October 3, 2022
St Andrews Business Club is looking to appoint two new Marketing Communications Interns. This is a great opportunity to work for a local, long-established
Remaining online for the Club’s 2021 AGM, the conference celebrated this season’s committee and members for hosting a share of memorable virtual events throughout these exceptional times.
Immediate Past President Marie Paterson acknowledged the resilience and dedication of the club’s members in continuing to focus on business development despite the difficult challenges posed the past year. Despite membership dropping from its all-time high of 130, approximately being cut in half as a result of the pandemic, the organisation’s bank balance is in good shape as the club looks to start the new season with face to face meetings.
Marie praised the outgoing Committee for creating engaging and productive zoom sessions combining the likes of food, wine, networking and education. Events covered a range of pressing topics including ‘leading change; podcasting; embracing diversity; and the impact of Brexit.’ Similarly, the club’s first partnering with the Home Start St Andrews charity at Christmas proves a new annual means of support to the community.
The 2021-2022 elected committee are:
Marie gave great acknowledgement to secretary Emma-Jane Kerr for her major role in improving the club’s operation. She also thanked Immediate Past President Caroline and past Treasurer Michael for their longtime service as they stood down from their respective positions. Similarly, Marie thanked her Vice President Reseda and the rest of the committee who are continuing their roles in the upcoming season. Last but not least she thanked Marketing-communications interns Sanaa and Stanley for all they have done in promoting the club the past two years. Stating, “I am especially delighted to be handing over to a really strong group of office bearers who I know will see us through the next year, whatever life throws at us.”
Lastly, Marie enthusiastically introduced the newly elected committee before ‘passing the medal’ on to Newly-elected President Christopher Trotter. Trotter, a longtime member and St Andrews native, thanked Marie for her unwavering service and saluted his Committee, marketing communications interns and members for a much-anticipated return in-person events.
Christopher’s first order as President was to encourage each member to invite a colleague to the club’s future events, a sure way to increase membership numbers for the coming season.
Closing the AGM, Christopher introduced the long-awaited guest speaker for the evening’s inspiring presentation, which was given by Jamie Andrew, OBE. Jamie detailed his experience of losing all of his limbs after being trapped by a storm atop a mountain in the French Alps. Following this, Jamie’s inspiring story shows his recovery from his injuries and him going on to be the first quadruple amputee to climb the Matterhorn, as well as other mountains, alongside completing marathons and Iron Man triathlons. Jamie’s story, recounted with honesty and passion, is nothing short of incredible.
Jude Law stars in The Third Day as a man drawn to a mysterious island.
Innovative new show, The Third Day, starring Jude Law, Emily Watson and Naomie Harris, premiered on HBO on Monday and Sky Atlantic and NOW TV last night. It “chronicles the individual journeys of a man and woman who arrive on a mysterious island at different times” and will allow viewers to follow the events of a single day in real time.
The show is unique in that, as well as pre-recorded, scripted episodes, it will include a live broadcast of a theatrical event on Sky Arts and online planned for October 3. It’s also the first original drama co-production between Sky’s new production house, Sky Studios, Brad Pitt’s production company Plan B Entertainment, world-renowned immersive theatre company Punchdrunk and writer Dennis Kelly.
Cupar-based vintage interiors and leather bags firm Scaramanga supplied an extra-large iron antique padlock and a large iron one to the show’s props buyer in August last year for filming, which took place in the UK. They’re now being seen by a global audience with up to 5 million subscribers in the US alone as well as up to 19 million on Sky Atlantic and NOW TV in the UK.
Speaking about the firm’s first global network TV supply role, Scaramanga founder and Managing Director Carl Morenikeji said: “While our reputation as vintage specialists has seen our products used in 12 Hollywood and major UK movies to date, as well many UK network TV shows, this is the first time they’ve been aired on TV around the globe. We’re natural delighted.
“Better still, another three US network-made shows have bought Scaramanga products for props use and these will air next year as most are still being filmed. We’re hoping this will drive interest in our brand Stateside and in other places the shows are aired.”
The company, which also sells its bags, vintage furniture and homewares online and in its Cupar store, has previously been used as a supplier of vintage and antique props for UK TV shows including Strictly Come Dancing, Peaky Blinders, The Crystal Maze, Celebrity Big Brother, Hollyoaks, The Greatest Dancer, 60 Minute Makeover and Jericho.
Movie supply roles include Mama Mia! Here We Go Again, Paddington 2, Maleficent and Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, Dumbo, The Hobbit and Dark Shadows.
Vintage fans can find the full range of Scaramanga trunks, chests, homewares and bags on their website at www.scaramangashop.co.uk
Fife software firm’s new platform for Scottish Procurement helping public bodies kickstart Covid-19 economy response
A new platform developed by Fife software consultancy Horisk Leslie Development for Scottish Procurement is helping Scotland’s public bodies embed sustainability requirements in their procurements, kickstarting the national economic recovery post-Covid-19.
The Sustainable Procurement Tools platform
The Sustainable Procurement Tools platform brings together three tools designed to help Scotland’s public sector organisations identify and address how they can optimise the economic, social and environmental outcomes of their procurement. It makes them easier to access, reference and use – with a similar look and feel to each. It also enables better sharing of knowledge and experience within and beyond the organisations and makes them more likely to be used and deliver their benefits to the organisations, businesses and the public.
The Flexible Framework Assessment Tool is used to assess the current level of performance and actions required to embed good procurement practice to realise intended sustainable outcomes. The Prioritisation Tool assists early-stage strategic planning and brings a standard, structured approach to the assessment of spend categories. The Sustainability Test helps embed relevant and proportionate sustainability requirements in the development of frameworks and contracts. It can be used on its own or on the results of prioritisation assessment, where done.
Made live recently, the bespoke platform developed over five months by the Cupar-based consultancy replaces several offline Excel-based tools and is already being used by just under 100 procurement officials. Horisk, which specialises in bespoke software systems to simplify using organisation processes, won the £61,000 contract through a competitive tender in one of the Scottish Government’s national frameworks designed to ensure best value and quality in privately-sourced services and products.
Using the sustainable procurement tools on the new platform to assist early-stage strategic planning can form a helpful part of restarting activities, contributing to Scotland’s four-step economic plan: Response, Reset, Restart and Recover. Using the tools in the new platform can also help embed relevant and proportionate social, economic and environmental requirements in public frameworks and contracts.
Horisk’s public sector projects include work for the Historic Environment Scotland, Scotland’s Charity Regulator (OSCR), the Children and Young People’s Commissioner Scotland (CYPCS), National Museums of Scotland, The Robert Gordon University, University of St Andrews, University of West of Scotland, The London School of Economics with more being created.
Director Brian Horisk.
Speaking about the new platform, Director Brian Horisk, said: “We’re delighted to have had another large public sector client – a directorate of The Scottish Government – select us to develop a key tool which will be used by many organisations throughout Scotland to help us not only recover from the social, economic and environmental damage done by Covid-19 but also rebuild in a socially-inclusive and environmentally sustainable way so the benefits are enjoyed by all and help Scotland meet its climate goals.
“As someone committed to sustainable development, this has been a very satisfying project to use our specialism in bespoke software systems which simplify using organisation processes. It’s great to see it being adopted so widely already – allowing the benefits to be realised so soon.”
Lorraine Hook, of Scottish Procurement, said: “Horisk’s experience of developing similar tools for other public sector organisations was invaluable and meant they could hit the ground running on our project. They were able to offer innovative solutions to our requirements and, despite the pandemic, continued to work with us to deliver our project on time. As a result, we now have a single platform which provides easier access to our suite of tools and supporting guidance.”
For more about Horisk Leslie Development, go to its website at https://horisk.com/
As in the past two years it welcomed two more inspiring women who have achieved much to date in their careers and lives.
Rachel Weiss, Partner at Rowan Consultancy, shared her story in St Andrews Business Club’s 3rd annual Inspiring Women event.
Rachel Weiss shared how after studying mathematics at Oxford she began her career as a school teacher before becoming a counsellor and coach, founding Rowan Consultancy in Perth in 1997. It now has a network of counsellors from London to Inverness, together with coaches and trainers throughout Scotland, helping people to live more satisfying lives.
In 2017, she also founded the Menopause Café charity which coordinates pop-up events worldwide, where people gather to drink tea, eat cake and talk about menopause. It also runs the world’s only Menopause Festival – #FlushFest2020 will be held in Perth on May 29 and 30.
Rachel spoke engagingly about her fascinating journey, the setbacks she’s faced and how she’s overcome them.
Rachael Nixon, Owner of Chanix Millinery, shared her career journey in St Andrews Business Club’s 3rd annual Inspiring Women event.
Rachael Jayne Nixon explained how she began her career as a children’s nurse. Her interest in millinery came after she moved back home from a spell living in Saudi Arabia, where she’d bought a large and expensive ‘hatinator’ to attend a race day organised by the British Embassy.
On her flight home, the hatinator was accidentally destroyed by another passenger. As she had several weddings to attend that year, Rachael, who’s been into crafts since childhood, ended up making a replacement herself because she couldn’t find any she liked and matched her outfits.
Her Chanix Millinery business began when she posted a photo of the hatinator on Facebook and got two orders for more! Since then she spent three years teaching herself the traditional millinery skills before studying it formally at Glasgow Clyde College .
She went on to share how in a short time she has become an international award-winning milliner, including first place at the Lincoln International Millinery Competition, Best Hat at a Melbourne Cup event in Australia and Winner of Amazing New Business Innovator in No1 Magazine’s Amazing Women Awards 2020. Rachael spoke movingly of how she’s gained confidence through overcoming barriers.
Thanks to both women for inspiring everyone!
For more photos, go to the Album on our Facebook page.
NEXT EVENT: The Club’s next event is April 22: Business Communications, when Eugene Clarke will help you achieve your goals through effective communication.
Club President Caroline Rochford chaired the event.
This event heard three highly experienced and environmentally–conscious speakers discuss ways our businesses can have less environmental impact and how to market your ‘greenness’ and use it to build relationships with stakeholders.
Resource Efficient Scotland Implementation Adviser Fiona Flynn, explained why and how businesses can be environmentally sustainable.
Fiona Flynn, an Implementation Advisor at Resource Efficient Scotland, explained why and how SMEs can make their business environmentally sustainable and its benefits.
Reseda Muir, Co-founder and Director of St Andrews-based Muir Walker Pride Chartered Architects and Interior Designers (MWP), explained how MWP made its business more environmentally sustainable.
David Stutchfield, Sustainability Manager of the University of St Andrews, talked about what the university has done and how you can market your sustainability goals and commitments.
University of St Andrews Sustainability Manager David Stutchfield talked about its work on sustainability policies, carbon management plans, sustainable resources plans and utilities and waste, how businesses can do the same and market their new ‘green’ credentials.
For more information about this subject, you can visit their websites at:
For more photos, go to the Album on our Facebook page.
NEXT EVENT: The Club’s next event is February 5: Structured Networking, a networking event open to all Members, Member’s guests and non-members.
Report by Sanaa Sachdev & Pictures by Stanley Parker
The five-star resort encapsulates luxury, elegance and truly breathtaking surroundings and prides itself on its array of facilities, including two championship golf courses.
Along with 211 luxury guest rooms, it also offers a unique dining experience at the La Cucina Italian eatery and the recently awarded second AA Rosette – St Andrews Bar and Grill. Its services expand beyond dining with a world class spa facility that includes a swimming pool, sauna, steam room, Jacuzzi and relaxation room.
Club President Caroline Rochford welcomes everyone to the event.
Stewart Elder, Fairmont St Andrews Director of Sales, welcomes Club members.
The event was held at the newly-refurbished Zephyr Sports Bar and began with a warm welcome and a short presentation by the Hotel’s Director of Sales, Stewart Elder.
Members enjoyed networking over drinks in the Atrium on arrival at Fairmont St Andrews.
Members enjoyed networking and festive canapes and drinks in the Zephyr Sports bar at Fairmont St Andrews.
Members took part in festive quiz.
It was followed by an evening full of networking, drinks, canapes and a quiz! The Christmas spirit definitely brightened the ambiance, making it one of the many great nights we’ve had with our members.
Thanks to Fairmont St Andrews for kindly hosting this event and becoming a corporate member of the club and to all our members for attending it.
For more photos, go to the Album on our Facebook page.
NEXT EVENT : The Club’s Next Event is Sustainability – benefiting your business and the planet on January 22.
Our first event of the New Year brings this in to focus with three guest speakers: Fiona Flynn of Resource Efficient Scotland, Reseda Muir of Muir Walker Pride and David Stutchfield of University of St Andrews, who will talk about ways in which you can make your business have less environmental impact, an example of how it’s done and how you can market your ‘greenness’ to build relationships with stakeholders.
Report & Pictures by Sanaa Sachdev
Club President Caroline Rochford chaired the event with the help of Vice-President, Marie Paterson.
Each month from September to June, we organise an event where speakers present on useful topics, with networking before and after.
This time, as a result of demand from our Members in our Annual Survey, held a ‘networking-only’ event for Members, guests and visitors.
The evening began with structured networking organised by Vice-President Marie Paterson.
The evening was organised so everyone present could get to know each other better, raise their company profile, gain new contacts and learn from each other. Thanks to our Vice-President, Marie Paterson, for leading the structured networking to fulfil this goal.
Afterwards, everyone got the chance to informally interact over a buffet and refreshments.
Members, Guests and visitors enjoyed an evening of networking at the @Old Course Hotel Golf Resort and Spa.
Diane Helbig says: “Networking is an investment in your business. It takes time and when done correctly can yield great results for years to come.” We hope this night did that for all present.
For more photos, go to the Album on our Facebook page.
NEXT EVENT : The Club’s Next Event is November 13: Work/life balance – success without sacrifice, where the speaker, Sam Forsberg, will give practical advice on organising yourself and looking after your physical health so you can set and achieve realistic business and personal goals.
Are you interested in improving the efficiency of your company by being a Case Study for a Master thesis on Lean Management?
New Club Member Lena-Lynn Naraschkewitz is writing her Master thesis on Lean Management and how to implement it in SMEs through a simple guide and needs to find a manufacturing company to take part in her Case Study.
The company must have more than 10 employees and some kind of manufacturing process, even if it’s just packing a product.
The manufacturing process will be filmed and in the video will be shown to the employees as a group and analysed together for what could be improved using Lean Management methods. The process will be timed before and after the methods are applied. The project shouldn’t take more than a few days,
If you’d like to take part, please contact Lena-Lynn directly via ll.naraschkewitz@gmail.com.
Russell Williams, Director of the Graduate Business School at the University of Aberdeen, (left) congratulates Executive Fellow Peter Waggott, of Vertical Motives, on his sales workshop achieving the academic standard required to have successful completion enable entry to the Sales & Marketing module of the University of Aberdeen Online MBA. Pic: ASM Media & PR
The two-day practice-based sales workshop has been developed by Peter, who is an experienced sales coach and executive from Carnoustie who’s worked in B2B sales for blue chip companies in the UK, Europe and North America.
It gives candidates a competitive advantage in the job market by enabling them to make a better connection with customers, profit more from their interactions with them and learn from experienced people who can help them put theory into practice.
It teaches sales strategy, the need to collaborate with internal colleagues to make a smoother and better experience for the customer, how you need to understand better who customers are, what their business is and why they buy from you. It also enables students to understand internal customers, themselves and their job description. It’s followed by 1-1 coaching to embed the learning.
The workshop has been continuously assessed by the university for academic rigour and has now achieved the standard required to demonstrate Recognised Prior Learning (RPL). This means non-graduate sales professionals can use successful completion of it to gain access to a five-day Sales and Marketing workshop delivered by the University of Aberdeen Business School, as well as use it as part of a portfolio of training and achievement for consideration for entry to the University’s part-time, blended-learning MBA programme.
It’s believed to be the first post-experience sales training in the UK to be quality-‘recognised’ by a university.
The workshop is based on Peter’s experiences and has been designed, developed and tested over 18 months, with both clients and university students. It’s been delivered to a number of organisations and to more than 270 postgraduate and undergraduate students at the University of Aberdeen to date.
It came about because Peter believes there’s a lack of understanding about the sales process in businesses and organisations. “They think it’s about selling a product, but it’s not – they need to understand their customer’s business,” he says.
“In the current climate there’s a fundamental difference between how an organisation thinks their customers do business and how they’re customers really operate, so traditional B2B sales processes are ineffective. Investor groups see a lack of sales knowledge when engaging with start-ups and scale-ups- organisations with aspirations to grow don’t have the necessary sales knowledge to deliver the growth required.
“Organisations have forgotten or lost the concept of asking at a base level ‘Why do they buy from us?’
“Sales is about communication – a sales person is the conduit between their company and their customer. Taking time to understand an organisation’s processes and structure will be more successful.
“Organisations now want to learn and be challenged, so this workshop focuses on this. It also helps develop the creative people they need to grow and flourish.”
The workshop also seeks to address the negative perception of sales as a career. “Sales is not seen as a career because there’s no global quality benchmark for it, so no perceived value in it by organisations,” says Peter.
“Sales is a great career – delivered correctly it can support companies to grow, both in revenue and with their customers. So sales needs to be taken seriously.
“This workshop allows me an opportunity to give candidates an understanding of what a sales role really is.”
Peter Waggott is making the workshop available to other universities who see the benefits to their students and non-graduates seeking to take up postgraduate study with them.
It will also be the first course of a forthcoming training academy to be set up in Dundee by his company Vertical Motives Consultancy Ltd, which will also offer high-quality training in interim and new management, coaching, mentoring and customer experience, all of which he hopes to gain university accreditation for. Towards that goal, Peter is working closely with academics to embed and share industry experience and practice with other universities.
For Peter, a key element of the development process has come from his role as an Executive Fellow at the University of Aberdeen Business School: “As an Executive Fellow I’ve had the opportunity to work alongside talented students and showcase sales and sales process training. Most importantly, I’ve been able to develop, test and refine the materials.”
Russell Williams, Director of the Business School’s postgraduate programmes, said: “We’re delighted to have Peter share his expertise and insight with our postgraduates through his workshops. This part of their studies helps the students make the connection between theory and practice and, importantly, gives them practical employability skills.”
“Having worked with Peter and seen the sales workshop firsthand, we are happy to recognise those completing the workshop include it as a part of their record of achievement when applying to our MBA.”
For more information about Peter and Vertical Motives, go to its website.
People are at the heart and soul of every successful business. However, people matters can be complex, urgent, time-consuming and must be carried out in a legal, professional and ethical manner.
The “People Lifecycle” incorporates recruitment, retention, developing, mentoring and coaching staff, diversity & equality, employment law, succession planning right, performance improvement through to exiting employees where necessary – and everything in between!
Some HR matters, such as investigation, should be carried out by an impartial third party, and often the Manager or Business Owner is “too close” to personnel issues to deal with difficult situations effectively and impartially.
Mhairi Mackenzie Associates offers a flexible and cost-effective Consultancy solution for SMEs who have no in-house HR support, or with limited or stretched HR resources. Mhairi operates an independent Scottish consultancy, based in Crail, supporting businesses requiring People support by offering a highly cost-effective alternative to having permanent HR personnel – you only pay for the time required and fees can be structured to make them flexible and affordable. Mhairi is also happy to work in partnership with clients’ HR team members on project work and integrates seamlessly with the clients’ team.
Mhairi Mackenzie Associates Ltd offers a comprehensive range of People Solutions including:
Strategic resourcing incorporating the entire Talent Acquisition Lifecycle including Workforce Talent planning, sourcing to Executive level, Employer Branding, writing adverts and job specifications, screening & interviewing, as well as coaching clients on successful interviewing skills. Mhairi is a results-driven and approachable professional who specialises in resourcing problem solving and filling niche and ‘impossible to fill’ vacancies. Mhairi works in close partnership with clients to ensure she sources candidates who have the right skills for the job and cultural fit for your organisation, meaning they will stay and be successful.
HR Services from employment contracts, staff handbook, compliance, systems/processes, quality, diversity and equality, employment law, investigations, disciplinaries to dismissals and redundancies.
Mhairi is a member of both the Chartered Member of Personnel Development (CIPD) and FSB (Federation of Small Businesses) and offers bespoke support to clients in many capacities, tailored to clients’ specific needs. Mhairi is also a qualified practitioner in behavioural profiling Psychometrics.
Mhairi has worked in Talent Management and HR for more than 20 years and was Managing Director of an oil and gas recruitment business, which she grew from a loss-making position to turnover of £8.6m before relocating to Fife in 2009. Since then, Mhairi has undertaken interim roles helping businesses grow through Organisational Development, becoming more successful through the growth and success of their teams. Mhairi has a wide range of private sector experience from setting up systems and processes and all ‘grass roots systems’ to building strong teams, focused or Organisational Development and Success.
The majority of Mhairi’s business comes from repeat business and client recommendations.
Costs are calculated on a pro-rata day rate basis, providing a cost-effective HR solution tailored to individual business’s needs.
For more information, or to arrange a meeting, please contact Mhairi on 07788 485685 or email mhairi@mhairimackenzieassociates.co.uk
See testimonials at: www.mhairimackenzieassociates.co.uk
October 3, 2022
St Andrews Business Club is looking to appoint two new Marketing Communications Interns. This is a great opportunity to work for a local, long-established
June 3, 2021
Remaining online for the Club’s 2021 AGM, the conference celebrated this season’s committee and members for hosting a share of memorable virtual events throughout
The Club can be contacted via its Secretary Yvonne McAulay.
Mobile: 07778 107987
Write to:
The Secretary,
St Andrews Business Club,
c/o Thorntons Solicitors,
Kinburn Castle,
Doubledykes Road,
ST ANDREWS,
KY16 9DR.
"Best Business Networking in Fife" - CMA, 2019
