Extending Your Offering to Increase Sales
2026-01-28 11:30 - 13:00 UTC
By offering complementary products or services, you give customers the chance to purchase a more complete solution from you. This not only increases sales revenue but also improves customer satisfaction and convenience. The goal is to build on what you already do well—whether you’re a service provider, producer, or retailer.
In this Learning Session, led by Enterprise Facilitator Daniel Muir, an expert in supply chain management, we’ll consider how to choose suitable products or services to add, commercial considerations, practicalities and how to get the best results.
By the end of this session you’ll leave with much clearer steps about what you can do for your business in 2026.

Grow boldly: Smarter security for the next stage of your business
2026-01-28 12:00 - 12:30
As your business grows, so do your opportunities and so do the risks.
From protecting customer data to securing your systems against new cyber threats, keeping your business safe is essential to scaling with confidence.
In this practical and forward-looking session, experts from Dell and Intel will share real-life examples and demos of smart, affordable tools that help you protect your data, devices, and teams, without slowing down innovation.
Whether you’re expanding your team, adopting AI tools, or moving more of your business online, this session will show you how to strengthen your digital foundations so you can spend more time on growing your business.

Selling online in 2026: What you need to know
2026-01-28 12:00 - 13:00
This session brings together experienced business owners and digital experts to share what really works when it comes to selling online. You’ll hear honest insights, practical lessons and proven approaches that have helped businesses reach more customers and increase their sales.
From choosing the right tools to improving your online presence and building customer trust, the session will cover the key elements that support long-term growth. Whether you’re launching your first online store or refining an existing one, you’ll leave with clear ideas you can put into action.

AI meets Shopify: The future of smarter online selling
2026-01-29
Join this webinar to learn how AI can enhance your Shopify store.
Get practical insights into AI-powered tools that can help improve product recommendations, streamline customer service, and increase conversions.

Thorntons Webinar - The Employment Rights Bill
2026-01-29 09:30 - 10:30
Trumpted as the biggest change in employment law in a generation, and with almost daily changes to the Employment Rights Bill being reported, keeping track of what is happening and when is a bit of a minefield.
This webinar will bring you right up to date on what is happening, and more importantly what you have to prepare for to ensure that you are fully compliant.
Join Noele McClelland, Head of Thorntons Employment Team is keeping abreast of developments, the priorities and pitfalls to look out for and how you can be ERB ready!

Video production for digital marketing
2026-01-29 10:00 - 12:00
Video captures people’s attention online and is important for getting your message across, while engaging with your target audience.
Learn how to:

Choose what type of video to create to suit your business objectives
Plan, shoot, edit, and upload video without special kit or expertise
Get to know the various digital platforms that can be utilised to view and share video content
See what editing apps are available and how to add music and subtitles

Higher yield at quieter times: grow your tourism business
2026-01-29 10:00 - 12:30
Are you a Scottish tourism business interested in exploring different routes to market, how to create bookable experiences, boost off-season yield, and connect with the travel trade? This introductory Teams webinar is for you.
Suitable for tourism business of all sizes.

Communicating recycling best practice for behaviour change
2026-01-29 10:30 - 11:30
Join Zero Waste Scotland for a webinar exploring best practice in recycling communications, drawing on two major research reports:

Household Recycling Charter Code of Practice Communications Review – insights from local authority workshops and case studies on what works (and what doesn’t) when communicating service changes, disruptions, and contamination.
Promoting Household Recycling: Local Authority Communications Best Practice – strategic recommendations on behaviour change models, media mixes, and using the national Recycle for Scotland brand.

The AI tools small businesses need to scale now | Lunch and Learn
2026-01-29 12:00 - 12:30
Are you overwhelmed by the noise and confusion surrounding AI business tools?
As a small business owner, you might know you need to adopt AI to stay competitive and efficient, but the sheer volume of new tools makes knowing where to start paralysing.
Join Suki Singh, founder of AIToolsTribe.com and Agentzio.com, for a practical session designed specifically to demystify AI business tools for small and medium-sized businesses.
He’ll present a curated list of the top 7 “off-the-shelf” AI tools that are working right now for businesses operating on limited resources.
Topics covered in this session:

Smart lead generation and marketing: Filling your pipeline while you sleep
Professional writing assistants: Speeding up emails, blogs and copy
Video generation: Creating engaging social assets without a studio with AI avatars and more
Customer engagement: Streamlining customer engagement across multiple channels.

Inclusive tools on the VisitScotland Business Support Hub
2026-01-29 14:00 - 14:30
Discover our four-step process to help you develop an inclusive business by reviewing where you are currently, identifying areas for improvements and setting a plan for the future.
Our new tools will help you improve your accessibility, engage diverse audiences, and foster an inclusive culture within your business.

How to sell through WhatsApp and messaging apps
2026-01-29 14:00 - 15:00
Customers increasingly expect quick, convenient conversations with the businesses they buy from.
Messaging apps like WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger and Instagram DMs have become powerful channels for answering questions, giving personalised recommendations and even completing sales on the spot.
Join this free Tech Hub webinar to discover how your small business can use messaging apps to engage customers, speed up responses and turn conversations into sales. You’ll find out how to provide great service, showcase products and manage orders directly from your phone.
Whether you’re a small business owner, retailer or service provider, this session will give you the confidence to use messaging apps as a powerful, low-cost sales channel.
What you’ll learn:

Why messaging matters: The growing shift towards chat-based customer communication
Sales through conversation: How to recommend products and guide buyers through quick chats
Taking orders in-app: Practical methods for capturing customer details, sending payment links and confirming orders
Building trust through fast replies: Tips to deliver helpful, personalised responses without extra admin
Tools and shortcuts: Using templates, catalogues and automated replies to save time and stay organised

Who should attend:

Small business owners wanting to boost sales through direct conversations
Retailers offering personalised recommendations
Service providers handling bookings or enquiries
Anyone looking to streamline customer communication through mobile chat apps

How to build your brand
2026-01-29 17:00 - 19:00
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

Growing your business on social media | Lunch and Learn
2026-01-30 12:00 - 12:30
These days, there’s much more to social media than posting content. You’re also having to build visibility and trust, and acquire customers consistently.
In this insightful webinar led by Vandita Agarwal, you’ll learn how to use social media to grow your business, attract the right audience and convert engagement into real opportunities.
Designed specifically for entrepreneurs, start-ups and small businesses, this session will focus on what actually works for business growth across today’s key social media platforms.
Topics covered in this session:

How to choose the right social media platforms for your business
Building a strong brand presence that attracts and retains customers
Creating content that drives engagement, leads and conversions
Using social media as a sales and lead-generation tool
Simple strategies to grow your audience organically and sustainably

How to improve your Google search rankings - Part 1: On page optimisation
2026-01-30 14:00 - 16:00
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, and how to optimise your website as a result.
We will cover:

How search engines work, and the ‘on-page’ factors used to rank your site
Understanding customer search behaviour
Keyword research tools and how to benefit from them
Optimising your website content for search engines

How to get into retail | Lunch and Learn
2026-02-02 12:00 - 12:30
Breaking into retail can feel like a black box: unclear expectations, mixed advice and little transparency around what buyers truly value.
In this practical session, Anne-Sophie Martin-Kukah draws back the curtain on what happens behind the shelves, sharing real-world insights from over a decade working with major FMCG brands and challenger founders.
You’ll learn how retailers assess brands, where founders often lose traction and what “retail-ready” actually means in today’s climate.
This session is designed to help founders of consumer goods move beyond guesswork, build credibility with buyers and make smarter decisions.
Topics covered in this session:

What “retail-ready” actually means and where you truly stand. Most founders are told to “get retail-ready” without ever being shown what that looks like in practice. You’ll leave with a clear understanding of the commercial, operational and brand markers retailers use to assess businesses, and how to honestly evaluate your own readiness today.
How buyers think, decide and “de-risk” their choice. Go beyond surface-level pitching advice and understand how retail buyers actually make decisions. What reassures them, what raises red flags and how do they assess risk when backing emerging brands?
A practical framework to move forward – whether you’re pre-pitch, pitching or post-pitch. Founders often don’t know what to do next if retail feels “a bit too soon” or if interest hasn’t converted into listings. You’ll gain a clear framework to help you prioritise actions, strengthen gaps and progress strategically, instead of rushing or stalling.

Why your business needs a blog
2026-02-02 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

Making the most of your Carbon Audit: Beyond the tick-box exercise
2026-02-03 10:30 - 12:00
You may have completed a carbon audit in the last 5 years, but have you since used the results?
In this webinar we’ll chat to Farm Carbon Toolkit about what your carbon audit results can actually tell you, and what you can do with that data to make more informed decisions, better understand where you could make savings, and build resilience in your system.
Carbon audits are one of the five requirements of the new Whole Farm Plan, and all farmers and crofters receiving Basic Payments (BPS) must complete one by 2028.
Join us for an insightful and interactive session!
FREE and open to farmers, crofters, growers and land managers. Booking required.

Legal essentials for startups
2026-02-03 11:00 - 12:00
As your start-up grows, clear legal foundations help you scale with confidence and reduce risk. Gaps in contracts, governance, or data protection can slow momentum and make investment more difficult.
Join LegalVision’s free webinar, Legal Essentials for Startups: Contracts, Licences, and Governance, with LegalVision’s Kristine Biason.
Key takeaways:

How to set up contract frameworks that support growth
Protecting your intellectual property and core business rights
Governance and UK GDPR essentials investors expect

Maximising your Google Profile
2026-02-03 12:00 - 13:00
This one hour webinar will support you to ensure each element of your agritourism and farm retail business is set up correctly for Google, helping to drive sales.
Visit Scotland have recently connected their listings website visitscotland.com to Google listings. Andrew Craig from VisitScotland will explain what you need to do to ensure your business is profiled.

Introduction to Canva
2026-02-03 16:00 - 18:00
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.

A Strategic Reset for Independent Businesses
2026-02-03 18:00 - 20:00 | The Stag, 140-144 Castle Street, Forfar, DD8 3HX
Feeling things are a bit quiet right now?
Maybe it’s roadworks, bad weather, or simply that early-year slowdown when people are watching their spending. Whatever the reason, this is the perfect time to step back, evaluate, and reset your business for the year ahead.
A new year brings fresh opportunities to refocus, set new goals, and plan for the months ahead. Join us for an action-led, interactive workshop created to energise, connect, and equip you with practical strategies to grow your business.
The session is split into two parts:

Managing Disruption and Building Resilience
Reset, Refresh, and Re-launch

You’ll learn:

How to stay visible and accessible during quieter periods
Low-cost, effective ways to keep your business front of mind
How to prioritise key products, customers, and costs to protect cashflow and maintain stability

Take this time to invest in your business and start the year strong.

Legal Update: The Data Use and Access Act 2025 revisited
2026-02-04 09:30 - 10:30
Join Loretta Maxfield and Morgan O’Neill for an update on the implementation of the Data Use and Access Act 2026.
Loretta and Morgan will recap on the key changes and implications for organisations, how to prepare and adapt to the requirements and there will be Q&A for you to ask our experts questions about this legislative change.

How to create engaging content
2026-02-04 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

Future Skills for Dundee & Tay Cities Tech: DigiTay Roundtable
2026-02-04 10:00 - 14:00 | The Flour Mill, 34 Commercial Street, Dundee, DD1 3EJ
Help shape the digital skills Dundee and the Tay Cities’ tech economy will need next.
Dundee and the wider region’s tech sector is evolving rapidly. To sustain growth, employers must play a leading role in defining the skills, training models, and pathways needed for the future workforce.
This half-day, industry-led roundtable brings together tech employers and key stakeholders to identify priority skills gaps and co-design practical, future-ready approaches to digital skills development for the Dundee and Tay Cities region.
Secure your place and help shape the future digital skills needed to drive the Dundee and Tay Cities tech economy.

How to avoid costly mistakes with UK VAT | Lunch and Learn
2026-02-04 12:00 - 12:30
This practical webinar led by Reda Vaisvidiene breaks down the UK’s VAT system in clear, plain English.
Designed for business owners and decision-makers, it explains when you need to register, how VAT really works in practice and how to avoid the most common (and expensive) VAT mistakes.
You’ll leave with actionable steps you can apply immediately to your small business.
Topics covered in this session:

When, why and how you should be VAT-registered
How VAT affects cash flow and profit (not just compliance)
The top VAT errors that cost businesses thousands

Scaling delivery through investible solutions
2026-02-04 12:00 - 13:00
Councils across the UK face a common challenge: turning ambitious climate strategies into fundable, deliverable projects at pace and scale. While priorities and plans exist, many stop short of investment-ready detail, causing delays, missed funding, and reliance on short-term grants.
This webinar will explore the importance of planning, pipeline development, and regional partnerships in unlocking public and private funding.

Bookkeeping essentials
2026-02-04 14:00 - 16:00
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

You will also receive a workbook on excel to help you manage and monitor costs and sales.

Getting Your Business Tender Ready - The Checklist
2026-02-04 14:30 - 16:00
In Scotland, public sector procurement is governed by rules set out by the Scottish Government. Therefore, there is certain information, policies, and processes which must be in place before your business can begin to bid for public sector contracts.
This webinar aims to help Scottish SMEs and social enterprises become tender ready. One of our expert trainers will talk you through a “bidding checklist” of all the key information, processes and policies that your business must have in place prior to bidding.
During this course, you will learn:

The information and policies you need to have in place for public sector procurement.
An understanding of the public sector procurement market and how to enter it.
How to create a bid/no bid strategy.
How to improve your chances of winning a public sector contract.

At the end of the webinar, there will be an interactive Q&A session where you will have the opportunity to ask our expert trainer any questions you may have.

Adaptation & Climate Resilience in the Tourism Sector
2026-02-05 10:00 - 11:30
This webinar will examine the Heritage Tourism Sector as a case study to explore the innovations and resources emerging from this sector, what skills, resources, and learnings can be adapted for the broader tourism and events audience.
You will hear about what free tools and resources there are to support you on this journey.

An introduction to business strategy
2026-02-05 10:00 - 12:00
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
