surpassed one million for the first time ever, proving that it’s a candidate’s market. Not only that but surveys indicate that over 40% of the global workforce are considering leaving their employers this year, and this presents employers like you with two major challenges:

How best to retain and engage the talent you already have
How best to attract and recruit candidates when everyone else is trying to do the same. It’s a very competitive world.

In this 90 minute virtual webinar, we’ll;

Understand how you can best manage retention risks and retain talent in your organisation
Explore ways to differentiate your ‘employee value proposition’ to make working for you as attractive as possible
Share ways to make your job opportunities stand out from the crowd in a competitive market
Consider a range of hiring strategies to enable you to tap into alternative sources of talent

Meet the Adviser - General Surgery
2022-02-17 09:00 - 17:00
Whether you are thinking about starting a business or you have already started one, the Meet the Adviser General Surgery is an opportunity to meet with one of the Business Gateway Tayside team over Zoom to ask any business related questions you may have.
We have slots throughout the day and you will be matched up with an adviser that suits whichever stage of running a business you are at.
These surgeries are for businesses based in Dundee, Angus and Perth.

HR – The essentials for running a business
2022-02-16 19:30 - 21:30
One of the scariest things you can do as a business is take on staff – from hiring, interviewing, payroll, pensions, contracts, hours of work, it is a minefield for the business owner.
During this time there is a need to do all this and more remotely, and at the same time consider how staff manage both personally and productively during the pandemic.
This webinar will allow the employer to have the main facts in their possession to start taking on staff.
We will 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 during this challenging time.
The impacts of companies who may be considering restructuring and therefore redundancy for the first time and how that can be managed.

Building your brand and promotional graphics
2022-02-16 10:00 - 12:00
This webinar will define what a brand is (and isn’t) and explain how it’s more than just creating a logo. We will explore how a business can use their brand to show its identity, purpose, personality, message and values in order to stand out from competitors, build a loyal customer base and make more sales.
This webinar will:

Provide you with a clear understanding of the difference between brands and branding
Help you learn how to develop your brand’s positioning, character, and purpose to differentiate your business from its competitors
Demonstrate how to set up a brand kit and style guide to ensure consistency across websites, social media, business cards, posters etc.
Teach you how to create simple promotional graphics using a variety of tools including Canva
Highlight a variety of free tools including Google Drive, Hubspot and Mailchimp that can save time and simplify marketing tasks

How to improve your Google search rankings
2022-02-16 10:00 - 12:00
Join us to look at how Google and other search engines decide the order in which they list their search results. We will show you how to maximise your chances of appearing towards the top of the search rankings, ensuring you understand what key words and phrases your potential customers are using when searching online.
We will cover:

How search engines work, and the factors used to rank your site.
Optimising your website for search engines
Keyword research tools and how to benefit from them
Technical considerations for further search engine benefits

Networking - Let's Talk Technical
2022-02-16 10:00 - 11:00
Work in engineering, manufacturing or transport ? Then join our sector specific networking group and grow your contacts.

Event details
You are invited to a new virtual networking group focussing on small businesses in the engineering, manufacturing and transport sectors.
This is a national network designed to grow your contacts within this sector and to give you the opportunity to discuss topics important to you. We meet on the third Wednesday of every month for an hour.
Chaired by Charles Hansard from Westford Services Ltd, the UK Distributor for Micfil Ultra Fine Filters for fuel and oils.
In our breakout rooms this time we will be discussing two topics. The first- what are your staffing issues and how are you resolving them? The second -how will the energy crisis affect your business?
Whether you are new to networking or looking for something more related to your work all small businesses are welcome, both FSB members and non-members.

Meet the Adviser - Marketing Surgery
2022-02-16 09:00 - 17:00
Whether you’d like to discuss market research, marketing strategy or would even just like an impartial review of your website or social media page, this is an opportunity to book a one to one appoint over Zoom with our marketing specialist, Stuart Milne.
These surgeries are for businesses based in Dundee, Angus and Perth.

Online Sales: Improve, develop & make more money
2022-02-15 14:00 - 15:30
What’s the best way to sell your products online? The key to improving your online selling 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 also take you through the factors to consider when seeking to improve your online sales strategy which can lead to better business performance.
