About this Event
Create Capacity through Better Systems is the third session in The Smarter Business Programme, a practical workshop series designed to help rural SMEs improve performance through better use of process, data, digital tools and AI readiness.
Many small businesses are held back by manual processes, duplicated admin, disconnected spreadsheets, repeated tasks and systems that do not work well together. This can make it harder to respond quickly to customers, keep track of work, manage information and create the capacity needed to grow.
This session will help you look at where time and effort are being lost in your business and identify practical ways to simplify, standardise or automate everyday work. You will explore how better systems can reduce admin, improve consistency, support better decision-making and free up time for sales, delivery and customer care.
During the session, you will translate business pain points into clear system requirements, consider where digital tools or automation could help, and learn how to assess opportunities based on value, feasibility, risk, security and adoption effort. The focus will be on proportionate improvements that fit the time, budget and capacity available in a small business.
This is not a technical software course. You will not be expected to choose or implement a system during the workshop. Instead, you will leave with a clearer view of what your business needs, which improvements are worth prioritising, and how to test one practical digital improvement in a controlled and manageable way.
By the end of the session, you will have a prioritised digital improvement backlog, outline requirements, a simple risk checklist and one minimum viable pilot to take forward.
The session will be facilitated by Cynthia Moore, an expert coach and facilitator with over 20 years’ experience in operations and automation. Cynthia works with business owners to help them identify practical ways to improve performance, simplify processes and make better use of the tools and resources they already have.
This session is suitable for:
· Sole traders, microbusinesses and early-stage SMEs that want to reduce admin and create more capacity
· Rural businesses across sectors including tourism, food and drink, agriculture, creative industries, manufacturing and services
· Businesses relying on manual processes, spreadsheets, email trails or owner-held knowledge
· Business owners who want to explore digital tools, automation or AI readiness in a practical, low-risk way
You will leave with:
· A clearer understanding of where systems could reduce workload or improve consistency
· A prioritised list of practical digital improvement opportunities
· Outline requirements for one improvement area
· A simple risk and adoption checklist
· One minimum viable pilot to test after the session
Event venue & nearby stays
Co-Here Works, 24 Newall Terrace, Dumfries, United Kingdom
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