Be part of something bigger

Gain an advantage in the changing retail landscape. With the multiple pulling out of many high street and the internet share of market increasing.

The pace of changing in retail has been fast in the last 10 years. We will look at what is driving this and the real facts, and ways to work together to entice customers to our businesses and towns. We will also look at the importance of:

• Creating an experience and how to develop a brand
• The USPs of your product/service in ensuring return customers
• Having a strategy and plan for not only your business but the local area

We will look at what the statistics for retail tell us and what opportunities his gives to the independent retailer and the service sector, what things are important to the customers today and how to design your business around this.

The course will be informal with time to discuss ideas and opinions and ideas for you to take back to your business and develop.

To book a place Click here

This workshop is the first of a 2-part series aimed at people who are planning to start or have just started a business and need to know the basics of what to do.

You will leave the workshop understanding the skills you need and the actions you need to take to start their business.

This workshop will help you to understand:

• The main reasons businesses fail
• The importance of planning for success
• The importance of market research and how to do it
• What resources you will require
• The basic requirements for setting up e.g registration, insurance, tax and VAT

This half day workshop will be practical and results-oriented. After introducing each topic and explaining relevance, we will introduce tools that can be applied at that stage. Participants will have the opportunity to discuss and plan how they will implement these tools.

To book a place Click here

Join us for an introduction to business blogging. What is a blog? How can blogging help your business to attract new clients?

Curious about how blogging for business works, what options are out there, and why you should consider it as a part of your marketing strategy? Then this course id for you. You will learn blogging best practices, and get inspiration about the types of blogs you might consider writing in order to best market your product or services online.

Delegates may wish to bring either a laptop, tablet or smartphone.

To book a place Click here

Brand Personification is one of the big strategies that can help you improve your social media success.

Developing your Brand will help you develop your brand’s personality. Consider the intent of your potential market audience when they log onto social media? It’s not to buy from your business, but to catch up friends, discover, “their” news and then perhaps, discover new products, trends,  services or experiences. Humanising your brand can help you capitalise on the opportunities social media communication platforms offer businesses and also support you in identifying content and conversation that will connect with your audience.

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Learn how to set up and access your account, navigate the apps launched/dashboard, install apps to laptop/desktop/smart devices. The workshop will also include an introduction to SharePoint.

Office 365’s Explained

What the various plans are e.g Home and Business Premium

How to create (or sign in to an existing account)

How to navigate the O365 Dashboard

How to connect your email account to the Outlook app

How to use the Outlook email app

How to create online documents (demo of various types of documents)

How to share your documents with your colleagues

How to create links to your document

How to install the Office 2016 apps onto your laptop/desktop

Explanation and demonstration of OneDrive

How to access your OneDrive

How to sync to your OneDrive

How to save files to your OneDrive

An Introduction to SharePoint

How to create SharePoint sites and groups

How to Add users to your site

How to Add/insert files and links etc

How to install Office 365 apps onto your tablet or phone

How to use/utilise the apps from various devices

To book a place Click here

This workshop is the second of a 2-part series.

Having researched and planned your new venture in Workshop 1, you will leave this workshop with an understanding of the skills you need and the actions you need to take to market and manage your business. Ideally participants will have attended Workshop 1.

This workshop will:

• Provide an introduction to marketing
• Outline the basic elements o creating a marketing plan
• Highlight the key aspect which need to be managed in the business
• Outline the basic elements of how to manage the books

The half day workshop will be practical and results-oriented. After introducing each topic and explaining the relevance, we will introduce tools that can be applied at that stage. You will have the opportunity to discuss and plan how you will implement these tools.

To book a place Click here

Video captures people attention online and is becoming increasingly important for engaging with potential, or real, clients.

Discover why the use of video helps people find your brand or website and how this kind of content has become a powerful way to engage wit your audience. Learn how to create a short and effective video without pain or expense, including how to plan, shoot, edit and upload it 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.

This is a “DigitalBoost” event which is funded by Digital Scotland and delivered by Business Gateway.

To book a place Click here