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Vistage Scotland members don’t need reminding how useful social media can be in building a business. Nonetheless, there is an interesting story out today about the way in which Edinburgh firm Morphsuits have used Facebook to grow a business from scratch to a turnover of more than £10 million in under three years. As Facebook gears up for a rumoured initial public offering later thi….
A member of the V66 Vistage group, Jo Macsween is a director of Macsween Haggis. The firm was started in 1953 by Jo’s grandparents. Still a family firm, Macsween Haggis is run by Jo and her brother James from a state of the art production plant on the outskirts of Edinburgh. While January and the lead-up to Burns Night are the busiest time of the year for Macsween, the company has w….
A number of key surveys released today indicate that the Scottish economy is in a very fragile condition and some commentators are convinced that the current uncertainty over the independence referendum is exacerbating the situation. While some shops had a profitable Christmas, many did not. The Scottish Retail Consortium sales monitor for December 2011 is headlined ‘Worst December ….
As the debate over the timing of the independence referendum rages, Scotland’s economy is giving off some very mixed signals. The latest Bank of Scotland Report on Jobs, released this morning, indicated that the Scottish labour market lost further momentum in December. Both permanent and temporary staff placements fell during the latest survey period, with recruitment consultants gener….
The latest Purchasing Managers’ Index survey (PMI) from the Bank of Scotland seems to show encouraging signs of life in the Scottish economy. No-one is claiming to see anything like the much hoped for green shoots of recovery but the news is welcome nonetheless Based on data compiled from monthly replies to questionnaires sent to purchasing executives in around 600 private manufactu….
As Scotland gets back to work after the holidays, the Vistage Scotland blog has scoured the media for pundits’ predictions as to what 2012 may hold in store. Starting with the good news, the IT and social media sectors are in for exciting times. Writing in Scotland On Sunday, Michelle Rodger reckons that the ‘social’ part of the term ‘social media’ will become redundant as t….
The chief executive officer (CEO) of the Miller Group has claimed its decision to sell shares to a private equity firm is a positive move, report businessman.scotsman.com. Keith Miller, whose father and uncle founded the construction firm in 1934, has given up control of the family business. However he has suggested the £160 million refinancing deal with Blackstone will give the….
Recently, there has been a lot of attention focused on how the benefits of new technology are in danger of being overwhelmed by the threat of information overload. The tidal wave of irrelevant email which floods many inboxes has prompted Thierry Breton, chief executive of the IT services company Atos, to try to phase out all internal emails within three years. Now, Anthony Hilton, Fin….
A new report by the Committee of Scottish Clearing Bankers (CSCB) seems to show that start-up activity in Scotland has fallen by 12% compared to the preceding quarter. The survey, which was based on new business accounts being opened at the Bank of Scotland, Clydesdale Bank, Lloyds TSB Scotland and the Royal Bank of Scotland, states that 3521 new business accounts were opened in Scotland….
It has not been the best start to the working week today thanks to a gloomy report released by the Ernst and Young Scottish ITEM Club. Their 2012 economic forecast suggests that Scotland faces a lost decade of falling employment, underperforming exports and growth of 1.1% next year. Even that figure is heavily dependent on events in the Eurozone. Dougie Adams, senior economic advisor ….









