Here is more detailed information about the events we have planned for Ayrshire College Small Business Week.

Events:

Enterprising Students Showcase

Welcome: Tracey Stark, Chair of Ayrshire College Foundation

Key Speaker: Sir Tom Hunter from The Hunter Foundation will be speaking about the importance of small businesses to the economy, and why students should consider starting their own business as a realistic destination after their college course. Why now is the perfect time to go for it.

Bridge2Business Enterprise Partnership with Bryce Dunlop, Enterprise Executive

Enterprising Student Showcase:

- Magdalena Zielinska, Soft Olive

- Sheila Munro, AroundTUit Complementary Therapies

- Jamie Agnew, Jamie Agnew Photography

Question and Answer session

Frank Gormanley, President of the Ayrshire Chamber of Commerce will be speaking about Connect Me: The New Business Mentor Programme and the benefits of joining the Future Chamber.

Barclay's Business Planning and Starting Up Overview

The topics offered will be:

- Get Inspired – Video (5 mins)

- Your Enterprise Journey – identifying your skills and qualities

- Enterprise Planner Tool – fleshing out your business idea

- Business Planner and Handbook – putting your idea into action [7 steps to starting a new business]

- Business types - should I be a sole trader or limited company?

- Benefits of getting a mentor

- How different working environments can help your business

- How to open a business bank account

Barclay's Business Growth Overview

This course is for attendees who have already started a business and want to grow their business.

The topics offered will be:

- Benefits of getting a mentor

- How different working environments can help your business

- Importance of Working Capital

- Business Planning continued

- Finance options to grow your business

- What financiers will want to know from you

- Know Your Numbers

- Resources – next steps

Business Growth

1 hour session/demo of Office 365

Microsoft 365 for Business is an affordable online subscription service which gives access to Microsoft's cloud productivity suite. This includes email, online conferencing, file storage and sharing, plus desktop versions of the full Microsoft Office suite. 

Microsoft 365 for Business is a fantastic way for smaller companies to increase their productivity and make a big impact.

This session will provide attendees with an overview of some of the features available and the ways in which they can be put to use within a small business; improving communication, increasing productivity and keeping information secure.

1 hour session on MS Planner for project tracking and monitoring - useful to those in the initial stages of business planning.

MS Planner is a fantastic digital tool for project planning, progress tracking and resource management. It can be utilised at any stage of business growth, from formation to maturity, and as part of the Office 365 suite of apps, can be utilised from within MS Teams, thus allowing collaboration on projects and activities through this platform, as well as the standalone version. Attendees will benefit from gaining enhanced planning, monitoring and project tracking skills.

Please note: The link to join each session will be forwarded to you in due course.