Business Support funded by the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund
This Fund closed for applications at 5pm on 4th September 2024. You can no longer submit a new application. Fully complete applications submitted before this deadline will be considered on a first come first served basis. We will fund as many applications as we can from the limited remaining budget. If you have recently applied, please be aware that the fund is oversubscribed and we may be unable to approve your application. You should receive email notification of the availability of funding for your application by 11th September 2024. If additional funding becomes available we will provide an update as quickly as possible.
Businesses based in 51³Ô¹ÏÃâ·ÑApp & Bute can access fully funded expert help at no cost to support business growth or recovery.
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 from one to two days 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
- Business Strategy - Growth & Resilience - eg setting objectives and organisational goals, evaluating current performance, identifying and assessing opportunities, defining priorities, creating action plans to achieve growth and resilience, identifying the resources required
- 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
The application process for expert help is as follows:
- You submit a fully-completed application form with the required supporting documents.
- You meet (by phone or video) with a business adviser from 51³Ô¹ÏÃâ·ÑApp and Bute Council’s Business Gateway to discuss your requirements. You may be required to provide additional information if you have not engaged with Business Gateway previously.
- If approved, you will be emailed details of the specialist adviser and how much support has been approved.
- Your details will then be passed to the specialist adviser appointed and they will get in touch with you.
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Shorter sessions with an expert adviser to answer a specific question are also available. These one hour expert surgeries can be requested directly from Business Gateway in 51³Ô¹ÏÃâ·ÑApp and Bute. You do not need to complete an application form. Telephone 01546 604555 or email business.gateway@argyll-bute.gov.uk
