Members Update 14 November 2025

The Pitfalls of Growth — And How Smart Retailers Manage Them

Business Energy Scotland – Expert Led Webinar

New St Andrews Day resource supports teachers
to talk about Scottish food and drink

Update 14-11-2025

The Pitfalls of Growth — And How Smart Retailers Manage Them

A free live session with Mark Turnbull, Impact Retail Training and retail mentor Bob Negan

Learn how to grow your retail business sustainably, avoid costly mistakes, and lead your team with confidence.

Growth is something every independent retailer dreams of… until it starts to feel overwhelming.

I recently spoke with a shop owner who had expanded, hired more staff, and increased turnover, everything she thought she wanted. But beneath the success was a constant worry: higher costs, more pressure, more complexity, more fires to put out.

It’s a familiar story.

Because while growth is exciting, it also brings real challenges:

📈 Rising costs
👥 Bigger teams
🔧 More moving parts
⚠️ Expansion risk
🤯 And the feeling that the business is running you, not the other way around

That’s why I’ve invited Bob Negan, one of the world’s most respected retail mentors, to host a special live session designed to help independent retailers grow properly – without stress, chaos, or costly mistakes.

Live Training: The Pitfalls of Growth — And How to Avoid Them

Tuesday 18th • 11am EST / 4pm UK

What You’ll Learn

In this practical, eye-opening session, Bob will share:

• The hidden costs of growth (that can quietly wipe out your profit)
• Why bigger teams require a different kind of leadership
• How to avoid expanding before your systems are ready
• What “healthy, sustainable growth” actually looks like
• How top retailers keep growth from becoming chaos
• The key mindset shift between stressful growth and strategic growth

You’ll leave with clarity, confidence, and a better understanding of where your business is heading — and how to take control of that journey.

You can you join at the following link https://us06web.zoom.us/j/86055995833?pwd=Zfmi35vImiTiS63nuIDWEIeaWz2QyN.1

 

Business Energy Scotland – Expert Led Webinar

Business Energy Scotland is hosting free expert-led webinars, including CPD-certified training on 27 November, to help Scottish businesses cut energy costs, boost efficiency and improve environmental performance.

Attached communication pack is here: comms pack  

Shannon Staig | Business Energy Scotland

Helpline 0808 808 2268 | Website | Twitter | LinkedIn

New St Andrews Day resource supports teachers to talk about Scottish food and drink

Following the success of the Building a Burns Supper, we’re proud to share the new Building a St Andrews Day Dinner teaching resource.

Compiled by the key organisations within the Scotland Food & Drink Partnership, this teaching pack takes you from the dairy parlour to the butcher’s counter, and through marketing to reformulation.

You can download a copy of it from the Food Education portal at https://bit.ly/StAndrewsLamb and please do share this link with anyone who would find it useful – so particularly education contacts.

It would also be great if you could share the news of its launch, either during Scottish Careers Week this week or in the run-up to St Andrews Day on 30 November.

Attached are two social post images, with suggested wording below – it would be fantastic if your organisation could help spread the word.

Social post

Here is a brand-new learning resource that explores the huge range of careers across the Scottish food and drink sector. 🐟🥛🌾🐑🍽

Compiled by the key organisations within the Scotland Food & Drink Partnership, this teaching pack takes you from the dairy parlour to the butcher’s counter, and through marketing to reformulation. Taking a fresh look at some of the jobs across our industry it can be used by practitioners across the curriculum to bring young people’s learning to life.

👩🏼‍🏫 Tell us what you think and don’t forget to tag your teacher pals.

Download here >> https://bit.ly/StAndrewsLamb

About this resource

This learning resource has been created by a range of industry bodies from within the Scottish food and drink sector. It has been designed with two main learning themes in mind:

• To teach young people about the journey their food makes, from source to consumer, and explore all of the steps in-between.
• To highlight some of the careers within the food and drink sector in Scotland, and share stories from people within these roles.

Our two broad learning outcomes will be explored through a St. Andrew’s Day Dinner – showcasing some of the best produce from around Scotland and sharing a variety of activities and links, to bring learning to life.

We have created a menu of three courses plus a drink, allowing learning to take place over a series of four sessions which can be pupil-led and delivered through the variety of resources.

Kind regards,

Joanna

Joanna Fraser

 

Working on behalf of the Scotland Food & Drink Partnership
to promote Feeding Workforce Skills

 

Phone: 07977353750

Burnside House, Laurencekirk, Aberdeenshire AB30 1HW

Web: www.hoolet.co.uk

Email: [email protected]

 

If you have any questions please contact:

 

MEMBER SERVICES – Bruce McCall:                           [email protected]                01738 637472

CRAFT SKILLS SCOTLAND – Claire Simpson:             [email protected]                          01738 637785

 

Scottish Craft Butchers
8-10 Needless Road
Perth PH2 0JW
Tel: 01738 637472
Mobile: 01738 637472

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