Stirling

Business Gateway in Stirling offers businesses practical help and guidance. Whether you're starting up or growing a business, we provide access to publicly-funded business support services.

View our offices Call us: 01786 498 247

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Meet the Team

Our team brings extensive experience, practical resources and 1:1 advice to help you at every stage of your business journey—from starting up to scaling for growth. Whether you’re researching your idea and target market, building and enhancing your online presence, hiring employees, or looking to improve your social media skills, our support is here to help you achieve your goals.

Mike Barclay
Business Support Manager
Mike joined the Business Gateway Stirling Team in May 2021, bringing over two decades of business and media experience to the team. As an experienced senior manager with hands on practical experience of not only developing a strategy but creating operational results, he has worked across many areas of a business. Throughout his career Mike has particularly enjoyed and is experienced in implementing a change culture through strategic planning and communication.
Simon Orr
Business Adviser
With around two decades experience in the banking and finance industry Simon has developed a keen interest in helping businesses access various types of funding to get them started or grow into a new stage. Simon joined the Business Gateway Stirling team as a Business Adviser in March 2019. As an experienced relationship manager with substantial experience in banking, finance and business development, Simon prides himself on his professional and lasting relationship with his clients, business partners and colleagues and therefore has an excellent network. Over his career he has worked with many successful SME’s, commercial and corporate organisations in various industries.
Alan Porteous
Business Adviser
Alan comes with twelve years’ experience in private practice accountancy as well as almost eighteen years as an enterprise advisor. Working across Glasgow and Lanarkshire and now Stirlingshire, he has a wealth of experience helping people from all walks of life to start and grow their business. In this time, he has helped hundreds of would-be entrepreneurs realise their ambitions. Whether that means running a small business from home or steering an energetic project towards serious growth, Alan brings a motivational, encouraging approach to support the journey.
Stephen Cranston
Business Adviser
After 35 years in banking, managing projects and constant change, of which the last 20 or so were spent dealing with businesses at all levels and across most sectors in senior managerial roles, Stephen is well placed to help businesses with planning, implementation, risk identification, management and organisational restructuring. With a large network of professional contacts across Scotland covering all specialisms, Stephen is best placed to source the best expert opinion to deliver the answers businesses need.
Linda Letford
Business Adviser
With over three decades of experience in Food, Drink and Hospitality settings, Linda enjoys supporting independent producers, growers, manufacturers, restaurants, retailers, hotels, attractions and other related businesses and providing help in getting started or growing. As an experienced operations manager with substantial experience in hospitality, Linda has varied knowledge of every aspect of a business from catering, manufacturing, and negotiation to restaurant management and customer service. At Business Gateway Stirling, Linda specialises in supporting Food, Drink and Tourism businesses. Circa 19% of Stirling’s businesses are in the food, drink and tourism industry and the sectors make a significant contribution to Stirling’s economy.
Traci Titterington
Rural Business Adviser
With over two decades of experience in retail management and visual merchandising, Traci is dedicated to helping businesses thrive. She joined the Business Gateway team as the Rural Business Adviser in July 2023. Leveraging her extensive background, Traci excels at showcasing the uniqueness of each business, ensuring they stand out and succeed. As a seasoned professional in retail, Traci has a keen eye for detail and a deep understanding of market trends. Her expertise covers everything from strategic planning and customer engagement to visual merchandising and operational efficiency. Traci's passion for rural businesses drives her to offer tailored support that addresses the unique challenges and opportunities faced by rural businesses. Traci is dedicated to fostering growth and success in every business she supports, helping rural enterprises achieve their full potential and thrive in their communities.
Vicky Murphy
HR Adviser
With over a decade of experience Vicky is an HR professional with industrywide knowledge. In her previous roles Vicky has had a particular focus on the Construction, Oil, Gas and Professional Services. Vicky holds a BA in Human Resources from the University of Stirling, is MCPID certified, is a registered Healthy Working Lives adviser and has an ILM Coaching Qualification. Vicky’s HR experience is varied but she holds a particular interest in coaching, development and creating successful motivated teams.
Colin Clark
IT Adviser
Colin is a highly skilled IT Adviser and Trainer with over two decades of experience in supporting local and national businesses. Premier Adviser qualified, Colin is also accredited to deliver and verify ECDL courses, holds SQA Assessor qualifications and offers excellent presentation skills from one to many. Colin holds a particular interest in the ability to adopt a clear and informal approach when teaching, which allows effective motivation of businesses to embrace and utilise ICT. He truly creates a positive learning environment, which inspires confidence in the people that he trains.
Jenn McArthur
Marketing Adviser
Jenn is a forward-thinking senior marketing professional offering a unique combination of creativity and analytical skills, with the ability to assess both vantage points simultaneously for an effective balance of branding and sound business decisions. With over 10 years’ experience in marketing Jenn has worked in several industries from Retail, Fitness, Entertainment, Private Healthcare to Professional Services. She is placed to discuss all aspects of marketing including but not limited to branding, lead generation, customer profiling etc.

There are many ways we can support your start-up journey.

Our Business Support Tool is a great place to begin. It takes just 10 minutes to complete and provides you with an instant toolkit with key resources & information. We'll then connect you with a member of the team at our local office for further support.

Our website offers a business plan guide and template to download when you’re ready, market reports and research, as well as handy online guides, articles and video tutorials. Plus, we have a great range of webinars to hone your start-up skills – from writing a business plan to marketing on a budget.

With our help, you could be in business sooner than you imagined.

Our resources and one-to-one support can help you strengthen your business.

Whether you’re looking to take on premises or learn more about digital marketing, we can help you take the next step. Get started by taking 10 minutes to complete our Business Support tool and get a personalised dashboard of online resources and webinars.

We can also offer 1-1 advice at a time that works for you. Together, you and your business adviser can create a strategic action plan to help you achieve your goals.

Our online resources and webinars can help you learn new skills, create opportunities and gain confidence. From HR to restructuring, innovation and digital marketing - we can help. And if specialist input is required, we can connect you to other sources of support.

Are you looking to diversify your business, need help launching a new product, want to sell online, or simply looking to grow?

Whatever aspect of your business you are looking to develop Business Gateway Stirling can help.

Growth Pipeline Service

Growth pipeline is the term given to the support businesses can receive from Business Gateway if they have the aspiration and ability to grow. Our Business Growth Advisers support and assist your company through the Growth Pipeline Program.

Access to the Growth Pipeline Program is discretionary and offers for up to 18 months of support. Companies will be introduced to the program on the basis that they may possess some or all of the attributes that make them a good fit for the support available.

Growth Pipeline Programme Criteria

Whether a start-up or existing company, they must operate in an identified Scottish Enterprise key market sector, including:

Manufacturing
Food & Drink
Tourism
Energy
Technology
Life Sciences
Textiles
Creative Industries
Construction
Forestry & Timber

A company must also:

Be able to increase turnover by £400,000 during a three-year period
Operate in a niche market
Recruit additional employees during this period
If not already involved in exports, this must be a set objective to achieve during this period

A company will need to support the criteria with an initial business plan, cash flow projections, and marketing analysis for assessment.

Business Growth Workshops

We can help you grow your business with engaging workshops.

Whether you need help attracting customers online, offline or need help with your bookkeeping to ensure the top line is increasing our workshops will give you the tools to take back to your business.

47% of Stirling’s Businesses are in rural areas. Business Gateway Stirling appreciate that the challenges in a rural business will be different than in other businesses. Our dedicated Rural Business Adviser has over 20 years’ experience in working with rural business and knows just how your business differs from your urban counterparts.

Rural Business Clinics

Our monthly rural clinics offer you the opportunity to meet with our rural business adviser on a 1:1 basis.

These clinics run every month in Callander and Balfron. Pre-booking is essential, so please get in touch to book your slot.

Rural Business Events

Business Gateway Stirling also host regular rural roadshows across the region. These are a great opportunity for rural businesses to learn about the initiatives which could benefit their business, discover what funding is available as well as giving them a chance to meet other rural businesses.

We focus on the challenges facing rural businesses today as well as providing information on the wider support programmes available to all businesses. Please contact your local Business Gateway office for more information and dates.

The tourism sector is thriving in Stirling and plays a vital role in the economy of the region. Whether you run a family hotel or an outdoor adventure company, we can offer a range of tailored advice and support services to help your business.

Business Gateway Stirling can offer a marketing health check and suggest fast-acting and cost-effective solutions. We’ll review your existing marketing strategy, plans and campaigns and provide a tailored action plan, based on your specific needs and resources (both financial and, crucially, time).

We know you can’t do everything, but have you considered what your key marketing priorities are? We can offer top tips and best practice advice on:

Digital marketing and social media strategy
Website overview
Brand design and development
Marketing print and collateral
Latest tourism research
Key industry trends and best practice

Whatever stage your business is at, there are various funding and investment opportunities available. We will help you to decide which is right for your business to give you the opportunity to thrive.

There are various funding options available for businesses from loans to grants to investment opportunities. Our expert funding adviser will take you through them to find the most suitable for your business.

Application processes can often be time consuming and confusing, this is where our adviser can offer the support you need.

Pitching for Funding

If you are at the stage where you are planning to pitch to receive funding or investment we can support you with pitching tips, tools and key components to help you succeed.

Gateway to Investment Programme

Our Gateway to Investment programme is aimed at giving businesses the knowledge they need to become investment ready. Throughout the programme businesses have access to workshops covering topics such as Share Holder Agreements, SEIS and EIS, Innovation, Financial Readiness, Understanding the Equity Marketplace and Company Valuations. At the end of the programme businesses have the opportunity to pitch to real life investors for possible investment.