West Lothian Council launches App

West Lothian council has launched a free app that provides news, events, alerts and information on council services for residents.

The app, which is for iPhones, iPads and iPods and can be downloaded from Apple's App Store. It also includes addresses, contact details and opening times for council services. Residents will also be able contact the council via email using the app. West Lothian said it is one of the first council's in the country to launch its own app specifically for Apple devices.

Extracted from Guardian Professional

FSB - Sponsorship Opportunity

FEDERATION OF SMALL BUSINESSES
WEST LOTHIAN BRANCH ANNUAL DINNER
Deer Park Golf and Country Club
Friday 18th. November 2011, 7:00 pm - late
　
　
　
I am delighted to announce Beatlie School Campus as our chosen charity to benefit from this year’s annual event being held at the fabulous Deer Park Function Suite just off J3 M8. The school provides a holistic approach to the care and education of children with disabilities and their families within West Lothian. Education, health, social work and the voluntary sector work in partnership and on site to provide a comprehensive range of services for children with special needs from birth to school leaving age.
The dedicated staff at the school provides:

Child Development Centre
First Steps Playgroup
Pre-School Home Visiting
Social Work
Therapy Services
Physiotherapy
Occupational Therapy
Music Therapy
Speech and Language
School Nurses

I am positive, with your support, we will again be in a position to donate a healthy sum to our chosen charity. Sponsoring the event gives you a superb opportunity to elevate your business profile and support a worthy cause within our community at the same time.
Our special guest at the event is Alex Neil MSP who will address our members and update us on The Scottish Government’s initiative for Small Business. We congratulate Alex on his recent promotion to the Cabinet as Infrastructure & Capital Investment Secretary. His extensive portfolio covers Housing, Transport, Procurement, European Structural Funds, Scottish Futures Trust as well as Communities and Regeneration.
As we expect an attendance of over 100 members and guests representing businesses and organisations from across the region, we would like to offer you this unique opportunity to sponsor the event.

1 GOLD SPONSORSHIP £1000.00
To headline the event with your company name on display in the dining room
Your company name as headline sponsor on each menu cover at the event
Ten tickets to attend the event for your staff, colleagues or clients
Your company name mentioned and appreciated in our Regional Magazine VOICE* and on Twitter
　
15 SILVER SPONSORSHIPS £150.00
Your company name as a sponsor on each menu
Two tickets to attend the event for your staff, colleagues or clients
Your company name mentioned and appreciated in our Regional Magazine VOICE*
　
25 BRONZE SPONSORSHIPS £50.00
Your company name listed on each menu with special thanks
Your company name mentioned and appreciated in our Regional Magazine VOICE*
　
*VOICE circulation is currently 4,912 throughout the Lothian’s, Scottish Borders and Fife.
To purchase your tickets and sponsor the event, please visit:
www.eventelephant.com/fsbwestlothianannualdinner
or contact Jim Gardner Tel: 01324 623740, Mobile: 0776 112 1673, Email: jim.gardner@fsb.org.uk
　
Yours sincerely
　
Bruce Fairbairn
FSB West Lothian Branch Chairman

What our clients have to say:

Audrey Cope and Elaine Dryden - Uphall

Hi Bruce

It's not a problem for your prospective clients to come and have a look insideat the work you have done as we are very proud of our new conservatory andgarage and will be happy to show it off!!
We can also testify to the quality service carried out by all who worked onthis project.

Iain Pope Edinburgh

"We hired Plan-It for a kitchen conversion in June 2012and were very happy with the results. We set out looking for someone who couldtake on the job from start to completion including arranging all the planningand building warrants, to dealing with contractors.

"After a lot of research we found Plan It on theinternet, and we checked out their references from other previous customersthoroughly before committing to anything.

"After meeting with Bruce Fairbairn and being given avery fair price we decided to go with Plan It. From then on the firm workedefficiently and quickly to get the project moving - the day after we orderedthe kitchen it was delivered and ready for installation.

"We found Bruce to be very straight-talking andthorough, and would be happy to use Plan It again, and to recommend them toothers." 

Martin Browne Edinburgh

 “Bruce helped me with an architectural issue I had in my house. Bruce responded very quickly and came up with a solution which addressed the issue and saved me time and money in its implementation. I would definitely turn to Bruce again for prompt professional service.” October 9, 2011


Paul Kirkwood - Kirkbrae
“Plan-it transformed our living space. Bruce’s ideas worked out really well, and he took the whole project through from start to finish, with a minimum of fuss, and gave us plenty of good ideas, we are thrilled with the result.”

Kay Sieber - Redhall
"We were very nervous about having workmen in and out of our home for such a long time but are very glad we did. Altering our home was the solution to our moving house and we now have the house we would have chosen. Plan-It made this transition as pain-free as possible and with children and an elderly person in the house you can't actually put a price on that so I am very pleased with the service provided".

Walter H.S. Brown - Currie
"I can assure you that we would certainly use your services again, and would recommend your firm to anyone. Thanks once again for all your help".

Mr. & Mrs. Fennell - Corstorphine
"Fees charged were reasonable and in line with our expectations".

Mrs. Jones - Clermiston.
"I wanted to thank you very much for your efforts and expertise in getting our building warrant approved".

Federation of Small Business FSB

The FSB is a true friend to SME’s, sole traders and all small business. It is a sleeping giant in the back ground of your day to day activities, but working tirelessly on your behalf at a political and administrative level. Then when you wake it up and invite it in to your business you will be protected by a wealth of expertise and service including:

Business Advice:
Tax, Insurance, Employment.
Personal Service.
Health & Medical, telecom, insurance.
Financial Service.
Credit, Factoring, IFS, Banking.

If you run a small Business this is the best £150.00* per year you will ever spend.
If you are in West Lothian and would like further information give me a call.

Bruce.

Before you build it . . .Plan-It.

* all information is subject to change and is provided here as General Information.

Search Engine Optimisation. SEO

At this morning’s WLCM (16.10.09) I had a good long chat with Paul Doffman on SEO. Paul is advising that whist keywords, key phrases and content are extremely important for the correct working of your web site you can not stop there if your site is to be truly effective. For this you MUST form links with the web sites of relevant external sources. For instance the content of your pages has to include key words and phrases but also read as an expert source of information. You must then provide that information to other experts in your field to refer to. By doing this the other experts will send people from their site to yours via a link, Google will then reward your expertise and make you easier to find.
It does require relationship building and time, but THAT’S THE WAY TO DO IT.

Good Luck,

Bruce.

Before you build it . . .Plan-It.

Marketing and Public Relations.

At this morning’s WLCM (16.10.09) I had a good long chat with Nigel Duncan and Mark Eyre on the principals of Marketing and Public Relations. Nigel is the Editor of FSB Publications and explained that Marketing on its own is a restrictive and expensive process. When coupled with Public Relations it is vastly more effective and far better value for money. He sited the example of a small add in a paper may cost £50 for 3cm x 3cm advert. However a story and better yet a picture will yield far better coverage and will serve to get your advert noticed. This needs to be worked on and relationships formed with editors/journalists but the time invested will be far more effective than any advertising campaign.
If you are not Public relations savvy then take professional advise but you MUST consider this in conjunction with your marketing campaign.
Remember “its not what it costs, but what its worth” that counts.

Good Luck,

Bruce.

Before you build it . . . Plan-It.

Bankruptcy and Receivership.

At this mornings WLCM (9.10.09) Peter Wilson divulged some of the intricacies and even less well know facts of going into receivership and bankruptcy. I am not going to pretend that by listening in I have become any kind of authority on the matter but suffice to say there is a correct and methodical way for a business to go into receivership.

You may have thought it unlikely for any business to want to go into receivership but in fact it can (for big business) be used as a tool for negotiation. For small business I think it is sufficient to know there is a proper way to do it. So if you are considering receivership or bankruptcy seek professional advice, as it will save you a lot of money.

Quote of note “its not what something costs you should be asking rather, What is it worth.”

Good Luck,
Bruce.

Before you build it . . . Plan-It