At interview, people / organisations were asked to identify the types of support required by themselves or the people they represent. This confirmed that the current range of services broadly meets business requirements, namely:
- Information - on a wide range of business related topics, including markets, funding sources, sectoral activity, property, services, and financial issues.
- Advice - on the same range of issues, as well as business planning, product development, innovation, IT, etc
- Property - affordable property to rent, of the appropriate type and location
- Finance - grants and soft loans at appropriate levels of intervention, for capital equipment, employment, marketing, promotion and working capital.
- Training - A variety of skills and management training activities were available to meet the needs of most businesses
Demand for these services came from all sectors, including retail, service sector and agriculture. The need for support for both start-up and existing businesses was identified, as was support for innovation and product development.
In terms of delivery of service, the key words were 'one-door approach', clarity of information and advice, simplicity of procedure and speed of decision-making. In some cases it was perceived that service providers had 'lost their way', " becoming less pro-active" and; " ... should get out into the community to inform people of their products and services".
Most of the comments on demand are, in effect, comments on the existing range of services, and are dealt with in the Analysis Section. There are, however, a number of issues which were raised by one or two organisations and which seek to extend the current range of assistance. They are as follows:
Small businesses involving one or two persons found it difficult to attend training courses during working hours, as the business had to close to accommodate this. It was therefore felt that some training activities should be available outside normal working hours.
There may be a need to expand the membership of the forum to include organisations which whilst not key to economic development are essential partners. e.g. Housing Association.
The Scottish Crofters Union expressed the desire that farms and crofts should be more readily identified as small businesses. Most crofters have many strands to their income generation. Because of this, the SCU called for assistance that helped crofters to look at their household income as a whole, rather than in the fragmented way current services are arranged.
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