Business Chamber announces Roadshow round rural Perthshire partnership with Struan is a success
Having completed week one of our two week rural roadshow around Perthshire, we have already seen some great results.
We have signed up new members, promoted the membership services available to existing members, matched mentors with mentees and identified some interesting areas which are proving challenging to businesses. One of the main areas is growth. To take the next step up can be worrying. Can the business sustain the expense of employing additional staff? Is it better to stay small? How to keep on the right side of the law and be a responsible employer?
The positive outcome is that between us and our partners we can (in most cases) help directly.
Whether its through mentoring or business advisors and training or even just putting people in touch with valuable contacts we are well placed to assist.
Identifying what businesses are looking for helps us align what we are offering and better signpost businesses because we understand what each partner can do and work together to plug any gaps or overcome hurdles.
There has been a lot of learning between the chamber, Business Gateway and PKC along with our other partners through these sessions and they include Perth College UHI, Skills Development Scotland, PKAVS and Developing Young Workforce Perth and Kinross.
There is a valuable amount of support on offer to address access to potential employers and also to upskill existing and new employees to assist with growth.
Next week we are off to Aberfeldy, Pitlochry, Blairgowrie and Scone and we have some chamber members and partners offering informal sessions and valuable take-aways on selling, branding, Brexit, internationalisation and retail.
Events are free, open to all businesses, chamber members and non-members.
We would love to see any business along to learn more about your company and identify opportunities and challenges which we can hopefully work together to overcome.
Further information and bookings, go to www.perthshirechamber.co.uk, email events@perthshirechamber.co.uk or call 01738 448325.
Perthshire Chamber of Commerce is delighted to confirm a brand new Partnership with Struan Toyota Perth.
This sees the chamber having the use of a brand new, branded Toyota Corolla ybrid as a pool car to use to cover Perthshire and beyond.
Struans, which this year celebrates 40 years in business, is still a family owned and run business was started by brothers John and Struan Roberston.
Struan is actually a mechanic to trade and gained such a good reputation that he started up his own repair business back in 1974. When his brother joined him they branched out into sales with their first franchise being Mazda in 1981.
It is proud to have been Toyota dealers since 1984 when it opened up a showroom in Victoria Street in the centre of Perth.
Toyota soon became such a success story in Perth that it outgrew those premises and moved to what is now Struans Motor Village on Crieff Road but at that time was just a field on the outskirts of Perth.
As they were already serving many customers from Dundee and East Fife, it took the opportunity to open up a branch in Dundee in 2002 at a prominent position on the main A90 Aberdeen Road.
Struans hopes that being a family run company shows in the way it deals with customers.
The company believes in providing great personal care, value for money and certainly not a hard sell approach to business - staff value all their customers and when doing business with them, they hope you feel relaxed and at ease.
This new partnership allows
Struans to engage with the chamber network and it is keen to get more involved, having been a chamber member for years.
Chamber chief executive, Vicki Unite, said: “We started talking to Struans at the Perth Show in August, as it had a large stand next door to our Perthshire On A Plate marquee. For us to strike up a partnership with such a successful, Perth-based, family business is a great opportunity for us.
“For us to receive this level of support is very much appreciated and we look forward to working closely together.”
Myles Redford, general sales manager at Struans, said: We are delighted to have been approached by the Perthshire Chamber of Commerce to be part of this venture.
“As a local Perth company, the sustainability of local businesses is extremely important to us and also links in strongly with the ethos of our partners Toyota UK.
“By supplying a Toyota Corolla Hybrid to support Perthshire Chamber of
Commerce with its transport needs, we are able to promote this fast advancing technology to local businesses and the local population in general.
“We’re also on hand seven days a week at our centre to answer any questions or concerns that individuals have regarding self-charging hybrid and electric vehicle technology.”