How to generate and increase sales
2024-09-23 18:30 - 20:30, 2024-09-26 10:00 - 12:00 UTC
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

Social media essentials: Instagram
2024-09-24 10:00 - 12:00
Thinking about using Instagram to communicate with existing and potential customers? Want to showcase your products or services using it? During this webinar we will cover:

Getting the setup right and benefitting from the available business tools
Best practice profiles, and some strategies to help your business stand out from the crowd
The types of audience you can reach via this platform and the factors and analytics such as cost and timing of posting images and how that can maximise impact
The various types of content you can post to Instagram, from regular posts to Stories and Reels

Disability Inclusion Framework
2024-09-24 12:30 - 13:30
The Disability Inclusion Framework is a unique template created by Purple Tuesday to support organisations in taking a snapshot of core activities. It provides an “at a glance” review of any gaps which can help with any decisions on next steps to take. The framework focuses on three pillars which are:

place: the built and digital environment
people: your organisation’s employees and customers
policy and process: how your organisation operates

This interactive session will show you how you should use the framework to gather information and identify your current or existing disability inclusion practices and set your plans for future developments.

How to start a business: The basics
2024-09-24 14:00 - 16:00
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

Delivering profit to drive growth
2024-09-25 10:00 - 12:00
The course covers financial analysis, strategic decision-making, resource allocation, and the role of innovation and scalability in leveraging profit for long-term success.
We will cover:

Getting to know your financials
Controlling growth
Improving decision making
Opportunities
Cash is king
Controlling change
Pricing strategies for maximum profit
Measuring profit

Finding, keeping and looking after your staff
2024-09-25 13:00 - 15:00
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

Social media essentials: TikTok and Instagram Reels
2024-09-26 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

Business Finance Viability
2024-09-26 10:00 - 12:00
Led by experienced advisers, this webinar 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 webinar is tailored to your needs, providing you with the knowledge and skills to take your business to the next level.
Don’t let financial worries hold you back from realizing your business’s full potential. Sign up for the Business Finance Viability webinar today and discover how to confidently manage your business’s financial health!

Agri Innovation & Insights Event – James Hutton Institute
2024-09-26 10:00 - 15:00 | James Hutton Institute, Invergowrie, DD2 5DA
Welcome to the Agri – Innovation & Insights Event hosted by the James Hutton Institute (JHI). Join us for a day filled with exciting discussions, innovative ideas, and insightful presentations.
Don’t miss out on this opportunity to learn from industry experts and network with like-minded individuals. Come be a part of this unique event that aims to explore the latest trends and advancements in agriculture.
The Tay Cities Clean Growth Initiative, in partnership with The James Hutton Institute, are delighted to offer businesses and stakeholders the opportunity to stay informed on the latest advancements, techniques and innovation in Scotland’s International Barley Hub and Advanced Plant Growth Centre.
This informal free event is being held on Thursday 26 September 2024, from 10am to 3pm, at The James Hutton Institute’s Invergowrie Campus.
The day will include hearing from a range of speakers on a broad range of emerging trends across the Agri sector including technology, innovation and finance.
Following lunch, the visit will include a tour of Scotland’s world-class facilities at the newly opened James Hutton Institute International Barley Hub, Advanced Plant Growth Centre and Intelligent Growth Solutions’ vertical farm.
This is a day filled with inspiration, insight and knowledge to help businesses consider opportunities around:

Cutting-Edge Research
Networking Opportunities
Debt Funding Insights
Sustainable Agriculture and Natural Capital
Value Chain Integration

Perthshire Talks Responsible Tourism: climate action planning
2024-09-26 11:00 - 12:00
Understand how your business can reduce emissions with our simple climate impact guide that includes VisitScotland’s easy-to-use, free climate action workbook.
Our new guide has been designed to help tourism businesses starting out on their climate action journey. Businesses further along in their climate action journey may still find it useful to incorporate elements of this guide into their current plans by developing more advanced actions.
Taking responsibility for your business emissions and activities is a big first step on the road to net zero.
The session will look at why taking climate action is important and cover our new beginner workbook and calculator along with six quick actions to get you started in your first 12 months.

Introduction to Safe and Local Suppliers Approval (SALSA)
2024-09-26 13:00 - 16:30 | Arbroath Football Club, Gayfield Park, Arbroath, DD11 1QJ
The Safe and Local Supplier Approval (SALSA) scheme ensures that small and micro businesses in the food industry meet robust and comprehensive standards.
This masterclass provides participants with an introduction to and understanding of SALSA requirements, processes, and the benefits of certification. Our expert speakers will cover everything you need to know, including preparation tips and strategies for a successful audit.
This interactive session also features a Q&A with our speakers, as well as group discussions and problem-solving exercises.

How to deliver low-cost, high impact marketing
2024-09-26 18:30 - 20:30
When budgets are tight, it can be difficult to find the funds for marketing. This webinar 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 it provides opportunities for businesses to make transformational change with little or minimal 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, the value of a clear focus and the power of 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
The foundations of effective marketing in a digital age, looking at how your business can grasp new ways of marketing such as social media, web and digital PR

Doing tourism differently: sustainability in travel
2024-09-27 09:30 - 16:00 | The Bruntsfield Hotel, 69-74 Bruntsfield Place, Edinburgh, EH10 4HH
This event is designed for travel and tourism professionals and experts, or simply anyone interested in sustainability and impact in travel.
The purpose of the day is to discuss how you can create impact through travel, how communities can get involved and / or benefit from the development of tourism as a sector, or how they can be involved in the design of activities, products, etc.
The day includes presentations on different themes with speakers from Geotourist, VisitScotland and LeithForth. There will also be discussion panels and workshops, with breaks in between for hot drinks and food. Refreshments and lunch (vegetarian) will be provided.

Cashflow Management Skills Webinar
2024-09-27 13:00 - 16:00
Who is this bootcamp for?
This bootcamp has been designed for small business owners, in order to help them with their short-term cash preservation and cashflow, as well as helping to prepare your business for the future.
Overview:
You’ll learn about managing your short-term cashflow and preparing your business for the future, with effective cashflow forecasting and planning to put your business in the best position possible.

Cyber Security for your small business
2024-09-30 11:00 - 12:00
To attend this webinar, there are no prerequisites or prior experience needed. It is aimed at start-up businesses and those who are interested in creating a start-up.
It would also be beneficial for more established businesses who are looking at security as a business differentiator and learn how it can be used to win new business.
Your host Jim Wright will introduce security, how it can benefit businesses and allow you to seize opportunities while minimising risk. Jim will also discuss common frameworks and fundamental principles that business leaders should be aware of from the start of their business venture.
By the end of this webinar, attendees will:
1) Understand security risks
2) Understand the benefits of security
3) Have an awareness of threat actors
4) Have an awareness of threat vectors
5) Have an awareness of the services that can be offered to support start-ups
6) Understand the regulatory environment in which they work
7) Understand the common frameworks relating to security

How to build your brand
2024-09-30 14:00 - 16:00
This webinar will define what a brand is (and is not) and explain how it is 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 session will:

Provide you with a clear understanding of the difference between brands and branding
Help you understand what a brand is
Show you why branding is important
Look at your brand strategy, brand identity and action
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

Creating an effective email marketing strategy
2024-10-01 10:00 - 12:00
Customers buy from businesses that they know, like and trust. Email marketing is powerful and affordable tool in your digital marketing toolkit to build these relationships. Most businesses send monthly newsletters to stay in touch with their audience, but your results will improve with a structured plan and the best practices that will be explored in this webinar. Whether you’re new to email marketing or you’re looking to optimise your email strategy, this webinar enables you to:

Adopt email marketing into your wider marketing strategy and gain insight into your target audience
Understand the key stages of an effective marketing strategy
Segment your audiences and to target and position your offering to them effectively
Create a value-driven and customer-focussed content for email marketing whilst measuring and testing it’s effectiveness
Identify the most suitable platforms and tools for email marketing campaigns, including different paid-for account levels
Optimise the different components of a successful email campaign
Use reporting and key metrics to make sure your campaigns are successful
Be compliant with legal requirements relating to email communications and use best practices for escaping the spam folder

Google Analytics – Understand how your website performs
2024-10-02 10:00 - 12:00
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.

Build your Business Confidence in Tourism
2024-10-02 10:00 - 13:00 | Strathmore Rugby Club, Inchmacoble Park, Forfar, DD8 1RL
Do you already have a business in the tourism industry?
Are there aspects of the business that you are not so confident about?
Could professional input help your business grow?

If the answer to these questions is ‘yes’ then our ‘Build your Business Confidence in Tourism’ course has been designed for people just like you. It’s a short course, held over 3 sessions, recognising that time away from your business is valuable but also vital.
We will help you to audit your business and identify the key areas to focus your attention on to maximise potential. Plus, there will be the opportunity to up skill in best practice, and time to network with peers.

Perthshire Talks Responsible Tourism: accessibility information to promote your business
2024-10-02 11:00 - 12:00
Do you have accessibility facilities, such as accessible bedroom(s) or a quiet space, or has your venue been designed to cater for wheelchair users or visitors with hearing or sight impairments?
Do these facilities appeal to your current customer base? Do you provide detailed information about these facilities on your website?
If the answer to any of these questions is yes, this session will be of interest to you.
This webinar will provide practical advice, top tips and guidance on how to use detailed access guides to market your business to new customers.
We’ll be joined by industry experts including Marina Di Duca, VisitScotland Inclusive Tourism Manager, Carrie-Ann Lightley, Head of Marketing at AccessAble, an accessibility guide specialist and Pippa Stacey, an award-winning writer, speaker and charity sector communication consultant.

Tayside Adaptation Partnership Vision and Priorities Event: Communities
2024-10-02 12:30 - 15:00 | Dundee West Church, 130/32 Perth Road, Dundee, DD1 4JW
The climate in Tayside is changing, and the region is experiencing warmer, wetter weather, increased storminess, and higher sea levels, all of which is set to continue even if we achieved net zero tomorrow. We need to adapt to these changes to allow us to become more resilient and ensure Tayside can continue to flourish.
Adaptation Scotland are supporting partners within Tayside to develop a new, Regional Adaptation Partnership to address climate risks.
At this early stage, we want to involve people and organisations across the region in defining a shared vision and priorities for the new partnership. Four sector specific events have been designed to provide opportunities for different groups to have a say in what the partnership could be, what it could do and how it could work.
Aimed at communities in the Tayside areas, this workshop will explore how a regional adaptation partnership can advance adaptation in Tayside, using these three key questions:
1. How would you describe current work on adaptation in Tayside? What works well and what are the challenges?
2. What do you hope to see in Tayside in 2050, as the result of good adaptation action?
3.How can the regional partnership help move Tayside from the current situation to the future we want to see in 2050?
Each event will run from 12:30pm – 3pm with registration and a free lunch available from 12:15pm. Space is limited, so we ask you to register no more than 2 people per organisation or group.

Scottish Enterprise Clean Heat Strategic Workforce Development Fund
2024-10-02 14:00 - 15:00
The Clean Heat Strategic Workforce Development Fund offers workplace innovation support to Scottish companies that are working or interested in the clean heat market.
This practical support helps businesses improve their processes by making better use of staff skills, experience and creativity to carry out everyday tasks.
The fund also provides financial support to help companies develop their:

Workforce Capability and Culture
Workplace Practices
Leadership and Management

The grants can be used to cover third party training or consultancy costs, as well as provide some support for internal training costs.
Find out more about the fund by joining this webinar and visit our website for a more information about the fund.

How to plan and schedule your online content
2024-10-02 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.

The Basics of Starting a Business
2024-10-03 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
2024-10-03 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.

Tourism Experiences: Boost your Bookings
2024-10-03 11:00 - 12:30
Join VisitScotland as we delve into the cutting-edge technology behind online booking and distribution in the first of our new series of digital skills webinars.
Whether you’re a visitor attraction, an activity provider, or a tour company, this webinar is tailor-made for you.
Taking place on 3 October, at 11am, this free session will delve into what modern online booking solutions can offer your business, from seamless reservations to business personalisation.
Hear about some game-changing functionality that can have a positive impact on the customer booking process and learn why strategic distribution is the key to filling empty slots, unfilled tours and driving growth.
We’ll look at effective distribution channels that maximise your reach and revenue. From collaborating with travel trade partners to leveraging Online Travel Agents (OTAs) and harnessing the power of Google Things To Do.
This webinar is not to be missed, packed full of support, insights and practical tips that you can implement within your business.

Marketing for your business - Skills Webinar
2024-10-03 13:00 - 16:00
This bootcamp has been designed as a beginner’s guide for businesses, focused on the subject of marketing.
Without proper marketing your business cannot have a lasting impact. This bootcamp 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 – choosing your price points.

Bookkeeping essentials
2024-10-03 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

Opportunities in the Development of Green Hydrogen Projects in Mexico
2024-10-03 16:00 - 17:00
This webinar will present the existing opportunities for the development of green projects in the Mexican market for Scottish companies.
