Invest in Angus

Finding, keeping and looking after your staff
2024-10-30 13:00 - 15:00 UTC
One of the most daunting challenges a business can face is the process of hiring employees, 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 look after your team.
We’ll cover:

Finding, keeping and looking after your staff
Attracting and recruiting the best people for your business
Your obligations as employers
How to retain staff members
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

Marketing for your small business
2024-10-30 13:00 - 16:00
Without proper marketing your business cannot have a lasting impact. This live webinar will help you to identify, profile and gain a deeper understanding of your target audiences, how to conduct market research and build a marketing plan. It will also explain brand development and positioning, and choosing your price points.
The webinar is divided into three sessions.
Marketing and market research:

what is marketing?
how to understand your audience using market research

Understanding your customers and competition:

understanding your competitors
identifying your customers and categorising them
understanding your customers’ needs and motivations

Marketing planning, pricing and branding:

pricing considerations
developing your brand
developing your message
deciding on the best marketing methods for your business
budgeting and evaluating

Breaks are provided between the sessions. You can attend all three using the same link, or choose the parts that suit your needs.

Tourism Experiences: Mastering Online Travel Agents
2024-10-31 10:00 - 12:30
Can Online Travel Agents (OTAs) add to your growth and, most importantly, to your profitability?
Join our interactive webinar designed to provide visitor attractions, activity providers, and tour companies, with an in depth understanding of working with OTAs.
This session will focus on businesses that are looking to start using OTAs for the first time and, if already using an OTA, how to improve the performance of your listings.
As part of this session, you’ll be asked to analyse your own business practices and consider what might be improved.
Please note: There are limited places available for this session, and registration will be on a first come, first serve basis.
Due to the format of this session, which is specifically tailored for visitor attractions, activity providers and tour companies, please use the form to submit your interest in attending. It has a series of questions to make sure this session is right for your business.

Introduction to Canva
2024-10-31 11:00 - 13:00
Canva is an all-in-one online design tool that makes it simple to create graphics, edit photos/videos and write content.
In this webinar, you’ll learn how to navigate Canva with confidence, starting with a broad overview of what you can create and do with Canva including a live demonstration of the Canva Editor.
We’ll then explore how to:

Design professional printed marketing materials and edit photos with ease.
Create engaging social media content, including videos and images for posts and ads.
Write creative blog content and make stunning presentations.

We’ll finish this beginner’s guide to Canva by looking at some clever strategies for improving how you market your business with your new suite of creative marketing materials.
As a result of attending this webinar, you will gain practical knowledge of the basics of Canva and learn how to save time when marketing your business online. We’ll be focusing on the free features of Canva for this webinar but some paid ‘Canva Pro’ features will be demonstrated also.
Before you sign up for this webinar, please make sure you have created a free Canva account that you are signed into. We will be doing three live demonstrations, giving you an opportunity to practice your new creative skills.

An introduction to business strategy
2024-10-31 13:00 - 15:00
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

Business Support – Drop In Sessions
2024-10-31 13:00 - 16:00 | Kirriemuir Library, 28 Reform Street, Kirriemuir, DD8 4BS
The Business Gateway team will be at Kirriemuir Library to offer expert advice and support for all your business questions.
Drop in and speak to us, or use the book now button and a member of the team will be in touch to book an appointment.
Whether you’re just starting out or looking to grow business, our advisers are here for you every step of the way.

How to plan and schedule your online content
2024-11-01 10:00 - 12:00
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.

Boost your productivity with AI
2024-11-01 16:30 - 17:30
This Google Digital Garage session introduces learners to cutting-edge AI tools that are already available from Google and others, to show some of the smartest ways digital-age workers can use them to save time at work and on tasks.
In this session, you will learn:

an introduction to generative AI and how it works
how to use AI-powered tools and techniques to save you time
an overview to crafting effective prompts

This session is run using YouTube and is 45 minutes long.
The course assumes no prior knowledge or experience so there is no pre-reading necessary.
There will be the opportunity to ask questions during the session.
Please note, these training sessions are only available in the UK.

Social media essentials: TikTok and Instagram Reels
2024-11-04 10:00 - 12:00
TikTok and Instagram Reels aren’t just for dance trends and lip-synching videos, they can also be a fantastic opportunity to engage with your customers and increase the reach of your business online. Learn how to create bitesize video content for more effective business communication on two of the most popular social platforms.
We will cover:

How to optimise your TikTok and Instagram accounts for the best results with video
How to discover the latest trends on each platform and leverage this to create popular videos for your business
Ideas for creating content to entertain, inspire or educate your audience (with lots of examples from a variety of relevant TikTok and Reels accounts)
How to increase engagement and reach by paying attention to your videos’ structure, duration, titles and understanding hashtags and algorithms
The best kit, apps and workflow to create bitesize vertical videos for both platforms

How to write funding applications
2024-11-04 10:00 - 12:00
When submitting applications for funding, you need to ensure that the applications are written in such a way that improves your chances of being successful.
There are numerous funders out there and each will have their unique way they wish you to apply, however, in this webinar we’ll explore some key steps you can take to improve your chances of a successful application, including:

Clarifying your need

Demonstrating your needs

Understanding your funder

How to speak their language

Getting the basics right

Overcoming the common mistakes

Answering the questions asked

Developing a Successful Agritourism Retail Business
2024-11-04 10:00 - 15:00 | Carfrae Farm Shop, Haddington, EH41 4LP
Join Scotland’s Agritourism Monitor Farms Programme for an informative event focused on developing successful retail in an agritourism business.
Whether you’re an established agritourism business or just starting out, this event at Carfrae Farm will help you consider how to run a successful retail enterprise. We will be joined by Retail Experts who will talk us through the key challenges for retail at this time and provide insights from their own experience.
We will also have an opportunity to hear from our hosts and Core Community Group Members, Trudi and Eric Cueto about the progress and developments at Carfrae Farm. We will be able to have a walk around the business which includes a Farm Shop, Snug offering a place to enjoy coffee and cake, holiday accommodation , workshops and more recently wellness retreats.
There will be an opportunity to share thoughts & ideas and network over lunchtime.

Business Support – Drop In Sessions
2024-11-04 13:00 - 16:00 | Brechin Library, 10 St. Ninians Square, Brechin, DD9 7AD
The Business Gateway team will be at Brechin Library to offer expert advice and support for all your business questions.
Drop in and speak to us, or use the book now button and a member of the team will be in touch to book an appointment.
Whether you’re just starting out or looking to grow business, our advisers are here for you every step of the way.

The Basics of Starting a Business
2024-11-05 10:00 - 12:00
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.

An introduction to business websites
2024-11-05 10:00 - 12:00
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.

Perthshire Talks Responsible Tourism: exploring different climate action themes
2024-11-05 11:00 - 12:00
Energy, transport, and waste comprise a substantial amount of global greenhouse gas emissions and will usually make up a considerable part of your footprint. Reducing these will be an essential step on your road to net zero.
However, measurement and reduction are only one part of the picture. Developing climate action around communicating, influencing your customers or suppliers, and adapting to climate change are equally as crucial on the road to net zero.
In this webinar, we will explain the different climate action themes in our guide and what they mean for you and your business.

Social media essentials: Facebook
2024-11-05 14:00 - 16:00
Get to grips with Facebook – the world’s most popular social networking platform.
In this webinar you will:

Learn how to get the most out of Facebook and how it could fit into your business’s digital marketing strategy
Better understand the algorithm behind Facebook, and how to create great content that achieves a bigger reach and impact
Learn from the stats and data you can get from the system and discover who your most interested customers/clients are
Understand the power of Facebook advertising, and other selling options available to you
Discover other business opportunities presented by Facebook, including how to promote and sell products and services
Be introduced to ‘Business Suite’ – a free Facebook dashboard to manage all your business activity

Google Analytics – Understand how your website performs
2024-11-06 14:00 - 16:00
Google Analytics is a powerful tool that helps you understand how your website is performing. It helps answer lots of questions, including:

Which marketing channels drive traffic to your site?
What pages are users looking at the most?
What impact does mobile have on your potential customers?

During this webinar, we’ll help you understand how Google Analytics is set up and give you an overview of key reports. We’ll also look at other web analytics tools to help you online.

Social media essentials: LinkedIn
2024-11-06 18:00 - 20:00
No longer just an online CV, LinkedIn can be an incredibly powerful – and profitable – business tool.
During this webinar, 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

An Introduction to Canva
2024-11-07 10:00 - 12:00 | The Meffan, 20 West High Street, Forfar, DD8 1BB
Looking to create your own brand images using Canva? This interactive workshop will teach you how to create stunning visuals that make your brand stand out on social media.
Bring your laptop or MacBook and your brand images for a hands-on experience. We’ll cover everything from the basics to more advanced techniques for creating dynamic, bespoke images for your brand.
In this workshop, we’ll cover:

How to register for a free Canva.com account
A walk-through of the platform, including features and toolbars
The importance of fonts, colours, and effects for maximum impact
How to use Canva design templates and adapt them for your business
How to create your own designs from scratch using your own imagery
How to insert animation on your photos and text
How to create engaging reels
An explanation of different types of social media content
How to save and download from Canva
How to upload to Meta Suite Planner

Don’t miss out. Take control of your brand imagery and create stunning visuals for online use. Book your place now!

An introduction to Artificial Intelligence (AI) for small businesses
2024-11-07 10:00 - 12:00
You’ve heard of Artificial Intelligence, but do you know how it can help you as you run your business? This practical webinar will explore how AI can help improve 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 cover:

What is Artificial Intelligence
Current AI tools and systems to use right now (including ChatGPT and MidJourney)
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.

Tourism Experiences: Discover the Travel Trade
2024-11-07 11:00 - 12:00
Join VisitScotland’s last webinar of the series and discover the world of travel trade.
Learn about the landscape of travel distribution, market insights and trends. Explore the opportunities of working with the travel trade and how diversifying routes to market can help you grow business year-round.
This free, hour-long webinar takes place on 7 November from 11am – 12pm.
What is today’s visitor expecting? What is tomorrow’s visitor looking for? Find out more about travel and booking preferences of UK and international visitor markets.
Discover how to work with travel trade to bring to market new bookable products and experiences and explore how you can engage in regional and sectoral collaboration to accelerate business growth.
Also covered in this session – a product sheet for travel trade, with industry experts to help you navigate this.
This webinar is not to be missed, packed full of support, insights and practical tips that you can implement within your business.

How to generate and increase sales
2024-11-07 13:00 - 15:00
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

How to start a business: The basics
2024-11-07 18:00 - 20:00
Whatever your reasons may be for considering being your own boss, we are here to support you and help you decide if this is the right path for you.
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

Bookkeeping essentials
2024-11-08 10:00 - 12:00
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

Continuous Improvement Business Breakfast Workshop
2024-11-11 09:00 - 12:00 | Engineering Partnership Innovation Centre, Keptie Road, Arbroath, DD11 3EA
Our breakfast workshop – delivered by our Scottish Manufacturing Advisory Service (SMAS) – is an opportunity to take a step back and look at an alternative way of working and thinking about your business.
As well as providing a short overview of the SMAS, we’ll explore how lean manufacturing can help engage people and create a sustainable change and culture in your business.
Because the workshop takes place at the EPIC, there will also be an opportunity to engage with our partners at Tay Cities Engineering Partnership. You’ll see first-hand how EPIC provides a wealth of resources for students, businesses, and the wider community.
You’ll also learn how it’s home to new equipment, including fully operational CNC mills and lathes, micro CNCs, 3D printers, and cobots.
What you’ll learn from this event
Improving productivity in your business can lead to a reduction in production costs and make your business more competitive. By focussing on adding value through lean techniques, you can improve quality, cost, and delivery performance, along with increased capacity.
Our highly interactive event will simulate how businesses are run. It highlights some of the typical daily challenges that businesses experience and will demonstrate an alternative way of looking at your business.
You’ll learn how to think and act differently to improve your business efficiency by applying simple lean thinking principles.
You’ll gain insight to the potential integration of automation within your organisation that can increase and expand ambition, productivity, growth, and profitability as part of our Q&A session.
Capital Investment queries to assist automation requirements.
Why attend?
This event is for progressive people who wish to understand the basics of improvement through team-building exercises and practical application.
Through the manufacturing simulation provided, you’ll gain an understanding of the wastes and learn the importance of performance management.
This activity workshop provides the opportunity to step back from current operations, review the essential implementation elements of improvement, and assess the way forward for your organisation.
Who should attend?
This event is suited for people at a senior management level. This includes those who have responsibility for championing or driving business improvement within the workplace, and/or are involved in the implementation of new processes and new ways of working.
The event has been timed to ensure minimum time away from the workplace. It starts at 9am with breakfast and refreshments. It will finish promptly at noon.
There will be ample opportunity to network with like-minded people and explore ways that SMAS can support your business.
This event is free of charge, with limited places, so book early to avoid disappointment.

International Trade Week 2024
2024-11-11 09:00 - 2024-11-15 17:00
The fourth edition of International Trade Week (ITW) will take place from Monday 11 to Friday 15 November 2024.
Led by the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) and sponsored by Santander UK, in partnership with industry, ITW 2024 will feature 5 action-packed days of events, workshops and webinars – all free for businesses to attend.
Whether you’re looking to secure your first export contract or expand your existing international sales, ITW will have something for you. The week’s activities are for UK companies of all sizes and sectors – you just need an interest in growing your business.
You will only need to complete registration once to become a member of the UK Export Academy. From there, you will be able to register for as many free ITW events as you wish. See the event programme.

Why your business needs a blog
2024-11-11 14:00 - 16:00
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 ranking
Understanding analytics and measuring the impact of your blog

SMAS engaging in Lean workshop
2024-11-12 09:30 - 12:30 | National Manufacturing Institute Scotland, 3 Netherton Square, Paisley, PA3 2EF
This event is aimed at outlining the easiest way to engage with your people to start to make improvements to the way work is done, and how these activities fit within the wider philosophy of lean.
This event will use a simulation to demonstrate these tools and techniques in an engaging way. It will take you through the change process and emphasise how best to achieve sustainable change.
Why should you attend?
The rate of change in your business may be slower than anticipated and the appetite for change not quite what you would like it to be.
You may have heard about Lean – but perhaps you’re not quite sure what it is and what it will involve. You’ve been on your journey for a while, but you could do with a chance to reset and get your juices going again.
This workshop will help you to identify opportunities for improvement in your approach to change. It will help you increase the likelihood of securing sustainable change going forward.
It’s a fantastic opportunity to find out how you and your workforce can work together in the best interests of the business.
Why SMAS?
Learn how SMAS can help manufacturing businesses plot a course to take advantage of new opportunities, such as efficiency and cost saving measures, that will increase productivity and boost competitiveness.
With an average saving of £153,000 across all projects, SMAS will deliver an immediate return on investment through the improvements that arise from your business improvement activity.
Who should attend?
This event is designed to be engaging for all levels of an organisation and will cover an introduction to the tools and techniques, so no pre-knowledge is required.
Key information and timings
The event will be fast paced to minimise time away from the workplace. The session will start at 9:30am, with refreshments, and will finish promptly at 12:30pm.
There will then be an optional tour of the facility at the end.
This event is free of charge, with limited places, so please book early to avoid disappointment.

How to create engaging content
2024-11-12 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 and develop a variety of content for your website and social channels.
This session is ideal for businesses that already have a business website or use social media and now want to take it a step further, and develop the skills to show your audience that you are a trusted operator in your field.
We will help you:

Understand what kind of content your customers are looking for
Source, write and deliver that content
Amplify your brand and message and boost engagement online

Young person’s guide to starting a business
2024-11-12 10:00 - 12:00
This webinar will provide you with information, direction and support on a range of topics, including:

Planning (before you start, & once you are up and running)

The personal benefits of working for yourself

How to make sure your idea is viable and sustainable

How to research your market and market your business

How to identify who your customers are

Staffing

Funding

How to register and set up – sole trader or a limited company
