Business Support funded by Argyll and Bute Council
Businesses based in Argyll & Bute can access one day of fully funded expert help at no cost, to support business growth or recovery. Funding is limited and the programme will close when all funds are committed, so please apply as soon as you can.
The aim of this specialist advice is to support a range of business development objectives including improvements in productivity, competitiveness, skills, growth, sustainability, resilience, profitability, innovation or net zero transition. You must be able to demonstrate a need for the support and specify what you hope it will achieve.
The support can provide up to one day of support from a specialist adviser, with meetings either by phone or video call. A range of topics can be covered, including:
- HR - eg recruiting and developing people, becoming an employer, legislation, leadership, managing change, performance management, redundancy
- Digital - eg content management tools, website building, development and review, using social media for business, online trading. Planning digital marketing, social media platforms, improving website performance, SEO, digital and video content creation, app development and usage, new technologies, IT connectivity, cyber security, infrastructure and communication equipment, choosing and briefing contractors
- Marketing - eg planning, competitor and market analysis, customer profiling and segmentation, branding and brand development, reviewing and improving activity, implementing offline marketing, choosing and briefing contractors
- PR - eg planning and delivering PR, storytelling and writing content, managing negative PR, reviewing and improving activity, choosing and briefing contractors
- Tendering & Supply Chains - eg understanding and preparing for the tender process (private & public sector), creating tender documents, analysis of tender feedback and improving bids, managing supply chains, expenditure analysis, sourcing suppliers, contracts and agreements, added value and community benefits
- Finance and funding - eg financial analysis, financial planning, mergers, acquisitions, identifying funding gaps and funding sources, profit analysis, debt management, tax obligations
- Internationalisation - eg preparing for export, choosing markets, identifying opportunities, international sales online, finding agents, distributors and suppliers, legislative requirements, importing
