Running a small business in this economy is a risky venture, even more so than usual. However, organisations in Glasgow aren’t on their own any more thanks to the new Glasgow Business Scheme.
Established by the city’s council with funding from the European Regional Development Fund, this scheme aims to bring prosperity to local businesses and help the economy flourish. Many small businesses are eligible to receive support from this program, meaning there’s a good chance that you can benefit from what the council are offering.
Before you sign your organisation up for anything, though, you probably want to know what this scheme entails and how exactly it can benefit you. We’ve got all the information you need here so we’ll walk you through it all step by step.
What Is The Glasgow Business Scheme About?
In business, it’s rare that anything is ever free. If someone offers something to help your organisation thrive, they usually want something in return.
In a way, this new Glasgow Business Scheme is like that, but perhaps not in the sense you might be thinking. All the council wants from your business are a commitment to the community and boosting the economy. The latter might seem like a big ask, but the support this scheme provides is there to make it happen.
Essentially, what your business is being offered is a level of assistance you won’t find elsewhere, with experts from the public, private, education and third sectors coming together to aid you. Naturally, you won’t need the help of all these people; you can pick and choose depending on what you specialise in and where you most need to grow. However, their expertise will be there for you to lean on should you need it, making it easier to succeed where you might have otherwise faltered.
Whether you need assistance with business structuring, internationalisation, design thinking, or digital development, there’s a varied range of support services available.
They’re accessible via a tiered business voucher programme that’s dependent on your level of commitment to inclusive economic growth. With these options in place, you can start to turn your success from a question to a guarantee.
What Are The Eligibility Requirements For This Scheme?
Although every business in Glasgow could probably benefit from this scheme, the council aren’t planning to provide support for just any organisation. There’s a range of criteria you need to meet if you want to be deemed eligible.
The first of these is related to your organisation’s size, with the scheme only available to organisations that employ fewer than 250 people. This system aims to help small and medium-sized enterprises, so meeting this requirement won’t be difficult if you’re in the former category.
Another eligibility requirement is that you have the right type of business. This means you need to be listed as either a community interest company, a limited company, public limited company, or a limited liability partnership. If you’re defined as a legally constituted third sector organisation or a sole trader, you will also be approved for the scheme.
It’s not just the structure of your organisation that matters, but also the activities you’re involved with that matter. For instance, if you’re company is focused on gambling, you’ll likely be rejected. The council isn’t offering support services to any industry they view as unethical, which may or may not be relevant to your organisation.
Finally, if you want to utilise this Glasgow business scheme, you need to be based in Glasgow. Provided you’re within the city council’s boundary and meet all these other requirements, you should have no problem benefitting from this support. Just ensure that your business premises are registered with the council’s non-domestic rates office to avoid any trouble.
How Can The Scheme Help With Digital Services?
The Glasgow Business Scheme provides ten levels of support, which are divided up into lots. How relevant these are to your organisation vary depending on your needs. However, one that may well benefit many small businesses is the Digital Development and Innovation lot.
Given how immersed we are in the digital age, and how much technology influences the world today, it’s understandable why this area of support is such a priority. Technology plays a vital role in every industry and understanding how to effectively utilise it can significantly impact your internal and external operations.
We at Texaport understand this, which is why we’re so dedicated to offering managed IT services for clients in Scotland and beyond. Some of the topics covered by this lot link up with our own specialities, such as cloud computing. As such, if you’re looking for IT support Glasgow, then we can offer you the assistance you need.
Offering a cost-effective, flexible and resilient solution to storage needs, the cloud is an incredibly useful system to have in place for your organisation. Migrating data to the cloud is easy to do with the right assistance, and the same can be said for backing up data, too.
Cloud computing isn’t the only topic of interest in this lot, with social media, eCommerce, app development, and data analytics also covered. The level of digital support this scheme provides is unrivalled for small businesses in Glasgow, so this opportunity is well worth embracing. Understanding the ins and outs of IT can benefit your organisation more than you might think, and with the right support, it can even save you money.
What Are The Other Areas Covered By The Scheme?
In addition to digital assistance, you can also receive specialist help in nine other areas with the Glasgow Business Scheme. This includes business structuring – which aims to help assign roles and responsibilities in your organisation – and business growth – which focuses on boosting your top or bottom line. There are also lots dedicated to improving your leadership skills and financial management skills, as well as helping with overseas marketing and adapting to disruptions. Moreover, the Business Innovation and Design Thinking lots are there to support new ideas and the establishment of design thinking principles, respectively.
To receive support from any of these areas, you’ll need to complete the form here.
The last lot – Business Acceleration – is separate from the others as it’s divided into its own subcategories. Here, organisations receive more targeted support through guided teaching to ensure they develop more rapidly. The lot is aimed at businesses in various stages of growth, with the aid separated into five different sectors. These cover social enterprise, creative industries, family business, high growth, and woman-led.
The actual duration and frequency of these programs are down to whoever is supplying them. However, they can’t run for longer than six months, and there should be no fewer than eight meetings during that time.
For more information on application dates and criteria, as well as the opportunity to apply for one of these programs, you’ll want to follow the links on the Business Acceleration page.
With this scheme in place, small businesses in Glasgow can succeed in ways they may not have thought possible before. Although we’re not a part of it, we too are dedicated to helping businesses thrive, which is why we offer IT support Glasgow and throughout Scotland. Our IT solutions and support services are here to ensure that organisations stay efficient and secure, so if you ever need help, go ahead and contact us.
Expert IT Support Glasgow is never more than an email or phone call away.
