Enterprise chief Brierton stands up for rural firms as difficult winter nears

And, as far as rural enterprise support specialist Jackie Brierton is concerned, the challenge is even pronounced for the thousands of Scottish firms based in remote areas.

Take the package of measures recently announced by the UK Government to help tide businesses through the current energy price crisis.

The six-month scheme, unveiled by Prime Minister Liz Truss in early September, followed months of intense campaigning from business groups which had become increasingly worried about the surge in energy costs. However, with companies having already been contending with higher bills for many months by that stage, the assistance may come too late for some rural firms.

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“Although any cap on energy costs for businesses is to be welcomed, the government’s announcement doesn’t go nearly far enough to protect rural businesses from the impact of increases which, for many, have already taken effect,” said Ms Brierton, chief executive of GrowBiz Scotland, an organisation set up to support small businesses, social enterprises and the self-employed across rural Scotland.

“Six months isn’t long enough for businesses to plan – particularly given the decrease in income many rural enterprises face during the winter period. And there is no mention of whether the cost of heating oil is included. Oil has doubled in price since early 2021, and with no mains gas in many areas of rural Scotland, this is a major contributor to the increasingly unviable costs which rural and island businesses are facing.”

A recent survey by GrowBiz Scotland of 250 company owners in its network underlined the sense of worry in the rural business community. Some 60 per cent said energy costs were having a major impact on their ability to operate.

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Nearly every respondent (98%) said they have been affected by the cost-of-living crisis, while 80% cited rising energy, fuel, and supplier costs as a major concern, contributing to a majority fearing for the survival of their business or anticipating having to make fundamental changes to how they operate. GrowBiz Scotland, which is based in Perthshire and receives public and private sector funding, says micro-businesses are facing “huge uncertainty” over their very survival this autumn and winter, and voiced concern that the loss of rural businesses would have a knock-on effect on the communities they support, not to mention the gains made in recent years in reversing population decline.

“When you add huge increases in supplier costs, and a decrease in orders and sales, much of the rural economy across Scotland faces a devastating future,” Ms Brierton said.

Ms Brierton expressed disappointment that Scotland’s 10-year national strategy for economic transformation, published in March, did not sufficiently take into account the different challenges small and mirco-businesses in rural areas face.

Ms Brierton, who co-founded and is vice-chair of Women’s Enterprise Scotland, sat on the steering group that informed the strategy. She acknowledged that good things did come out the experience, with some of the ideas applicable to businesses in rural areas, but she said it had also been frustrating in other respects.

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“Part of my frustration is that I feel strongly that for Scotland’s economy we need to be looking at it from both the perspective of very small businesses and what we need to do to grow big businesses, and it can’t be one or the other,” she said.

“Sometimes there is more focus on growing big businesses and scaling up than there is on looking at the myriad, literally tens of thousands of small and micro-businesses that we have. Not obviously just in rural areas, but in rural areas that is the predominance.

“From a rural point of view, I would have wanted more specific focus around how to develop the rural economy. I just felt perhaps there was not enough overt understanding of that.”

With the rate of self-employment in rural areas twice as high as it is in urban areas, Ms Brierton said it underlines the importance of nurturing small and micro firms.

One advantage to emerge for rural businesses in recent years has been the development of digital technology. Ms Brierton says it means GrowBiz can “support a business in Tiree or Coll or Unst in Shetland just as effectively as a business based in the middle of Edinburgh or Dundee”, albeit connectivity continues to be a challenge in certain areas.

“They have digital technology at their fingertips that they wouldn’t have had even five, 10 years ago,” Ms Brierton said. “It is a sort of mindset, getting away from the idea that a lot of the development and support has to come from a central location. It can actually be happening anywhere. One of my aspirations for GrowBiz is that we don’t grow as GrowBiz, we enable smaller organisations dotted around the country to have an enterprise facility.”

She added: “We have been in Perth & Kinross for 15 years now, and I think Perth & Kinross has got one of the highest levels of self-employment. I’ not saying that is because of GrowBiz, but we can see how once you have a strong community of people who are running individually successful businesses, that really inspires other people to think they could do it too.”

Q&A

What countries have you most enjoyed travelling to, for business or leisure, and why?

I’ve had enjoyable business trips to Sweden and Finland. I like the Scandinavian approach to life and enterprise – reflected in the fact that they always appear in the top ten ‘happiest countries’ in the world. For leisure, I can’t see past Italy. My favourite area is the Amalfi coast, with its unbeatable scenery and amazing walks through lemon groves.

When you were a child, what was your ideal job? Why did it appeal? 

I didn’t have a specific job in mind when I was young – just a vague desire to work in an interesting business, preferably involving travelling around the world. Retail also appealed because I’d had so many Saturday and holiday jobs in shops.

What was your biggest break in business?

I’m not sure about my biggest break – but my most memorable lightbulb moment was when I realised I was as interested in supporting other people in business, and using my experience to influence the enterprise ecosystem. When I ‘discovered’ social enterprise in the late 80s, it made total sense to support an enterprise model focused on purpose. 

Who do you most admire and why?

I still admire Anita Roddick, founder of Body Shop, who sadly passed away 15 years ago. She was a true entrepreneur and pioneer – and changed the face of business for women. Another role model is Dr Isabella Moore, founder of ComTec Translations and appointed the first female president of the British Chambers of Commerce in 2002. Her energy and enthusiasm is infectious and I’m proud to count her as a good friend.

What book are you reading and what music are you listening to?
From a business point of view, I was greatly influenced by Charles Handy’s writings from the early 90s– The Empty Raincoat is very relevant for the times we’re currently experiencing. I’m very happy listening to anything by David Bowie, Miles Davis or Abdullah Ibrahim.