Social Media for the Tourism Industry

North Highland Tourism and Business Gateway are presenting three workshops aimed at the tourism industry.  The workshops will cover social networking, maximising the impact of your online presence and give an overview of the latest techniques in the field.  They will be hosted by Rene Looper  - a real expert in all aspects of social networking and marketing.

The workshops  - which cost £10 for NHT members and £15 for non-members -  will run from 10.30am to 1.30pm and a sandwich lunch will be provided.

15th March:  at the Lairg Highland Hotel
16th March : the Assynt Foundation, Lochinver
22nd March:  Caithness Horizons, Thurso

For more details and booking options, contact Jill McNicol

Masterchef - Invercharron Games

The Masterchef team at the Highland Games (photo: John Banks)

The long-awaited screening of the Masterchef episode -  filmed at the Invercharron Games  and around the Kyle of Sutherland last September - will be aired on Wednesday 2nd March at 9pm on BBC One.   Full details here

Creative Industries Newsletter

The January 2011 issue of the HIE Creative Team's newsletter is now available and, as ever, contains a wide range of information on funding, marketing and training opportunities for this sector  - in addition to the latest news for anyone involved in the Creative Industries.

You can download the Newsletter here

Survey - Access to Finance

Highlands & Islands Enterprise have published a report based on research into accessing enterprise finance, growth intentions and, for example, levels of business optimism.

Although based on  a relatively small sample of Highlands & Islands businesses, "Access to Finance" does identify some trends in attitude and growth planning among enterprises assisted by HIE.

You can download the (MS Word 147k) document here

Trend and Product Design Workshops

HIE are sponsoring a series of Workshops aimed at fashion/textile/interiors businesses.

The 2-day events are being held in:

Inverness: 22nd & 23rd February 2011
Stornoway: 24th & 25th February 2011
Kirkwall: 28th February & 1st March 2011

The events cover:

• Product and design trends in fashion, textiles, accessories and interiors
• International market and trade show overview
• London retail update
• Colour exploration

Delivered by industry specialists, the full day workshop will be followed by the opportunity to book a 1-2-1 appointment with the lead consultant.

For details and booking, follow this link to the organisers (Upper Quartile): Link

Happy New Year from Business Gateway 2011

Well, we're all back and rarin' to go -  so let's hope for a successful 2011 for all Sutherland enterprises, old and new.

(And don't forget that VAT increases to 20% from today)

Merry Christmas & A Happy, Enterprising, 2011

Seasons Greetings from everyone at Business Gateway.

The Bonar Bridge office will be closed from 24th December 2010 to 4th January 2011 for the Festive Break.












In the meantime, make the best of the wintry weather, like Mike Ellis of Helmsdale Charcoal & Coppice (with Sutherland's largest cupcake).

Business Gateway Awards

It has now been confirmed that the 2011 Business Gateway Dragons' Den will take place in Inverness Town House from 9am to 2pm on Tuesday 5th April 2011.

The competition is open to any enterprise registered with Business Gateway in Highland & Moray and there will be two categories: Young Business of the Year (trading for less than 18 months) and Business of the Year (trading for more than 18 months). Each category winner will receive £5000.


We're hoping for a great showing from Sutherland businesses and, if anyone requires any further details, please don't hesitate to contact me.

Closing Date is 7th February 2011
The Application Form and full details can be downloaded here: Link

HIE Creative Industries Newsletter - December 2010

The always informative Creative Industries Newsletter from HIE is particularly interesting this month  - including a review of some of the considerable achievements of the makers, performers and artistes during 2010 in addition to details of funding and marketing opportunies.  There's also a preview of next year's highlights including the 10th (gulp) GoNorth event to be held in June next year.

You can download the newsletter here

Save Energy & Increase Profits - Carbon Trust Workshops

The Carbon Trust, HIE and Business Gateway are holding a series of events during February 2011 aimed at assisting businesses to optimise energy consumption.  These will be held in Inverness, Elgin, Dingwall and Thurso. You can download the flyer (pdf 187k)  and full booking details are available here

BIG Event - Dornoch 8 February 2011

If you're looking for advice and inspiration regarding the growth of your business, the UHI Millennium Institute has organised a business event to be held at The Dornoch Castle Hotel  on Tuesday 8th February 2011 from 10.00 to 4.00pm.  The Workshop is open to any size of business, in any sector, and aims to be a practical and interactive event to help bring about business change and development.

You can download the information sheet here.

Booking is essential, businesses can easily register at: http://www.hilinks.uhi.ac.uk/pages/newslist.html and, for more information, you can contact the following:

Charlotte Lever:  charlotte.lever@uhi.ac.uk

UHI HI Links, UHI Millennium Institute, The Synergie Building, Fairways Business Park, Inverness IV2 6AA

T: +44 (0) 1463 279 368 Fax: 0871 5283 284

Twitter

 

For all you Twitterati out there, Business Gateway in Highland & Moray now has a presence on Twitter. 

To follow the realtime adventures of Business Gateway in this area, please use the following link:

http://twitter.com/BGHighland

If you haven't already done so, you'll need to open a  Twitter account by following this link: http://www.twitter.com/

Client Snapshot - Brora Health Food & Gift Store

Andrew Weston in the Store (photo Clive Grewcock)

As the regeneration of Brora's village centre continues, one of the recently-opened shops is the Brora Health Food & Gift Store, owned and run by Andrew Weston.

The Store stocks an incredible range of health foods and supplements, environmentally-friendly and Fair Trade products -  and a great selection of wholefoods and ingredients for the more adventurous chefs in the area.  In fact, Andrew prides himself on selling products that would be hard to find anywhere else in the Highlands.

The business is now expanding  into e-commerce,  as well as supplying catering establishments in the North of Scotland. “The benefit to caterers is that we can supply products as and when they want and without a delivery charge,” he explains.

Business Gateway helped with a small grant and Andrew attended several of our free workshops

For more information, and to browse the new online store, follow this link  - or you can call Andrew on 01408 622692

Dornoch Gallery - Christmas Show

Social Enterprise, The Dornoch Gallery's, Christmas Show is now open and showcasing the work of many local artists and makers.  This is an ideal opportunity, while we're all feeling particularly seasonal, to find that extra special something.

The Cold Weather Continues

The Business Gateway Office in Bonar Bridge today.

As the ridiculously cold November weather continues, thanks to all the clients who have shown considerable patience as we try to maintain the service.