FSB Scotland

If you’re planning your networking schedule for April, take a look at some of the fantastic in-person and online opportunities that FSB Scotland is offering over the coming month: 3 April – Ayrshire In-Person Networking at CentreStage with Guy Hinks - Professional Photographer Multi Award Winning – Book here: https://lnkd.in/expaG_SZ 8 April – Scotland Women in Business Virtual Networking with Julie 🎬 Neilson – Book here: https://lnkd.in/efm2jqdZ 10 April – Edinburgh In-Person Networking at Bonnie & Wild's Scottish Marketplace with Jim Galloway – Book here: https://lnkd.in/eFGkk6TU 15 April – Lanarkshire In-Person Networking at EK Collective ✨Workspaces – Book here: https://lnkd.in/eeNphEW5 16 April – Aberdeen In-Person Networking at Urban Wellness Health & Float – Book here: https://lnkd.in/eChnFhVJ 17 April – Scotland Virtual Networking with Mike Duncan – Book here: https://lnkd.in/eDMdkVeM 23 April – Moray In-Person Networking at Threaplands Ltd – Book here: https://lnkd.in/edYVqQ8A 24 April – Glasgow In-Person Networking at FSB Scotland – Book here: https://lnkd.in/eW3smbXK 29 April – Scotland Virtual Networking with Andrew McEwan – Book here: https://lnkd.in/e626VBMT We look forward to getting to know you at these events! Derek Watson | Nick Sellers | Amy Woodgate | Spencer Thomson | Wendy Hamilton PhD | David Groundwater | Hisashi Kuboyama | Neil Stewart | Daniel O' Brien | Jonathan Mitchell | Jim Aitken - FSB Membership Advisor | Colleen Joss, FSB Membership Advisor | Gardner Paterson | Charlotte Newell

We're delighted to announce the appointment of a new chair to lead FSB's policy and campaigns work in Scotland. Guy Hinks - Professional Photographer Multi Award Winning will take over as FSB’s new Scotland Chair tomorrow. He succeeds well-known independent retailer Andrew McRae who is stepping down after seven years. Guy is a former solicitor and has been a member of FSB’s Scotland Policy Unit since 2021, helping inform our support for small businesses through the Covid pandemic and its aftermath. Commenting on his appointment, Guy said: “Small and micro businesses are the lifeblood of our economy, yet they continue to face significant challenges. Scotland should be a place they can not only survive but thrive. It is an honour to lead FSB’s campaigning to help make sure that is the case. “In the role, I will aim to build on the formidable work of my predecessor Andrew McRae, championing Scotland’s small businesses, and protecting and promoting their interests.” FSB Policy and Advocacy Chair Tina McKenzie said: “Congratulations to Guy on his new appointment. My thanks to outgoing chair Andrew McRae for flying the flag for small businesses in Scotland over the past seven years.” Andrew McRae said: “Leading FSB’s campaign work over the last seven years has been eventful to say the least. The Covid pandemic and its immediate aftermath in were some of the most turbulent times in living memory to be running an independent business. “I would like to take this chance to pay tribute to the work of the wider FSB team who provided magnificent support to our members throughout the crisis. “Scotland’s small businesses continue to face significant challenges, but we are a creative, dynamic and resilient bunch. “It has been a privilege to represent Scotland’s small business community for so long, and I know we will find a worthy champion in my successor Guy Hinks.” Guy worked in civil and criminal law in the west of Scotland before switching careers in 2008 to establish his own award-winning photography business. Andrew is founder of multiple retail brands including Museum Context and John Kay’s Shop and co-founder of Elephant House International which aims to take the world-famous Edinburgh ‘birthplace of Harry Potter’ cafe global.

The Highlands are aiming to follow Edinburgh by introducing a Visitor Levy for overnight stays in the region. We are urging Highland Council to take extra time to develop more robust plans. The levy has the potential to deliver extra targeted investment to further improve the experience of visitors to the Highlands. However, we believe more work needs to be done to secure the support of the small businesses who will be key to making it a success. We have submitted a formal response to Highland Council's consultation on its plans. Our recommendations include allowing time for a full assessment of the impact on smaller accommodation providers, such as B&Bs and hostels, as well as caravan parks and camp sites. We are also asking the local authority to publish a detailed plan for how the funds generated would be invested to improve the Highland visitor economy. Mike Duncan, FSB Development Manager for North Scotland, says: “The tourism industry in the Highlands is fragile. It is still recovering from the pandemic and has the added challenge of being seasonal. “There is a great deal of uncertainty about the impact of the levy, especially on many of the small accommodation providers who are such a large part of the tourism industry in the Highlands. “What happens to those who are pushed above the VAT payment threshold by virtue of the fees they collect on behalf of the council? That would generate the legal requirement to register for a second tax, VAT, and adhere to extra UK Government legislation. “There are also concerns about the potential impact on caravan parks and camp sites. With the proposed levy making licenced sites more expensive, this could inadvertently encourage the less desirable types of camping that Highland communities are worried about.” A Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment (BRIA) would not only allow fuller consideration of these risks and potential mitigations, but also an assessment of whether a levy lower than the proposed 5% may be affordable, reducing any impact on business turnover. Mr Duncan adds: “Businesses need to be convinced of the benefits of the proposed levy. Developing and publishing an investment plan and delivery programme could go a long way towards doing that. “The expectation of tourism businesses is it will focus on improvements to infrastructure and facilities across the Highlands, as well as business support, visitor attractions and destination marketing. “It is vital the small businesses who will be responsible for collecting and administering the levy have a voice when it comes to these decisions, including on the Forum required to be set up in order to steer decision making on levy revenue investment. FSB will continue to work constructively with Highland Council to ensure the concerns of these businesses are heard.”

We are having a fantastic networking session at our office in Glasgow! Great to see many small businesses and self employed people coming together to make new connections and have catch ups 👍 Massive thanks to our member volunteer Guy Hinks - Professional Photographer Multi Award Winning for hosting. We have our team supporting the event as well Hisashi Kuboyama Daniel O' Brien Stacey Dingwall Euan McGrory Charlotte Newell Our new events system is up and live now, so check what’s coming in April and book your place now! https://lnkd.in/eB2RMUy9 Thanks to everyone who came along - we hope you enjoyed the event! Carolyn Dobie Alan Foster Noel Fenech AFIAP Alan C Harper Riza H. Lewis Macleod Steve Maguire Danny McBride Gail McCarthy - Photographer Graham McCarthy Iain McPherson Fran Robertson Colin McKeand Edgar Brincat Eliska Ruzickova Grant Thomson Michael Harrison Dale Bulloch Tony Parris Alaa Adil MCIM Vali Dudekula

While confirmation today of signs of another slight improvement in the performance of the Scottish economy in January are welcome, there remains a pressing need for the governments in Scotland and Edinburgh to retain a laser focus on driving growth. Our latest Small Business Index showed confidence among small businesses in Scotland at its lowest level since the pandemic in the final quarter of last year. There is a long way to go to build it back up. The opening up of UK Defence contracts to smaller firms, a move advocated by FSB, is a step in the right direction with the potential to support more jobs in Scotland.

😍 We love it when a plan comes together🏗️ FSB Scotland was delighted to introduce STV Group plc (North East & Tayside) to KR Group (Scotland) for this fantastic news feature 🎥

Community Wealth Building might sound a like a woolly concept and one that is likely to be more well-intentioned than effective. However, it has the potential to deliver huge benefits for local businesses and communities - provided it is delivered well. We welcome the introduction of the Scottish Government’s Community Wealth Building Bill as an opportunity to ensure tens of millions of pounds more in public money is spent locally each year. It is an opportunity to tackle the low proportion of public sector spending that currently goes to the smallest businesses. That can be best delivered through the introduction of binding targets for procurement spend with SMEs to boost local economies. Welcoming the Bill, FSB’s Scotland Policy Chair Andrew McRae said today: “We know that every pound of public money spent with local companies generates far greater benefits, in terms of supporting jobs and the wider community, than those spent with national and multinational firms. We welcome the Community Wealth Building Bill as a huge opportunity to back local and boost communities up and down the country. “If Scotland’s councils, health boards and other key public sector organisations were to increase their local spend by even a few percent, we know it would bring tens of millions more into the Scottish economy per year. That is money that will create more jobs and more training opportunities. “It is clear the only way to ensure we maximise the benefits of Community Wealth Building is to introduce statutory targets and obligations around procurement spend with small, local businesses. The alternative risks seeing the progress that has been made in some areas in recent years faltering, or even worse, slipping back. “The full benefits of Community Wealth Building will only come by embedding new systems and behaviours, not sticking with the status quo. It is an opportunity we cannot afford to miss.”

Schoolchildren used to dream of being doctors, teachers and footballers. They still do, of course, but there is another aspiration that is growing among teenagers which might surprise you - to be their own boss. For the first-time, being self-employed has featured near the top of a major survey of young people's goals. It goes to show that the perception of those who work for themselves is changing - but will Rachel Reeves show them the same respect in her Spring Statement? Our Director of Devolved Nations Colin Borland has written in The Herald Scotland about the huge power of the self-employed to drive the national economy and the importance of the Chancellor remembering that. https://lnkd.in/eGgBGvxs

When we come across good ideas that will help small businesses thrive, we throw our weight behind them. When we come across ones that will hinder your business, we do our best to stop them. To do that effectively, we need your help. Being able to provide evidence of what Scotland's small businesses are thinking is critical to the work we do on your behalf. That is why the Big Small Business Survey is so important to what we do. Please take the time this weekend to fill out the questionnaire and help us give Scotland's small businesses a big voice. You'll have to be quick though. The survey closes at midnight on Sunday (16 March). https://lnkd.in/eTtsk_nm

Can you spare a few minutes to help give small businesses a big voice in Scotland? If you run a small business or are self-employed, we want to know about your challenges and concerns in 2025. What helps and what hinders you when it comes to running a thriving business? Raising the concerns of small businesses is a big part of what we do at FSB Scotland, trying to encourage good ideas at all levels of government - and stop bad ones. The Big Small Business Survey is a crucial part of that work, ensuring the cases we present to key decision-makers are evidence-led. In order to give as many small businesses as possible the change to take part, the deadline for completing the survey has been extended to 16 March. Please help us continue to give small businesses a powerful voice by completing the survey and spreading the word to other small businesses. https://lnkd.in/eTtsk_nm