Spotlight on services

By Louise Shearer (15 September 2023)

The Shetland Realise Programme is about group coaching for female entrepreneurs based in the islands and is offered through the Business Gateway, which is part of the council’s Economic Development Service.  The first cohort provided much needed support during the COVID lockdown and was very successful.  It prompted a second, third and fourth cohort, with plans already underway for a fifth next spring.  

A recent evaluation highlighted some of the main personal benefits from being part of the Realise Programme as:

“Being encouraged by, and also in return being able to encourage peers.  Having space to think and question what I do and why.  An opportunity to think about things more holistically, paying attention to what I need as a person as well as the business.”

“Meeting others in a similar situation and realising that we all have the same struggles.  It was good to be able to ask advice or just discuss things with people who understood.”

“Realising the challenges in business are shared.”

I was struck by the feedback and keen to find out more from the Shetland Business Gateway’s manager, Kirsten Nicolson.  Cohort 3 has just finished and the fourth group will run immediately after.  There are also some plans for some format changes taking on feedback from previous participants.

Kirsten – what is the Realise Programme and how did it come about?

Our current facilitator is from Orkney, like me, and I was aware of the other inspiring leadership work she was doing.  We had been talking for a while about getting something set up in Shetland through the Business Gateway to support Shetland’s female entrepreneurs.

The first cohort had to be delivered remotely while everyone was at home during the pandemic.  That cohort and the second one were funded with support from the Pure Energy Centre in Shetland and then solely by the Business Gateway from then on.

That first cohort, who trialled the concept while living and working through very different and difficult times, are still in touch with each other today.  They’ve met in person as a group twice and are still sharing ideas and asking questions of each other.  This has been the case with all the other cohorts, but that first one was unique and came at such a good time during lockdown, when it was needed most.

How long do the sessions run for, for a cohort?

The group of women meet over a six-month period and there are eight participants.  We check to make sure they know if there are going to be similar businesses involved and if they’re comfortable with that, as this is a peer-support group and needs to be a safe space to openly share their thoughts, which can often touch upon confidential or personal matters.

Themes covered include things like:

-    Exploring how growing businesses push people out of their comfort zone
-    Stepping into the identity of a business owner and entrepreneur, especially where the business has grown from a hobby or kitchen table business.
-    Non-judgemental support and advice on how to move their businesses forward giving the opportunity to be among peers and have a safe space to bounce ideas off other people
-    Wanting to create a healthy work-life balance and see their business as an opportunity to work to live, and not live to work
-    Building connections with other business owners and helping participants normalise their experiences of their entrepreneurial experiences;  participants often realise that challenges within their businesses are often encountered by others and just a natural part of running a business

The themes have been different and have holistically evolved depending on the group of women and the types of businesses.

Are you continuing to run the sessions online or did the format change as things started to open back up after lockdown?

Cohort 2 was also delivered remotely as we emerged from the lockdowns, but we gradually introduced face-to-face meetings when we could.  The feedback from the group emphasised the value of being able to meet up with fellow participants at the start.  As a result, we adapted the approach for the third cohort so that everyone met in person for two sessions, one at the beginning and again at the concluding session.

You mentioned you’re starting cohort 4 immediately on the back of the third group of sessions – why is that?

We had over 40 applicants for the third cohort, which is why we’re running another so soon after – just to try to meet the phenomenal demand for taking part in the programme.

We look at which applicants are established as businesses who will have experiences to share and also who have engaged with the Business Gateway before.  

You also mentioned that Business Gateway now funds the programme?

Yes – there’s a Business Gateway in every council area and we are allocated a set budget.  Within this budget, we are given flexibility to tailor support to suit specific needs of our local community.  While we maintain certain standards for consistent delivery of Business Gateway services across the country, we use this flexibility to provide services where it’s needed most.

Is the Realise Programme unique to Shetland or is it run in other areas?

The programme was first run in Orkney.  I’m aware that other areas are doing other things for women entrepreneurs and other councils are looking at our model with a view to implementing it.

Why is the programme successful?

I think I’d best leave that one for some of the participants to tell you about…

**

The Realise Programme came at just the right time for me. Having spent my life working in the NHS, going into business was a steep learning curve and I had no trade network. The business men I knew seemed to have strong, male, networks of which I was not a part. 
 
With a brilliant facilitator, and a supportive group, Realise provided a safe space to discuss daunting business problems. I came away from each session uplifted and inspired, and feeling more confident about taking my business forward. 
 
Our group really bonded, and have gone on to meet up, message, etc. I have missed out on face-to-face meetings as I continue to mitigate against Covid, but the group still include me and send lovely messages. 
 
To sum up: the Realise Programme gave me and my business a great confidence boost, and my business still benefits from its positive ripples.

Margaret Gear, Yasp

**

I’m very glad that I was invited to be part of the pilot Shetland Realise group back in 2020.  I really didn’t know what to expect but was sure that being part of a ‘women in business’ group had to be beneficial. As it was during the Covid pandemic we were all facing a lot of uncertainty, and maybe this helped bond us as a group as we were all going through the same thing. We met remotely every month for six months, and I knew or was aware of most of the other women in the group from the start. 

Our facilitator asked a couple of us to come to the sessions with an issue to discuss with the rest of the group. As most of our businesses had been restricted by the pandemic, we possibly had more time to spend chatting with others. I think that can be a problem for self-employed folk, taking the time to step back and connect with others, and to evaluate your business. 

After our last session had finished we were all in agreement that we wanted to keep in touch and set up a WhatsApp group. We often message each other through this group, to ask advice, offer congratulations on achievements, or words of encouragement. Some of us have also met up.

It’s not easy to keep momentum for a group like this, and folk have often questioned why our one has managed to keep going. I don’t know for sure but wonder if it’s because we bonded so quickly because of the Covid situation, and also most of us knew something of the other members before the project. They’re a great bunch, and I’m very thankful to have had the chance to get to know them better. 

Cheryl Jamieson, Glansin Glass

Kirsten – I can tell you’re really passionate about the Realise Programme and also about supporting businesses through your current role.  Can you tell me a bit about your background and how that’s helped shape where you are today?

I have experience of running a company for 15 years and I also worked for Highlands and Islands Enterprise as a self-employed business advisor.  I then worked as a council economic development officer before managing the Business Gateway service in Orkney and then moving here to do the same role for Shetland.  So I have a long career in providing support to businesses and not only have I managed a business, but I also know how challenging this can be, particularly in an island setting.  Only 1 in 5 of Scotland’s entrepreneurs are women, and the Realise Programme is the first step in a journey to us defining pathways into entrepreneurship for women.

Cohort 4 is just about to get underway – what about cohort 5, what’s happening next and how can people register an interest?

We’ve taken on board feedback from this last cohort and the ones before, and have again refined the delivery approach, moving from fully remote delivery on the first two programmes to hybrid delivery on cohort 3, and we will now provide future programmes with more in-person sessions.  

For Cohort 4, which is just about to get started, we are delighted that local facilitator Judith Fenton is going to be taking on the delivery of the programme.  Judith runs her own HR and Organisational Development consultancy so will bring a wealth of experience to the programme.

It’s a really exciting development, and will give us much more flexibility to run these sessions in the future.  For anyone interested in Cohort 5, we give preference to businesses that have already been in contact with Business Gateway – so the best idea is just to get in touch!  However, we will be advertising this generally nearer the time.