Business Support

Post Office branches in England (excluding Crown branches) can now apply to receive up to £10,000 to support a new scheme or service for their local community. These could include:

•    Classes in key skills such as reading, languages or the Internet
•    Mentoring and advice service for local small businesses, or display space for local producers
•    Partnership with a local charity to provide a meeting space, notice board and other forms of support
•    A hub or meeting space for community groups involved in local issues, such as neighbourhood planning

If you have an idea you’d like your Post Office to support, download and print the relevant PDF from the website, write down your idea, take it into your Post Office and have a conversation with the sub-postmaster or branch manager about what you could do together to benefit the local community.

Sub-postmasters can find out more including how to apply on subspaceonline.co.uk. The deadline for applications is Friday 18 October 2013.

The Fund is a result of a partnership between the Department for Communities and Local Government and Post Office Ltd. It is limited to supporting a maximum of 20 schemes across the country (England only) in 2013/14.
http://www.postoffice.co.uk/community-enterprise-fund

IMG_5616 sign compIndependent retailers in Dalbeattie town centre are being encouraged to enrol in the Let’s Talk Shop programme, a free course of specialised Shop Doctor support.

Bill Smith, the Shop Doctor, will be delivering his informative and motivational retail master-class, Let’s Talk Shop, to retailers on the evening of Monday 16 September 2013, starting at 5.30pm, in Dalbeattie Town Hall.

There are high hopes for a big turn out from town centre businesses. Business owners attending will have an opportunity to share ideas on how to enhance the economic vitality of independent retailers in Dalbeattie.

In addition to the master-class, up to 10 independent retailers in the town will qualify to receive an in-store surgery from The Shop Doctor enabling them to directly benefit from his specialised advice.

Each of the 10 shops enrolled for the one-to-one visits will also receive a comprehensive report focused on helping to re-energise each of the individual participating businesses. They will also be eligible for a £500 grant towards implementing recommendations made by The Shop Doctor. A follow-up check-up will be arranged 12 months later.

Business Gateway is supporting this initiative and will have experienced advisers available to promote to the retailers the wealth of services and courses they have to offer.

Councillor Ian Carruthers, Chair of the Council’s Planning, Housing and Environment committee said: “I would encourage all independent retailers in Dalbeattie to get involved in this programme. In many cases retailers won’t have to spend a fortune to benefit from the Shop Doctor’s advice.”

To register for the Let’s Talk Shop workshop or to find out more, contact Grant Coltart, Dumfries and Galloway Council, t: 030 33 33 3000, or email grant.coltart@dumgal.gov.uk

shopping experience cheshire towns 191Veteran retailer Bill Grimsey, the former boss of DIY chain Wickes and food retailer Iceland, has unveiled a 31 point plan identifying routes to rescue the  struggling high streets.

The recommendations offer an alternative plan to the Mary Portas Review and include a suggestion to raise a £550m local economic development fund by levying major retailers turning over £10m with a 0.25% retail tax.

Central to the plan is the need to accept that there is too much retail space already in the market and that town centres need to become community hubs with multiple different uses including healthcare, business, the arts and manufacturing.

To view the 31 recommendations click here (pdf document)

Businesses in the Windermere area are being invited to a free ‘Love your Lakes’ event that will be taking place at Fallbarrow Park on Wednesday 11th September.

The event is part of  Windermere Reflections and being delivered in partnership with Nurture Lakeland and Cumbria Business Environmental Network

For more information contact helen@nurturelakeland.org and to register to attend email loveyourlakes@nurturelakeland.org

Love your Lakes Flyer

A further 70 independent retailers across 5 more towns in Dumfries & Galloway will now be receiving assistance from The Shop Doctor.

Following the success of the recent Shop Doctor Programmes delivered by Let’s Talk Shop Ltd in Dumfries, Annan, Stranraer, Gretna and Lockerbie the scheme has now been extended to provide support to shops in Dalbeattie, Thornhill, Langholm, Castle Douglas and Newton Stewart.

Let’s Talk Shop Ltd was successful in securing the contract for onward delivery of the programme which will take the number of shops now receiving Shop Doctor support in Dumfries & Galloway to 140.

Similar recent programmes in Argyll & Bute and East Lothian increase the number of independent shops involved with The Shop Doctor in Scotland alone to 160.

ETN coverThe August 2013 edition of Equestrian Trade News reproduces advice provided by The Shop Doctor relating to opportunities available to businesses retailing products to the Equestrian and associated sectors.

The Shop Doctor was asked to contribute the article following increasing call on his time from animal health retailers seeking routes to improve trading vitality through appropriate development and diversification of their businesses.

Read the article here

Playing music in your shop can make a real difference to how it is perceived by your customers. Getting it right can help retain customers in your shop for more time and encourage purchases, get it wrong and they may not even come through your door.

When considering what music to play remember that if it is to be heard by your  customers your personal choice may not be ideal and the music needs to compliment the retail environment , not conflict with it.

In addition you will almost certainly require a Performing Rights Society Licence (PRS) and a Phonographic Performance Limited (PPL) licence, two separate organisations dealing with different sectors of the music industry.

For further information about PRS visit:  www.prsformusic.com 

For further information about PPL visit:  www.ppluk.com 

For a brief overview of PRS and PPL click here for information extracted from each of the organisations websites

 

IMG_2501 website

June has seen yet more independent shops in Scotland receiving Shop Doctor support in ongoing support programmes funded  by East Lothian Council and Dumfries & Galloway Council.

A total of 21 ‘on-to-one’ shop visits  took place across North Berwick, Haddington, Dunbar, Gretna and Lockerbie in June with a further 6 shops in Lockerbie scheduled for a visit in early July. Every visit is supported by a comprehensive Shop Doctor report detailing practical opportunities considered available to improve business vitality within each of the businesses concerned.

Commenting on the visits our Shop Doctor advised that “There continues to be  a tremendous variety of retail choice available on our High Streets with independent retailers providing a critical role in maintaining the unique identity of the fabric of a town” and added  “retailers, local councils, landlords and the general public each have an important role to play in sustaining business vitality in our towns and all need to work towards a common goal”.

DSC_0060 croppedWith a portfolio of some 13 charity shops across the UK, LIFE recognises the importance of ensuring that its retail network delivers the best of standards and service to help ensure it can efficiently sustain and develop its charitable objectives.

The Shop Doctor was recently asked to provide a full day’s training in Rugby to some 26 staff responsible for the management of the shops.  He focused on helping them better understand how to maximise the returns available from each of their businesses by the implementation of effective merchandising practices and proficient customer service.

With the Shop Doctor’s fast-moving, fun and participative delivery style, the day proved a great success with delegates returning to their shops with renewed motivation and plenty of ideas for turning good shops into even better ones.

 

20130521_094908In order to assist Net-tex  launch its re-branded range of Equine Health and Management products, the Shop Doctor recently gave merchandising presentations to delegates attending Net-tex Roadshows in Gloucester and Newark.

Held on the 14th and 21st of May, the events heralded exciting changes in the presentation of the complete range of Net-tex equine health products.  The Shop Doctor was on hand to guide retailers as to how best to maximise the opportunities available from the product range now available by implementing good retail and merchandising practice.

Delegates attending the Gloucester event were also given the opportunity to visit the Stable Yard of Carl Hester MBE, Olympic Gold Medallist where Carl delivered a highly informed demonstration of dressage training.

Delegates attending the event at excellent facilities of The Oakridge Arena in Newark benefited from demonstrations from Show Horse producer and trainer Lynn Russell  on the dos and don’ts for turning out good show horses as well as a riding demonstration by Lynn on two of her horses that had travelled with her from Surrey.

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