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Barriers to growth for small and medium-sized businesses are many - not least the preoccupation with day-to-day running of the company that prevents owners and directors planning for the future. It's easy for business people to become so immersed in the present that they neglect to look to the future - to take account of the vital ingredient of planning for an ever more dynamic market-place. This is where the help of someone who sees a business from another perspective is vital - a fresh pair of eyes to help identify the paths to success.

Glasgow Opportunities - the largest business development enterprise trust in the city - are helping ambitious small to medium sized businesses to create growth and profitability through two business development services - the Business Growth Team and the Profit through Knowledge scheme. 

The Business Growth Team can offer a dedicated professional adviser to work together with the business, providing tailored solutions to problems and enabling access to the best of public and private sector support.  "In today's competitive environment, the owners and directors of small and medium sized businesses are often too preoccupied with running their businesses from day-to-day. Taking the time to plan for future growth can be seen as a luxury rather than a necessity," says David Gardiner, manager of Glasgow Opportunities Growth Team. "Businesses must realise that planning plays a crucial role in success. Glasgow Opportunities can provide businesses with support to plan now for continual growth into the next millennium. The importance of a proper business development strategy cannot be over-emphasised. Here at Glasgow Opportunities with our experienced team, we bring the appropriate elements into play at logical stages of development, as and when necessary."        

Currently case officers are working with 54 companies with high growth potential and established track records in a turnover range of £200,000 to £5 million. Case officers identify their clients' business development needs - whether it is training, finance, marketing, human resource support or property - and either provide direct assistance or act as a project manager for external expert assistance.  

Profit through Knowledge is designed to enable firms to develop their business and improve their competitiveness through access to graduate and undergraduate skills. "Profit through Knowledge gives companies access to an expert resource that might otherwise be difficult to find or source," explains Sandra Hamilton, Glasgow Opportunities' Marketing Manager. "If for example  a company is looking at new markets, needing a better management information system or wanting to evaluate a new computerised accounting package, and lacks the time or the know-how to get the vital tasks done, we can provide help from our pool of graduate and undergraduate skills and expertise. Our flexible programme is carefully designed to allow companies to get maximum benefit from the person who comes to work with them on a project." 

At all stages, the project management team provide expert assistance by working with the companies to create a detailed specification of a business development project, and by screening and selecting candidates to ensure their skills and personalities match the needs of the project. Graduates and undergraduates are put through a personal effectiveness course prior to placement to prepare them for the culture of the business environment, while the continuous support and advice from the project management team keeps the project on track.

Profit through Knowledge gives mutual benefits to the company - which profits through better business performance - and to the graduate or undergraduate - who gains valuable commercial experience in managing a real live project. A wide range of candidates are available to undertake a variety of projects vital to companies in today's knowledge-based economy, whether it is researching new market opportunities; tracking production efficiency, yield and waste management; developing new or improved quality control procedures; or preparing the way for Investors in People accreditation. Due to its flexibility, the programme can be accessed all year round, giving companies the right resource at the right time. Examples of the resources available include : graduate placements for up to 1 year on a full-time basis; undergraduate placements for up to 12 weeks in the summer on a full-time basis; or undergraduate placements for up to 20 weeks on a part-time basis during term-time.

Eligible companies should be Glasgow-based independents with less than 250 employees and a turnover not exceeding £10 million per annum. Their business development project should be one which has definable qualitative and quantitative outputs; which requires significant input from the graduate or undergraduate, while guaranteeing commitment and resources from management; and which would not be able to proceed without support from the programme.

Glasgow Opportunities Business Development Services have been of particular assistance to one rapidly developing high tech local company, which has recently expanded into new premises. Broadcast Systems Associates Ltd. (BSA) is an engineering company supplying high quality and cost effective multimedia and broadcast equipment solutions for major national and international clients. Recently awarded ISO9001 accreditation, BSA has recently added an equipment sales and customer support service to complement its system design and installation and maintenance divisions, allowing the company to provide a totally integrated technical expertise in broadcast engineering.

"Our Glasgow Opportunities business adviser has been actively involved at every stage," explains BSA's managing director Stuart Currie. "He  really understood our business and was committed to our success - he wasn't just someone on the other end of the phone." Currie has used both the Business growth Team resources and the Profit through Knowledge programme to great effect, increasing both his staff and his profits. "So far in 1999 we have achieved a significant increase in turnover and profitability and this trend is forecast to continue."

Of particular value has been the work of the Profit through Knowledge graduate placement, who project managed initiatives which have resulted in a new website, new brochure and corporate literature and identity, and a more professional and systematic marketing approach. All of this has contributed to a broadening of BSA's customer base.  Recent projects have included a digital widescreen 3 camera studio and Jumbotron screen for Blackburn Rovers FC; a teleconferencing and distance learning facility at the Royal Scottish Academy of Drama and Music in Glasgow; refurbishing the central technical area at BBC Scotland; and designing a server based transmission studio for broadcasters in Capetown, South Africa, and Ankara, Turkey.

"This success story is one of many achieved in businesses that have recognised the potential offered by the Profit through Knowledge programme," says Jim Robinson, project manager of profit through Knowledge. "So far 130 businesses have benefited in terms of increased growth and efficiency. We expect to be working with a further 300 Glasgow companies as the programme continues to roll out." 

Both the Business Growth and Profit through Knowledge programmes are supported by the Glasgow Development Agency. To find out if your business can benefit, call Glasgow Opportunities Business Performance hotline : 0141-225 2891.