Invest in Angus

Is franchising right for you? What you need to know
2026-02-12 11:00 - 12:00 UTC
Franchising can be an attractive way to run a business with the backing of a proven brand, but it’s not the right fit for everyone.
Before committing, it’s essential to understand how the model works and what’s expected of you.
Join LegalVision’s free webinar, Is Franchising Right for You? What You Need to Know, with Paul Loccisano (senior associate).
Key takeaways from this session:

What makes a strong and sustainable franchise model
The support, systems and obligations franchisors should provide
Skills, commitment and location factors critical to success

How to franchise your business
2026-02-12 12:00 - 12:30
Franchising is one of the fastest ways to scale in the UK. Join our free webinar and discover how to turn your successful business into a franchise model that works.
Learn from Julie Clabby, who built The Busylizzy Club from a single location in 2011 into an award-winning UK franchise network with over 50 locations. She franchised the business in 2014 and has recruited, supported and grown franchises ever since.
What you’ll learn in 30 minutes:

What franchising actually is
Importance of a pilot
Financials
Documenting everything
Territory mapping
Bonus tips : My biggest mistakes!

How to deliver low-cost, high impact marketing
2026-02-12 13:00 - 15:00
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

Planning Your Bid – Time and Resources
2026-02-12 13:30 - 15:00
The biggest learning curve in tendering is understanding the time, energy, and resources that go into creating a winning bid.
The more planning you do before writing your bid, the easier you’ll find it when you begin your response. This training will walk you through the steps of how to plan and manage your bid. From capture planning to forming a bid team (this doesn’t necessarily need to be a full team; it could be one person if they have the right skills) to making key decisions.
One of SDP’s expert trainers will also show an example of a Bid Time Plan and how to complete it.
Overview of what you will learn:

What work can be done pre-tender to make the process of creating the bid less stressful
How to make objective decisions while managing a bid
How to create a bid time plan

At the end of the session, there will be an interactive Q&A session where you will have the opportunity to ask any burning questions you may have. As well as the chance to hear what other SME businesses in Scotland have to say.

Shaping Tourism Responsibly
2026-02-12 14:00 - 14:30
This webinar will explore how responsible tourism development can meet the demand for meaningful and authentic experiences, while benefitting local communities.
You will also discover how trade-ready Scottish tourism businesses that are creating positive impact for visitors can gain visibility on the Tourism Cares Meaningful Travel Map.

How to build a digital marketing plan
2026-02-16 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

An introduction to Artificial Intelligence (AI) for small businesses
2026-02-16 14:00 - 16:00
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.

How to build your brand
2026-02-17 10:00 - 12:00
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

Designing Out Waste - with Zero Waste Scotland
2026-02-17 10:00 - 12:00
SBCC members are invited to this ‘Designing Out Waste’ workshop, run by Zero Waste Scotland in partnership with the Supply Chain Sustainability School. It includes the opportunity for detailed discussions and interaction around producing practical solutions to reduce waste.
The aim is to tackle waste at the earliest project stage and prevent unnecessary waste being generated through a project’s lifetime.
The session will also include a focus on the construction sector which is one of the key value chains with the highest potential for circular growth. Discover how businesses are working in practice and find out about Zero Waste Scotland’s new resource link for Reducing Construction Lifecycle Waste. This is a dynamic series of practically focused resources in a logical way for users to find and act upon.
This is a practical, interactive training session, relevant to small and medium sized enterprises in Scotland who are interested in finding out how one sector is developing circular approaches. Relevant across sustainability, procurement and project teams, suppliers, manufacturers, contractors, sub-contractors and designers.

Key contracts every manufacturing business needs
2026-02-17 11:00 - 12:00
Manufacturing businesses operate in complex legal and commercial environments, making clear contracts essential.
Poorly drafted agreements or gaps in insurance can lead to disputes, delays and costly risk.
Join LegalVision’s free webinar, Key Contracts Every Manufacturing Business Needs (and How to Get Them Right), with Rob Nay (co-head of legal).
Key takeaways from this session:

What to include in client and supplier contracts
Key premises, equipment and employment agreements
How contracts and insurance should work together

Sustainability in tenders: A practical guide for SMEs
2026-02-17 13:00 - 14:00
In this session, we’ll break down what sustainability requirements are starting to show up more regularly in tenders and bids – especially those linked to government procurement – and how your small business can get ahead of them.
We’ll cover what’s legally required today, what’s likely to come next and what practical steps small businesses can take to build credible responses without needing in-house sustainability teams.
Topics covered in this session:

Why sustainability is increasingly embedded in procurement and tendering processes
What a compliant carbon reduction plan looks like – and what businesses often miss
Practical steps SMEs can take to meet requirements and stand out

Passing the Selection Stage – The Single Procurement Document (SPD)
2026-02-17 13:30 - 15:00
Do you know how to complete the Single Procurement Document?
The Single Procurement Document (SPD) is a set of questions, that cannot be altered, which helps buyers identify if your business is suitably qualified to carry out the contract you are bidding for.
Most buyers use the SPD for the tendering process, as it ensures that the process stays consistent. It can reduce your workload when bidding on an opportunity as your answers can be saved and reused again and again along as they remain relevant.
Previously known as European Single Procurement Document (ESPD), the SPD is a regular part of bidding for public sector contracts.
Completing the SPD can be daunting for everyone, even if you have done so in the past. It is a long electronic document that splits questions into different subsections and parts. During this training event, you will be given examples of the standard questions asked in the SPD by one of SDP’s expert trainers, who has also completed numerous Single Procurement Documents and will teach you an expert method on how to answer all questions robustly and correctly.
You will learn:

What is the Single Procurement Document (SPD)?
When will you need to complete the SPD?
Standard Questions
Mitigating any issues in your SPD
Checking your submission

At the end of the session, there will be an interactive Q&A session where you will have the opportunity to ask any questions your business may have about the SPD, as well as give you the chance to hear what other SME businesses in Scotland have to say.
This event is suitable for Level 2 (Intermediate) for people who know about bidding but need to develop specific knowledge and skills.

Social media essentials: Facebook
2026-02-17 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

Transform Business Festival Tayside
2026-02-18 08:00 - 15:00 | Dundee Science Centre, 14 Greenmarket, Dundee, DD1 4QB
Business Gateway’s Transform Business Festival is back! Join us for the day as we inspire, connect & transform entrepreneurs across Tayside.
The Transform Business Festival is an event which connects entrepreneurs, start-ups and businesses of all shapes and sizes over the course of a day.
This year’s event continues its tour of Tayside at Dundee Science Centre on 18th February 2026, with a mission to inspire businesses and individuals to transform their futures.
Attendees can expect:

Engaging and motivating guest speaker sessions
Bitesize Sessions and Fireside Chats to stimulate and educate
The chance to build connections through fun networking sessions
An Ecosystem Village featuring key support partners in the Tayside region
1 to 1 advisory sessions and much more!

2026 employment law changes: What your business needs to know
2026-02-18 11:00 - 12:00
Major employment law changes are coming in 2026, affecting employee rights, leave, flexible working and statutory pay. Employers need to understand what’s changing to remain compliant and avoid risk.
Join LegalVision’s webinar, 2026 Employment Law Changes: What Your Business Needs to Know, with Saeidul Haque (senior associate).
Key takeaways from this session:

New unfair dismissal and day-one employment rights
Changes to leave, sick pay and flexible working
Statutory payment increases and compliance risks

The Unpacked Series: IP & Media Law
2026-02-18 12:30 - 13:30
Curious about what life in different areas of law really looks like?
Join us for The Unpacked Series: IP & Media Law, our interactive webinar programme designed to unpack what it’s like to work in various areas of legal practice. In this session, Fiona Stewart (Head of Talent Acquisition), will be joined by IP & Media Law colleagues Baktosch Gillan (Associate), Megan Craig (Senior Solicitor), and Liam Martin (Solicitor) who will share their real-life experiences, career journeys, and practical advice on the skills you can start developing now to succeed in these areas.
Whether you’re exploring your options or have a particular legal specialism in mind, The Unpacked Series is your chance to hear authentic insights directly from our lawyers and ask questions in a relaxed, informal setting.
This webinar is for law students and graduates who want to explore different areas of practice. Anyone curious about the realities of life as a lawyer at a leading Scottish firm.

Creating an effective email marketing strategy
2026-02-19 09:30 - 11:30
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

Selling Your Business Masterclass
2026-02-19 10:00 - 12:00
Have you considered a succession plan for your business? Have you considered selling your business to an employee ownership trust? It’s never too early to start thinking about your options.
Employee ownership is fast becoming the preferred exit route for business owners. Attend this free online workshop to learn how employee ownership offers a tax efficient exit route that protects your company’s legacy while ensuring you get a competitive price for the business.
Aimed at business owners considering an exit from their company, this free online session will give you the opportunity to hear from strategic communication experts Aspect and Ayrshire-based bus and coach operator Shuttle Buses. They’ll talk about the factors they considered in choosing employee ownership and how things have worked out.
Innes Chalmers from Covenant will talk through all your ownership succession options before focussing on employee ownership and how to ensure the employee buyout is a smooth process.

Introduction to Climate Change and Carbon
2026-02-19 10:30 - 12:00
As the recent IPCC report demonstrates, there has never been a more urgent need to address human impacts on climate change. Businesses are one of the major contributors to carbon emissions and reduction has to occur to avoid the worst effects.
This Introduction to Climate Change and Carbon Interactive Webinar, will develop your knowledge and skills so that you can support your organisation to assess and reduce your carbon emissions, and demonstrate this to your clients.
The session is aimed at small and medium enterprises across Scotland and the wider UK. Find out how you can use the resources and collaboration opportunities provided by the Scottish Business Climate Collaboration to help you cut carbon and benefit from demonstrating the carbon action you are taking to customers and clients.
During this session you will:

Be given an overview of climate change – what it is, the link to carbon and other gases, the effects that this leads to and the impact on the built environment
Understand how you can measure carbon impact and identify actions to reduce it
Learn why and how you should report carbon impact and how to work towards net zero carbon emissions
Find out how your free membership of the Scottish Business Climate Collaboration can help you drive change within your enterprise/business and with your customers and clients.

This is a beginner-level webinar and appropriate for those at the start of their journey in developing an approach to understanding and reducing carbon emissions for their organisation.

Before you sign that lease: What every retail business must check
2026-02-19 11:00 - 12:00
Signing a retail lease is a major commitment, and the terms you agree to can affect your business long after you move in. Knowing what to check before you sign helps avoid hidden costs and restrictive obligations.
Join our free webinar, Before You Sign That Lease: What Every Retail Business Must Check, with LegalVision’s Paul Loccisano.
Key takeaways:

Understanding lease boundaries and repair obligations
When a break clause can protect your flexibility
How rent reviews and ongoing costs work

Social media essentials: TikTok and Instagram Reels
2026-02-19 12:00 - 14:00
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

Consortium Creation and Planning
2026-02-19 14:00 - 15:30
Consortium bidding offers numerous benefits for small businesses, social enterprises, supported businesses and third sector type organisations including increased access to larger contracts, reduced individual risk, and enhanced market reach. By pooling resources and expertise, small businesses can compete for projects they might not be able to undertake alone.
Many SMEs, social enterprises and supported businesses are capable of providing the goods and services required in tenders, but don’t feel ready to respond to the bid, so they miss out on opportunities to grow. You can overcome these hurdles by collaborating with other businesses. By working together as a consortium co-operative, businesses increase their capacity and their skills range, to be able to bid for contracts previously out with your reach.
During this course you will learn:

What a ‘Consortium’ is
Key features of this business model
Structure of collaborative working
Benefits of a co-operative bid and collaborative working
Why there is a need for consortium bidding
Next steps – how to create an incorporated consortium company
Include examples or case studies of successful consortium bids
FAQ

How to write funding applications
2026-02-23 10:00 - 12:00
Securing funding can be a game-changer — but writing a strong application takes more than just filling out forms.
This webinar will offer tools and insights to help improve your chances of a successful application, including:

Clarifying and communicating your funding need
Building a persuasive business case with clear objectives and costings
Understanding your funder’s priorities and tailoring your language
Presenting evidence that demonstrates impact and credibility
Avoiding common mistakes that lead to rejection
Structuring your application for clarity and relevance

Your Business MOT - Drop-In Sessions
2026-02-23 10:00 - 15:00 | Business Gateway Arbroath, Unit 9 Harbour Visitor Centre, Arbroath, DD11 1PS
If you’ve just launched a full-time venture or you’re growing a side hustle, our free Business MOT drop-in sessions are here to help.
Pop in for a relaxed, one-to-one chat with our expert advisers. We’ll take a look at what’s working well, spot any gaps, and guide you towards the right support to help you grow. It’s simple, practical, and tailored to you, so you can move forward with confidence.
Drop in for a free business check-up, because every start-up deserves a strong start.

Bookkeeping essentials
2026-02-24 10:00 - 12:00
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.

Ditching the spreadsheet: When and how to switch to cloud accounting
2026-02-24 14:00 - 15:00
Still managing your accounts in spreadsheets? It’s worth knowing that as your business grows, manual bookkeeping can quickly become time-consuming, error-prone and stressful.
Join this free Tech Hub webinar to discover when it’s time to move on from manual processes and how cloud accounting can transform the way you manage your finances.
We’ll explore practical ways to simplify your admin, stay compliant and reduce manual work – all while gaining better visibility and control over your business performance.
What you’ll learn:

Recognising the signs: How to tell when spreadsheets are holding your business back
Making the switch: What to look for in cloud accounting software and how to get started smoothly
Simplifying financial admin: Tips to manage digital records efficiently and cut down on repetitive tasks
The future of finance: Discover Sage Copilot, an AI-powered tool designed to streamline workflows and support smarter, faster decision-making

Whether you’re a sole trader, a small business owner or an accountant supporting clients, this session will help you take the next step towards a simpler, smarter way to manage your finances.

How to start a business: The basics
2026-02-24 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

Where trees meet bees: Agroforestry for pollinators
2026-02-24 19:00 - 20:00
Join this free Soil Association webinar exploring the potential of agroforestry as a pollinator friendly farming practice.

Business expenses – What can I claim?
2026-02-25 10:00 - 12:00
This webinar focuses on the main areas of spend that many businesses might incur, and provides a detailed and HMRC backed overview of what can and should be claimed.
This webinar will cover:

What constitutes a business expense
The HMRC rules around business expenses
What you can claim and more importantly what you cannot when submitting an accurate tax return
The main expenses that are claimable, what can be claimed and how they should be calculated

Heat Seminar 2026
2026-02-25 12:00 - 16:00 | Scottish Renewables’ Office, 24 St Vincent Place, Glasgow, G1 2EU
A quiet revolution is reshaping Scotland’s energy future: the shift from a market-led energy system to one that is strategically planned. Post-2030, the electrification of heat and transport will be pivotal in transforming the electricity system. But despite ongoing developments with strategic planning and transmission networks, decarbonising heat remains the missing piece of the puzzle.
There is an urgent need to address the lack of strategic planning for low-carbon heat, resolve the growing disparity between gas and electricity prices and determine what’s needed from government to enable the large-scale adoption of low-carbon heat – all critical steps in building a secure, affordable, clean energy system.
This event will bring together leading experts, policymakers and key decision-makers to examine the role of heat in an electrified system, tackle the difficult questions and discuss the urgent policy interventions needed to significantly increase the deployment of low-carbon heat.
Secure your place today and be part of the conversation that will shape the next decade of heat decarbonisation.
