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Intellectual Property Toolkit

Learn about the importance of protecting your business as you start up and grow. 

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Business Directory

Discover our member businesses on our business directory.
Sign-up for free to become a member and add a listing.
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Become a member

Sign up for FREE and become a member of the Women’s Business Centre.

Gain access to business tools such as our business directory and series of webinars.

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What is the Women’s Business Centre?

The Women’s Business Centre is here to help you bring your business idea to life and flourish as a business owner.

It is run by Women’s Enterprise Scotland (WES), a research-led, not for profit Community Interest Company which has been championing women-led and women-owned businesses since 2011.

Get Started

Cover all the steps you need to start your business

Find Inspiration

Explore the journeys of our business role-models

Learn and Grow

Boost your business skills with expert advice and support

Join In

Connect with our women’s business community for help and sharing

Get Started

Find Inspiration

Learn and Grow

Join in

Get Started

Cover all the steps you need to start your business

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Cover all the basics

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Follow our definitive guide

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Build confidence to take the plunge

Start up!

Find inspiration

Explore the journeys of our business role-models

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Meet our Women's Enterprise Scotland Ambassadors

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Real stories, real businesses, real lives

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Learn from their challenges and successes

Be inspired!
AI basics for business

Learn and Grow

Boost your business skills with expert advice and support

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Covering every aspect of running a business

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From the basic help to specialist guidance

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We're with you as you grow your business

Get advice!
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Join in

Connect with our women’s business community for help and sharing

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Become a member for free access to all content

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Join the conversation on our Forum

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List your business in our Business Directory

Become a member!

Start-up Checklist

You want to start a business, but where DO you start? How do you know when you’re ready to take the plunge? Work through our Start-up Checklist and the Women’s Business Centre will be with you every step of the way. It’s your definitive guide to making sure you’ve covered all the basics before starting your own business venture.

A business idea

You’ve got skills, experience and the ambition to run your own business. What’s the big idea?

A plan

You might have heard of a business plan – what is it and what goes into it?

Find your advisors

At some stage in your business you’ll benefit from speaking to business advisors and professionals. Here’s where to start.

Know the law

Start up and run your business responsibly by understanding your legal obligations as a business owner.

Money matters

How will you fund your business and is it eligible for a grant or other financial support?

Sales and marketing

How are you going to make sales and how will your target customers find out about your business?

Digital skills

Being able to use online skills to run or support your business has never been more important.

Networking

Online or face-to-face, networking is easier and much less awkward than you might think!

Mentoring

A helpful way of gaining advice and support, from which you can benefit at various times during your business journey.

Our Latest Blog Articles

News, Business Tips, and Stories. Here’s the latest from our blog

Learning your IP lesson

Learning your IP lesson

Founder of SnapDragon Monitoring, Rachel was thrown into the world of brand protection when her own invention was counterfeited, just as it reached its 50th export territory. Horrified, she learned how to remove counterfeit products from online platforms using intellectual property and resolved...

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Empowering Sustainability

Empowering Sustainability

Where do you look to find the true cheerleaders for sustainability? Try the small business sector. It may come as a surprise that larger corporations may not be the best example, after all small businesses are typically operating on a shoestring, with little extra funding to throw at...

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Automating Business Operations

Automating Business Operations

As Operations Director at HOKO Design, a residential architecture company, I've seen first-hand how the right tools can transform a business. In an industry where precision, efficiency, and communication are paramount, automating business operations has become a game-changer.  [membership...

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Thriving through Support Networks

Thriving through Support Networks

“I’m always looking for new mentors and asking people, ‘Hey, if you were in my shoes, what would you do?’ It’s pretty amazing what you can get from that.” Kendra Scott, entrepreneur Being an entrepreneur is a whirlwind adventure, full of fantastic highs, and stomach-wrenching lows. One of the...

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Spotlight on our Ambassadors

Mentoring doesn’t have to be face-to-face or one-to-one. We provide tips and advice from women in business. Here are a few examples:-

My story, like many others, starts with the first step.Not in the most glamorous of locations, I was living in an early 1990’s static caravan during a self-build project which my husband and I had only just begun.

Lesley Landels
Founder, Love Scottish

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When Anja’s husband Jan Jacob was offered a job as an estate manager in the Highlands back in 2000, it seemed like too good a chance to miss. The risks were small, the fish farm was sold, and the time was right for this adventurous couple and their three small children to up-sticks from Holland for a whole new life in Scotland.

Anja Baak
Co-Founder, Great Glen Charcuterie

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Ann-Maree Morrison set up the ecommerce business Labels4Kids in 2004 following a career break having worked as a Chartered Accountant and Management Consultant.

Ann-Mree Morrison MBE
Founder, Labels4Kids

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Member’s Business Directory

Here is a selection of the businesses we have in our Business Directory. Visit the full directory to see our member businesses from across Scotland.

Pet Duet

Companion fashion for pets and their people. The first luxury brand created for the entire family. Built around eye-catching companion fashions designed for both pets and their people … incorporating Harris Tweed and other lush Scottish fabrics.

Moorit

Moorit is an independent crochet magazine based in Scotland and run by Alyson Chu. Focussing on wearable, modern garments and accessories made in natural fibres, Moorit is a high-end craft magazine with true indie spirit.

Serps Invaders

Serps Invaders is an award-winning agency specialising in Global Digital Marketing for brands & agencies. We deliver SEO, PPC & Content strategies in over 35 languages – giving you the assurance of English-speaking account managers, with direct access to local experts in your target foreign markets.

The Strategy Collective

We are a boutique brand, digital and marketing consultancy supporting businesses to grow. We start from the beginning understanding your business and your customers. Our team brings global experience to small and micro businesses. We are based in the Orkney Islands and work for organisations across the UK.