Invest in Angus

How to start a business: The basics
2024-07-06 10:00 - 12:00, 2024-06-25 10:00 - 12:00 UTC
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

Managing the growth of your small business
2024-07-04 10:00 - 11:00, 2024-06-20 15:00 - 16:00
Starting a venture is one thing, growing it is another. Scaling effectively can be one of the most challenging aspects, with mis-managed growth often leading to downfall after so much time, effort and money has been invested. So if you are a business owner that has started to see growth, this webinar will help you to gain more creative, time and financial freedom as your venture transitions to offer greater reach and impact.
This session will look at the principles of growth and:

the distinction between self-employment and business ownership
identifying and implementing optimal systems for record-keeping, decision-making, monitoring and evaluation
devising a range of risk-management processes to better manage business functions and the people involved
how to hire to enable and enhance expansion
improving workflow and project management
licensing, franchising, acquiring another venture

Boost your productivity with AI
2024-07-03 10:30 - 11:30
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.

Google Analytics – Understand how your website performs
2024-07-03 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.

How to create engaging content
2024-07-02 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

Introduction to the cloud
2024-07-01 10:30 - 11:30
If you’d like to have a better understanding about cloud computing, this short course will help you learn how digital technology has evolved. It will also highlight the impact and digital innovation available to businesses using the cloud.
You will learn more about how the cloud works, and what you can do with your data in the cloud. This course is designed for business owners, managers, and employees who want to stay up-to-date on the latest trends in technology.
In this session you will learn:

the evolution of digital technology and its impact on businesses
what the cloud is and how it works
what you can do with your data in the cloud

This session is run using YouTube and is 60 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.

Creating an effective email marketing strategy
2024-06-28 12:00 - 14:00
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 enable 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

Marketing strategy and AI
2024-06-28 09:30 - 10:30
How can you supercharge your digital marketing strategy with the help of AI in 2024?
In today’s evolving digital landscape, AI is changing the way consumers access and interact with digital tools: from providing increasingly personalised user experiences to the integration of new technology in our everyday apps.
In this one-hour short course, you’ll explore the impact of AI on digital marketing and how to leverage its potential to reach and engage with customers in new ways.
This session delves into the cutting-edge tools from Google and others, and will provide you with actionable insights to implement in your marketing strategy, with the help of AI.
In this session you will learn:

how AI is changing the marketing landscape and what are the opportunities for marketers
AI-powered marketing tools you can try
supercharging your digital marketing strategy.

The session is run using YouTube and is 60 minutes long. The course assumes no prior knowledge or experience so there is no pre-reading necessary. There will be opportunity to ask questions during the session.
This session is developed by marketing experts at Google as part of the New Fundamentals training series from Google Digital Garage.

How to build your brand
2024-06-28 09:00 - 11:00
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

A step-by-step guide to building your business plan
2024-06-27 14:00 - 16:00, 2024-06-19 14:00 - 16:00
New and established businesses will require a business plan for getting a loan, grant or just to consider the direction they wish to go in. This webinar will teach you what you need to include and how. 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:

Provide a structure for a business plan
Review each section of what should be included within the business plan
Explain when and how to use a business plan
Explore the connections (and importance) between the words and the numbers
Look at how to identify and manage cashflow within the business planning process

How to deliver low-cost, high impact marketing
2024-06-27 11:00 - 13:00
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

Cyber security for your small business
2024-06-27 11:00 - 12:00
Around 83% of small and medium-sized businesses are not financially prepared to recover from a cyber attack – which could mean going out of business.
This event aims to introduce start-ups and new businesses to the risks they face and provide top tips on how to avoid some common threats, protect their organisation and enable them to win new business and gain stakeholder support.
Your host Jim Wright will introduce security, how it can benefit businesses and allow them to seize opportunities while minimising risk. Jim will also discuss common frameworks and fundamental principles that business leaders should know from the start of their business venture.
By the end of this webinar, attendees will:

understand security risks
understand the benefits of security
have an awareness of threat actors
have an awareness of threat vectors
have an awareness of the services that can be offered to support start-ups
understand the regulatory environment in which they work
understand the common frameworks relating to security

Jim Wright is the founder and principal consultant of Principle Defence, a Hertfordshire-based security and data protection consultancy and training provider. Jim has over 17 years of experience in security having served in the British Army before moving into the private sector.
He has worked with both private and public sector clients as a consultant, working on multi-billion pound projects providing information security and data privacy advice and services. He holds a number of certifications including Fellow of Information Privacy from the International Association of Privacy Professionals and the Lead Security and Information Risk Advisor (L-SIRA) from the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC).
Principle Defence is a Trusted Partner of the Eastern Cyber Resilience Centre (a policing-led initiative) and is a Cyber Essentials Certification Body.

Finding, keeping and looking after your staff
2024-06-26 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

Lean Introduction Workshop
2024-06-26 09:00 - 12:30 | Fife Fabrications Ltd, 29 Rutherford Road, Glenrothes, KY6 2RT
This three-hour event, followed by lunch and refreshments, is an ideal 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 Business Improvement Academy (BIA), it will explore how lean manufacturing can help engage people and create sustainable change.
There will also be an opportunity to engage in a short factory tour of Fife Fabrications Ltd.
The event is open to all manufacturers and producers large, small and sector wide who wish to improve business efficiency.
It’s aimed at business leaders and managers who are looking to introduce a culture of change within the business and who wish to engage the workforce to look for opportunities to ‘do things better’ and deliver process improvements that can benefit the business.

Kickstart your Marketing
2024-06-25 16:00 - 18:00
The workshop will cover the basic principles of marketing, including target audience identification, competitor analysis, value proposition, and the development of marketing strategies.
The workshop will also explore the importance of measuring the success of marketing strategies and how adhering to good business practice can positively influence Customer Generated Content
Overall, this workshop is ideal for businesses – new and existing – who want to gain a solid understanding of the basics. By the end of the workshop, you should have the knowledge and skills necessary to develop and execute an effective marketing strategy for your business.

Social media essentials: Instagram
2024-06-24 14:00 - 16:00
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

How to build a digital marketing plan
2024-06-24 10:00 - 12:00
This webinar will guide you through the steps needed to create an effective digital marketing strategy, ensuring you focus on the right tactics to meet your business objectives and goals.
We will cover:

The importance of planning your digital marketing activities
Building your plan around a simple framework
Conducting a situational analysis (and understanding customers and competitors)
Developing your brand and tone of voice
Planning your content strategy
Prioritising digital channels
Evaluating your Digital Marketing efforts

STP Learning Event: Creating Inclusive and Accessible Towns and Places
2024-06-24 10:00 - 11:30
As the go-to body for towns, STP continues to support Scottish Government’s delivery of the Town Centre Action Plan vision – “Towns and town centres are for the wellbeing of people, planet and the economy. Towns are for everyone, and everyone has a role to play in making their own town and town centres successful.”
Our wider work programme covers action themes of planning, town centre first, taxation and fiscal levers, town centre living, digital towns, enterprising communities and vibrant local economies, climate action, measuring and evaluating progress, demonstrator towns.
As part of this work programme, our 2023 – 2024 Learning Event Series has covered Climate, Digital, and Community Wealth Building. The fourth and final topic in this series centres around inclusive and accessible towns.
Learning Event #4 – Creating Inclusive and Accessible Towns and Places
Imagine a town where every individual, regardless of age, ability, or background, can navigate with ease and participate fully in community life, supporting the vulnerable, elderly, disabled and young families. This not only enhances the quality of life for residents but also boosts the local economy by attracting residents and tourists from all walks of life.
The event will explore why we should invest in accessibility? What makes a place accessible? Is it good for business? – exploring the benefits, challenges and solutions around pedestrianisation.
Join us to envision and discuss practical steps toward creating towns and places that are inclusive, accessible, and economically vibrant, where everyone has the opportunity to thrive.
Chaired by STP’s Chief Officer Kimberley Guthrie, our speakers will share context, vision and success stories. But importantly, this event features you! With an opportunity for participants to share their experience and ideas.
This session is for anyone with an interest in supporting Scotland’s people, planet and economy to flourish, but especially relevant to those involved in place-based initiatives from across public, private and third sectors.

ICA (International Cooperative Alliance) CCR Europe Research Conference
2024-06-24 09:00 - 2024-06-26 17:00 | University of Dundee, Old Hawkhill, Dundee, DD1 5EN
The School of Business of the University of Dundee is proud to announce that the next ICA CCR Conference will be held from 24 until 26 June 2024 in Dundee, Scotland.
Held annually, the conference is the key European research conference of the International Co-operative Alliance (ICA). It brings together some of the world’s leading scholars, practitioners and policymakers working in the area of member-owned organisations, which represents amongst the most important firms in the world in a number of key sectors inclusive of agriculture, banking and finance, and retail, and represents a large fraction of the worlds consumers.
The overall theme of the 2024 conference is ‘Co-operatives, Hybrids, and Democratic Organisations as the Future of Sustainable and Equitable Socio-Economic Development: Operationizing Co-operatives and Democratic Organizations to address contemporary challenges and problems’.
It’s important to have a vibrant discussion and robust analysis on the importance of different types of co-operatives and their overlap with democratic organizations for a sustainable, inclusive, and equitable future. Still, papers and sessions on other topics are also welcome.

Understanding machine learning
2024-06-20 16:00 - 17:00
This session teaches the foundations of how machine learning models learn and work, the components of designing a problem for machine learning to solve and a basic understanding of the resources and tools needed for a business to invest in machine learning. Aimed at small business leaders / owners or anyone looking to get a better understanding on the subject.
In this session, you will learn:

how different machine learning models work
the essentials for preparing data for a machine learning project
options for implementing machine learning for a business

This session is run using YouTube and is 60 minutes long.
The course assumes no prior knowledge or experience so there is no pre-reading necessary.

Boost your productivity with AI
2024-06-20 14:30 - 15:30
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.

How to improve your Google search rankings - Part 2: Off page optimisation & technical considerations
2024-06-20 14:00 - 16:00
Join us as we take a further, more detailed look at how the Google search engines indexes and ranks websites based on a number of external (off-page) and technical factors. Implementing this learning will increase your chances of customers discovering your business through Google – the world’s leading research tool.
We will cover:

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

Bookkeeping essentials
2024-06-20 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

Operational Excellence Breakfast Workshop
2024-06-20 09:00 - 12:30 | Michelin Innovation Parc, Baldovie Road, Dundee, DD4 8UQ
At this highly interactive event, the Scottish Manufacturing Advisory Service (SMAS) will simulate how businesses are run, highlight some of the typical daily challenges that we experience and demonstrate an alternative way of looking at your business via simple ‘lean thinking’ principles. This approach is designed to help you gain a better understanding of what might be required to get you started on, or maintain, your operational excellence journey.
There will also be a live practical demonstration from SP Automation and Robotics. The demonstration will showcase some of the company’s products in automation, Industry 4.0 technology and collaborative robots that look to improve productivity in manufacturing production.
You will also hear from Michelin Scotland Innovation Parc (MSIP) and The Skills Academy, delivered by Dundee and Angus College. You’ll learn how, by providing access to creative spaces, skills training, business advice and support, the MSIP site has become an innovation ecosystem for manufacturers across the region and a prime location to sustainably grow your business.
This event is open to all manufacturers – large, small and sector wide – who wish to improve business efficiency. Particularly those who have responsibility for championing or driving business improvement within the workplace and/or those involved in the implementation of new processes, technologies and new ways of working.

Website development for your small business
2024-06-19 13:00 - 16:00
This webinar is suitable for business owners who are thinking about getting a website, or those who have just started to put one together.
Divided over three sessions, it will look at the principles and practices of developing a website for your business.
Topics covered include:

audience demographics
website domains
website structure
keywords
GDPR
analytics
website building
Google Ads

The breaks provided have been designed to coincide with a change in the webinar’s focus area within the subject of website development. You can attend all three sections using the same link, or choose the parts that suit your needs.

Fundamentals of SEO
2024-06-19 10:00 - 13:00
This SEO workshop will show you how to increase your chances of showing up on Page 1 of Google. Learn proven strategies and expert tips to enhance your search rankings, ensuring your business stands out amongst the competition. Presented by Janine Marriott.
You will learn how to monitor and assess the known factors affecting your search ranking, find out what people are searching for and establish current search trends. To ensure maximum success we will brief you on how to keep up to date with search algorithm changes and how to avoid violations and penalties applied by search engines. By the end of this workshop you will be understand the factors affecting your search engine rankings and act to improve your position.

Summer School 2024: Innovation in Town and City Climate Action
2024-06-19 09:00 - 2024-06-20 14:00 | University of Strathclyde, 99 George Street, Glasgow, G1 1RD
The Glasgow Climate Pact, signed at COP26, was a step forward in our effort to tackle climate change. But there are serious concerns that it is not enough. While the Glasgow Climate Pact gives guidelines on how we tackle climate change, it’s not legally binding.
A clear sign that we are not moving fast enough is that COP26 aimed to ‘keep 1.5ᵒC alive’, to minimise a rise in global temperatures. In 2023, just two years later, 1.5ᵒC has already been breached. More needs to be done.
Slow progress is not a new problem. The friction between countries on a global stage has always been a barrier to progress. That’s why there is a growing consensus that climate action has to be driven by towns and cities at a local level. The place management industry has every incentive to lead on this.
Not only are our towns and cities exposed to extreme weather events which are taking a toll on the business community in areas hit by repeated storms and flooding, but there are also a number of co-benefits to climate action which can bring economic growth. Furthermore, as outlined in our ground breaking virtual event ‘Divided We Fall’ there needs to be the type of coordinated approach that necessitates the involvement of place management.
Following the legacy of COP26, Summer School 2024 will take place in Glasgow with a range of keynote sessions, workshops, study tours and panel debates. We will explore a number of issues crucial to local climate action including recovering from extreme weather, business engagement on sustainability, the 15 minute city, and the impact of net zero on regeneration. We will use an amended format to deliver more interactive workshops and panel debate to allow members to share best practice.
