text:
Publication - Independent report
Enterprise and Skills Review report on Phase 2: Enterprise and Business Support
- Directorate:
- Economic Development Directorate
- Part of:
- Economy, Work and skills
- 9781788510226
Report illustrating the outcomes and progress achieved by the Enterprise and Business Support project as part of the Enterprise and Skills Review.
3. Delivering Better Outcomes
Supporting all business - making available the right support at the right time
The Shape of Business Support
Our need both to increase the business base and target high growth suggests that our current split in focus between Business Gateway and the Enterprise Agencies in providing business support to SMEs and high growth companies is broadly correct [1] . In refreshing our approach, we will ensure an integrated range of joined-up services that stimulate engagement, drive innovation and ambition, and meet the growth needs of all types of business. Scotland's core enterprise and skills agencies and Business Gateway, as well as partners such as VisitScotland, will between them support companies through all stages of the business lifecycle - ensuring that support, whether digital or in person, is available to all businesses that wish to start up and grow. Together, they will provide the full range of assistance from pre-start through start-up and expansion to scale, so that businesses can access the right support at the right times from the right provider. They will also draw on other providers' skills and expertise from across the public, third and private sectors, including the Innovation Centres, Scotland's colleges, universities and knowledge exchange offices, and the breadth of entrepreneurship organisations. Since not all clutter is at the hands of the agencies or local government services, we will co-ordinate and streamline where we can, and engage with wider partners to persuade them to do the same.
As now, this will be segmented according to business growth stages, with the partners responsible for ensuring that together they minimise duplication and clutter. The enterprise agencies will remain responsible nationally for supporting higher growth and key sectors - providing more tailored support to those with greatest growth potential. HIE will retain its additional remit for community-based enterprise. Recognising the importance of local economies and local diversity, local authorities will remain responsible for business information and advice for start-ups, micro-enterprises and locally traded SMEs through the Business Gateway service, as well as related functions such as planning and employability. Some local authorities have already joined up support under the Business Gateway umbrella; our ambition is to broaden this out to encompass more local authorities' business support where appropriate. Once established, the South of Scotland vehicle will respond to the enterprise and skills requirements of the south of Scotland - focussing on the needs of place, driving activity to support inclusive growth and communities, and making best use of people and resources. Annex A illustrates the respective roles and responsibilities of each body.
The positive difference for business will be our focus on collective impact and our drive to make the system work much better through a consistent focus on the individual business. This is most important in the transition between growth stages, including between start-up and high growth support where medium-sized businesses have described how they can sometimes feel lost. For growth companies, we will take the recent close collaboration around innovation between Business Gateway and the agencies as a model of successful partnership that works in the business' interests.
As noted, there is a clear regional dimension. Scotland's business base is geographically dispersed, sometimes in regional or sectoral clusters. The Regional Partnerships Project demonstrates how a regional focus can provide substantial additionality by facilitating multi-organisational and multi-sector collaboration across shared opportunities or challenges. We expect our enterprise agencies to strengthen their consideration of regional equity in their business planning, and to increase their operational focus on place by working closely with regional partnerships to help shape regional economic strategies that align with national objectives and improve local outcomes. Regional partnerships are expected to have a strong private sector voice. As they develop and generate evidence of impact, we will consider how business support might be streamlined or enhanced. The recent requirement for each of Scotland's 32 Community Planning Partnerships to agree and publish a Local Outcomes Improvement Plan ( LOIP) provides a further opportunity to identify particular local improvement priorities around which business support can be aligned.
In addition, we will explore how we might build on initiatives such as CAN DO Places to grow the value of small scale local economic clusters (for example, industrial estates or business parks). Since all businesses, regardless of location, should be able to access support suitable to their ambition, our work on entrepreneurship will further explore how virtual support, such as that provided through HIE's support for Entrepreneurial Spark's virtual accelerator pilot, can ensure high-growth-potential is supported right across Scotland. This supports our overall principle that whilst agency investment and support should be targeted at firms with growth potential, the scale of that growth will be considered proportionate to the local economy within which it is located.
Focussing support on the user
Two key Review principles have been that support should be focussed on the user and clutter reduced. As noted, a substantial amount of work has already been initiated to improve businesses' experience of support and to provide more consistent and timely services (See Annex B). We will further address clutter, confusion and inconsistency by re-designing and redefining public sector support around the customer's journey. [vi] As we build on existing provision, businesses will experience both improved initial contact and guidance, and a simpler support journey that includes over time:
- Simpler common language and a consistent public sector approach that fully exploits digital opportunities with a single, easy-to-access, digital entry point.
- An early, intelligent assessment of needs and opportunities to ensure support is tailored and provided by the right partner.
- Contact from the most appropriate first partner within a specified time in a way that corresponds to the needs of the individual business owner.
- Fewer and ultimately only one request for the same basic information which, with agreement, will be shared across the system.
- A more joined-up approach to workforce planning, skills and talent attraction.
- For businesses with significant growth potential, a key contact within the most appropriate organisation to facilitate access both to digital advice and across providers, backed by a more rounded team approach that strengthens their development and growth ambitions.
Business support will still be delivered through a mix of face-to-face and digitally-enabled engagement. This will include self-service website or telephone advice; one-to-many seminars, workshops and events; and tailored one-to-one advice, including from partners with specific expertise such as the Scottish Manufacturing Advisory Service or Scottish Development International. Some of this will be digitally supported, for example through webinars or teleconferencing, thereby making best use of businesses' valuable time.
This will be affirmed in a joint commitment from all public sector business support partners that makes clear the standards and levels of service that businesses can expect. In addition, we will work together to identify the most effective means to reach businesses who are not yet engaged, and work with wider partners so they help raise ambition and guide more businesses to make the best use of available advice.
Specific support mechanisms will range from making more use of accelerator programmes to leverage shorter but more intensive engagement, to the longer-term dedicated and proactive support traditionally experienced through account management. Partners will also respond to the needs of specific sectors - such as VisitScotland's work in tourism with private sector partners and dispersed small or micro-based businesses, or the SE, HIE, SDS, SFC and Creative Scotland collaboration around the screen industry.
The intensity and duration of support will be appropriate to the business' opportunities and needs at any stage, as well as their potential economic impact. We will consider clearer entry and exit points for intensive engagement - stepping back where this is not needed so businesses can consolidate progress, and ready to re-engage when it will again have impact. Our enhanced and integrated team approach will ensure that each partner's efforts are focussed where they best add value. It will mean that resource may be combined or shared when necessary to support the client, and it should strengthen our ability to provide more intensive support to increase the number of mid-sized businesses. In terms of higher growth, we will work together with others through the Scotland CAN DO Scale movement (see below) to create more companies with the ambition and potential to scale up to a turnover of £50-£100m+ (or equivalent growth reflecting local circumstances).
Key business characteristics will influence the entry criteria for intensive support and play an important role in assessing a business's potential and opportunity. These include the scale of contribution to Scottish, regional or local growth and/or economic resilience. They also include a business' desire to grow quickly, its ambition and positive entrepreneurial mindset; its scope for productivity improvement and innovation; its projected turnover, profitability and growth potential; business strategy and leadership; market and international opportunity; and commitment to fair working practices and progressive workforce development and engagement.
For this support environment to be successful in the Highlands and Islands, South of Scotland and other rural areas, as well as in specific sectors such as tourism, the following must also apply:
- Support must be capable of being flexed and targeted to tackle disadvantage or nurture distinctive opportunities across different parts of these regions.
- Economic and community development need to be fully integrated through an approach that combines business support with creating resilient, capable communities.
- Partners across the public sector should recognise that economic development is multi-faceted and requires significant partnership and investment to deliver the infrastructure on which businesses and communities depend (for example, physical and digital connectivity, education, health care and housing).
This is illustrated in the importance of a thriving rural economy in supporting viable rural communities. Recognising the prominent role that social, family-owned and micro enterprises play across rural Scotland, and the variation in both business requirement and type or extent of support, we expect soon to progress a series of actions that will support the needs of rural enterprises.
In addition, we will continue to expect SE and HIE to focus on nationally and regionally important sectors and to deliver on industrial strategies in conjunction with business-led Industry Leadership Groups. Our strategic approach to industrial policy operates within the overarching framework provided by Scotland's Economic Strategy, Innovation Action Plan, and Manufacturing Action Plan. This has demonstrated flexibility to deal with specific issues as they arise, such as our interventions to secure a viable future for steel, commercial shipbuilding or aluminium production. We are currently developing the business case for a new manufacturing centre of excellence and skills academy (the National Manufacturing Institute for Scotland) and, on 19 June, announced funding for a Lightweight Manufacturing Centre. We are also working closely with the UK Government to ensure that we realise maximum economic benefit from the planned UK Industrial Strategy and associated funding. We will look for ways to further strengthen our support for industry, seek to maintain an open dialogue as our work develops, and monitor the impact of this on business support.
Action: Starting this summer, and engaging with the business community and individual businesses, deliver a joint improvement programme to create a much more coherent and joined up system of support that is focussed on business need and is quick and easy to access and understand.
Driving a growth culture and building business capacity
The importance of mindset and developing ambition in raising productivity is now globally recognised. Top business people, including serial entrepreneurs, have a mindset, whether innate or learned, that is growth-oriented. Accordingly, our focus on improving support must be matched by encouraging the appropriate ambition and mindset amongst all businesses so that they can increase resilience, improve productivity, and offer increasingly innovative products, processes and services.
Increasing Scotland's productivity requires us both to increase the number of entrepreneurial high growth companies, and to maximise the cumulative economic and employment impacts of smaller companies, especially where they are locally important. We will therefore seek to raise ambition at every level and, to support this, will recognise and celebrate business success.
All enterprises have the potential to impact positively on Scotland beyond purely economic terms. We want to celebrate and encourage this so that company success and wider positive benefits are seen as mutually compatible. This may be through adoption of the Fair Work Framework principles, the Scottish Business Pledge, inclusive and purpose-driven business models, or partnering with international organisations such as B-Corp. [vii]
In seeking to drive ambition, it will be important to recognise the trigger points for growth and to support businesses appropriately as they reach these. The stages of generating and validating an idea, making a decision, getting started, building and developing a team, raising equity or funding to grow, and dealing with investors, boards and non-executive directors all involve personal and professional development from the business leader and the team around them. Analysis of these points should help identify what types of engagement and support are critical at which junctures.
Nonetheless, further work is required to understand better how to stimulate ambition and unblock what is preventing many businesses from engaging more actively and effectively with growth support. We will consult with firms across the SME base (including micro-businesses) to improve our understanding of their ambitions. We will also draw on the successful application of behavioural insights techniques in other areas to identify how best to engage more companies and then support improvement.
As part of our approach to raising ambition and helping businesses scale, we will play our role in facilitating the collective impact approach and 'backbone' called for in the MIT REAP Scotland report. [viii] In particular, we will encourage and support action to bring together and amplify the Scotland CAN DO entrepreneurial movement that is taking root across Scotland. This will enable leaders of Scotland's innovation-driven enterprises to share experiences and learning and to accelerate growth as they interact with, and feed off, a much more effective and impactful entrepreneurial community. We will also invest into organisations capable of strengthening Scotland's entrepreneurial ecosystem in a way that provides a boost to Scotland's entrepreneurial culture and ambition and accelerates the realisation of the Scotland Can Do vision.
Action: Undertake specific research, reporting in early 2018, on the behaviour and motivation of businesses in terms of ambition, innovation and productivity so that we can reach more businesses more effectively and better target future interventions.
Action: Work with Entrepreneurial Scotland to establish, by autumn 2017, a 'backbone' of support organisation to maximise the collective impact of Scotland's growing entrepreneurial movement.
Education plays an important role in fostering a culture of entrepreneurship, developing business skills, and preparing people for the world of work. Working closely with Skills Development Scotland, the enterprise agencies and Business Gateway advisers will consider the impact of in-work training when designing their support for individual businesses. They will consider the role of colleges and universities in providing this, and the positive impact of skills and education on talent attraction and ensuring a balanced labour pool across Scotland. In doing so, they will ensure activity aligns with Scotland's Enterprising Schools and Developing Scotland's Young Workforce recommendations - such as in SDS's work with industry to develop higher-level, business-led Modern and Graduate Apprenticeship programmes that align with sector and regional business needs. In this context we will also, as a part of Scotland's Year of Young People 2018, work with partners to provide a platform for young people to develop and showcase their entrepreneurial and innovative potential.
Management skills have been highlighted as a particular challenge for many Scottish businesses. ix As outlined in the Innovation Report, it has been suggested that management quality can be improved through basic business education in areas such as budgeting, data analysis and standard human resources practices. [x] In addition, we need to consider how we ensure access to training for business leaders and entrepreneurs - including first time entrepreneurs - that fits in with their full and busy work schedules. This is alongside the support provided, for example, by business incubators, university-based executive education, and entrepreneurial leadership programmes such as Entrepreneurial Scotland's Saltire Fellowship. Once available, we will consider the implications of analysis proposed by the Innovation project relating to the management skills issues facing Scottish businesses, including those that are family-owned.
Building businesses' digital capacity
The ability of business to operate digitally will profoundly influence Scotland's economic and inclusive growth. The refreshed Digital Strategy for Scotland (March 2017) highlights the potential of digital technologies to help businesses to innovate, develop new products and services, reach new markets and customers at home and abroad, and grow. In addition to our investment in world class broadband and digital skills, actions focussed specifically on businesses include:
- A new Digital Growth Fund, which will make loans available to businesses to help meet the costs of relevant digital skills training, and increase their digital footprint and capability.
- An extension for the Digital Boost programme, which raises awareness and offers advice to businesses across Scotland on the ways in which digital technology can help them to grow.
- A second Digital Business Survey and Maturity Index to take place during 2017, the results of which will help guide continuing digital business advice and support.
- A pilot project aimed at growing rapidly scalable digital businesses that can compete on a global stage.
- Collaboration with the business community on ways to promote and increase e-commerce awareness and activity in Scotland.
- Continued support for small digital businesses to take advantage of public sector procurement opportunities.
Improving Delivery - joining up the partners behind the scenes
Simplifying delivery for businesses will require deep collaboration between public sector delivery partners so that businesses receive support that is appropriately tailored to their needs. Annex C shows how the journey through support will appear more straightforward to businesses ( Figure 1) and then how this will be facilitated behind the scenes, with each partner playing their role in collectively supporting businesses, sectors, clusters and the wider economy ( Figure 2). This will be integrated with broader economic development activity through regular liaison and collaboration with other public, private and third sector providers.
In aligning behind our common vision, public sector delivery partners will jointly own and deliver an agreed support strategy. They will take a co-ordinated and collaborative approach to ensuring a consistent, easy-to-access system that also responds to local requirements and is informed by customer research, input and business-needs analysis.
To deliver streamlined and user-focussed support, agency and local authority partners will accelerate existing partnership approaches based on three principles:
- Creating the conditions - using our collective infrastructure, knowledge and people to facilitate opportunities for business.
- Focussing on customer opportunity - providing support in a way that inspires and enables business customers to realise their potential and grow.
- Collaboration - maximising opportunities for partners and customers across organisations and sectors to collaborate, share, learn and influence.
This will see a move away from semi-rigid demarcation with cut-off points between individual organisations driven by individual targets, to a more rounded team approach for businesses and their growth ambitions that includes collective measures. All partners will be expected to be collaborative and responsive, with some flexibility to respond to specific needs and tailor targeted interventions.
Developing Delivery Capability
In order to deliver this, support capabilities will need to match our collective ambition. The overarching drive for continuous and shared improvement will require us all to embrace digital. Alongside efforts to drive ambition and engage more businesses, online delivery will allow a much broader cohort of companies to access more information and advice, thereby extending public sector reach and enhancing face-to-face services. It will improve effectiveness in delivering basic support and maximise opportunities to target intensive resource where this will impact most.
Responses to the Phase 1 Call for Evidence and focus group feedback in early 2017 highlighted the desirability of a simple, easily accessible digital offering to complement the highly-valued face-to-face support. There was a clear call from businesses for support to be marketed more clearly, avoiding confusion as to where to go and a resulting failure to engage. Businesses also asked for the transition between support partners to be made more seamless via digital means, and for start-ups and businesses new to the support landscape to have a more easily navigable experience.
The Office for National Statistics ( ONS) is developing a new Business Index. This will provide a complete definitive list of all businesses and sole traders in the UK and assign to each a unique identifier. The aim is for the index to be shared across government to facilitate more efficient and effective business policies and services. The Scottish Government is involved in testing, and we expect a beta version to be available in 2018. Once developed, we will use the authenticated ID to help ease requirements for inputting basic information and to pull in support from partners more quickly and effectively. Depending on delivery timescales, we will consider developing our own interim ID for Scottish business support.
We also want to reduce confusion by developing a common digital access point for all public sector business advice and support. This will be backed by the single business ID so that every business' route through support is more easily navigable. It will complement SE's Enquiry Fulfilment and Research Service ( EFRS) which currently handles enquiries, including by phone, on behalf of SE and Business Gateway. Moving forward we will explore how we align this enquiry service with the proposed single digital access point.
The Business Gateway portal was set up to offer a single entry point and triage service for all start-ups and growth companies in Scotland. Its service is well valued, and quality assurance confirms that the majority of those who have used it consider it beneficial. However, it is not used by all companies. Some don't access any publicly funded advice at all; some immediately approach SE or HIE; and the phase 1 Call for Evidence responses suggested that many are confused as to where they should go. At the same time, the mygov.scot website, which was originally developed as a common site to bring together all public services in Scotland, has transitioned services from the Scottish Business Portal and Finance Hub (previous joint partner commitments). It offers businesses information on matters such as starting a business, developing a product, exporting, calculating business rates and accessing finance and funding opportunities, and signposts them to services on GOV.UK which are the responsibility of the UK Government.
In seeking clarity for businesses, we will look to ensure a single entry point that is trusted by all business and continues the triage service offered by Business Gateway. The intention is for all agency and local authority business advice services to be lined up behind the single entry point, including wider support such as access to finance through the Scottish Investment Bank or Scottish Growth Scheme. As we consider how best to co-ordinate with the mygov.scot website, we will seek to ensure information is consistent, up-to-date and accurate; avoids duplication where possible; is available to users in the way they want to receive it; and makes available performance data so as to improve future performance.
All public sector providers engaged in attracting businesses to support will be tasked with directing businesses to the single access point. Nonetheless, there will be no wrong door insofar as customers landing first with an individual organisation will be handed on appropriately. In time, businesses will be able to sign up to receive tailored advice and information, and we will include links to third and private sector business organisations where appropriate.
Work on the design of the digital entry point will start over the summer. We will then consider supplementing this with a Business Box - an electronic information pack that each business will receive alongside their Business ID. This will include links to online support and training packages, information on the types of support available, and the offer of follow up.
These steps will remove scope for confusion and simplify engagement. We have heard that businesses find the entry and exit points for support from different organisations confusing, and that they are frustrated by the experience of repeatedly submitting basic information when they make more than one application for support. Our re-focussed team approach will help them to experience smoother handing-on to the correct partner, as well as between partners where they receive support from multiple organisations. They will spend less time repeating basic input of data, be better informed across the spectrum of support, and feel listened to, better understood and supported.
Behind the scenes, partners will benefit from improved visibility across the whole system, improved oversight where more than one is engaged with the same company, and the ability to signpost more easily. Based on robust analysis of need, they will be able to target resources more effectively. It is expected that they take care not to offer services that could be in competition with other providers and result in confusion. They will liaise when reviewing or developing new programmes and initiatives, including with business organisations. Government will likewise check existing support before we ask agencies to develop new initiatives.
This will support further opportunities to accelerate business success, including:
- Improving individual end-to-end processes and services, for example reducing times to receive advice or decisions on grants.
- Developing a common assessment environment so that partners can collectively identify who can best offer assistance and target support appropriately.
- Increased use of appropriate data capture, data sharing agreements and analytics, for example gender-disaggregated data, to measure impact and inform future interventions.
- Reducing confusion by developing a common design feel, some common content and branding across public sector providers.
- Making available common tools for providers to support business development and decision making, e.g. common business planning, cash flow and financial templates.
- Understanding and accessing government-funded skills programmes at the appropriate time.
- For businesses with appropriate growth potential, a 'partnership for growth' approach and allocation of lead contact to oversee their journey.
- Facilitated peer-to-peer learning and mentoring opportunities with third party partners.
- Jointly putting problems forward to public sector innovation challenges such as the SE Innovation Challenge or CivTech, which engages the private sector and citizens to develop more innovative and effective solutions (see Innovation Action Plan).
We may then seek to extend this 'supply-led' support beyond public sector provision. A broader digital platform, for instance, could enable others to join and offer B2B support in their areas of expertise, for example using a 'live' database to match supply and demand. If appropriate, this could help bring together the wider spectrum of support services, for example linking with careers services and the supply of labour or skills.
The quality of all advice and support, whether accessed digitally or not, is crucial. Business has highlighted the crucial quality of advisers and a proactive mindset. Building on current training, our efforts to integrate structures will be backed by the development of organisational and staff capabilities. We will ensure advisers remain ambitious for Scotland's businesses, and are supported by access to up-to-date knowledge, insights and tools from across the public and private sectors, and lessons from other countries. Continuous Professional Development could, for example, include exchanges or placements to ensure advisers have recent experience of the area in which they work.
Action: Develop a single digital access point that is appropriate and accessible for all business types.
Action: Build on work by the Office of National Statistics to develop and deliver a single, authenticated business ID to facilitate the joining up of support between organisations across Scotland and reduce duplication in the provision of information by businesses.
Action: Pilot, and if successful roll-out, a Business Box for companies - an electronic information pack that each new business receives alongside its Business ID.
Action: Build on existing professional training, and use the capabilities of a common digital platform, to ensure business advisers are equipped to provide top quality advice that responds to all business types and to current and future business needs.
Specific support themes
In addition to refocusing support and ensuring collaborative delivery, we will undertake early action in individual areas such as scale up, gender and social enterprise. Further delivery themes, following analysis of requirement, could include how we support businesses into the emerging economy or the challenges facing mid-market and family businesses.
Scale Up
Stimulating and supporting significantly more high growth companies with the ambition and potential to scale up to a turnover of £100m+ is one of the most powerful drivers of growth for the economy and jobs, national competitive advantage, and wealth [2] . The Scale Up Report on Economic Growth notes that the UK lags behind the US and other leading economies in the extent to which companies scale; as promising companies struggle to grow domestically and expand internationally, they are taken over by larger, often foreign-owned, firms at a significant discount to their potential. [xi] We have a long-standing gap in the number of Scottish companies of scale, and it is recognised that fast, high growth companies require specific support to reach turnover levels of £100m+.
The Scottish Government's 2016/17 Programme for Government committed to 'working with our enterprise agencies to create an expanded and collaborative 'Scale Up' programme'. The Innovation Action Plan (a Phase 1 action from this Review) undertook to increase 'our ability to scale up innovative companies with rapid growth potential by drawing together existing high growth initiatives into a collaborate SCALE UP programme'.
Many positive initiatives have started to emerge. These include the new Scale Up leadership programme delivered in partnership by the Hunter Foundation and Entrepreneurial Scotland, and the Scale summer school run by SE, HIE and SFC, now in
its third year. Our agencies continue to enhance their assistance to companies to achieve fast growth and scale - for example through their Entrepreneurship Development Programme with MIT and their account management scaling service.
We believe that the ambition for scale up is best led and owned by the entrepreneurial ecosystem - driven through a collaborative and expansive movement that is connected with, and develops from, a strong business start-up base. Building on an inclusive partnership across public, private and third sectors, Entrepreneurial Scotland will use its convening power to facilitate the Scotland CAN DO Scale movement. This will be a specific strand of the wider Scotland CAN DO programme.
Scotland CAN DO Scale will seek to build momentum by raising levels of awareness, connectivity and ambition. It will engage entrepreneurs and business leaders who are innovation-driven, have an international mindset, and whose key characteristics include ambition to grow significantly and with pace. On the supply side, it will focus on identifying and aligning Scotland's scale stakeholders and initiatives - developing shared language and identifying the place of individual programmes and interventions in a common framework. On the demand side, efforts will initially focus on identifying Scotland's scaling entrepreneurs and fuelling appetite. Partners will develop and implement an agreed communications plan and explore the creation of a Scale web portal. This will be lined up behind the single access point for business support and aligned with Scotland CAN DO.
Detailed work to measure progress will be taken forward jointly by the new SG and agency analytical unit and experts such as the Fraser of Allander Institute, Global Entrepreneurship Monitor ( GEM) and Business Insider. Next steps to drive this forward with pace and endorsement from the ecosystem will include formalising the CAN DO Scale steering group and mapping existing support onto the key stages of growth. [xii]
Action: Provide more and better co-ordinated support for businesses to 'scale up' by driving forward the Scotland CAN DO Scale movement through Entrepreneurial Scotland and partners across the system - with the new steering group in place from summer 2017.
Tackling the gender gap in enterprise and enabling women to start-up and grow businesses are important measures of a vibrant and inclusive economy. Studies show that women-led businesses are ambitious and aspire to scale up. They indicate that were women to start enterprises at the same rate as men, they could generate an additional £7.6 billion for the Scottish economy. [xiii] Significant economic gains can therefore be realised by ensuring business support speaks to and is aligned with the needs of women-led businesses.
A supportive, responsive system that provides women-led businesses with the right support at the right time requires gender-awareness from early in the business formation process and throughout the whole journey. Partners need to understand the needs and barriers faced by minority and women-led businesses in accessing suitable support and to ensure that their targeting and delivery is gender-appropriate, including through the single digital access point. [xiv]
However, in order to achieve sustained transformative change, additional activity is required short-to-medium term to remove the barriers, real or perceived, which hinder female-led growth. The Scottish Government's latest Programme for Government promised to double overall support to £400,000 in 2017/18 for the actions delivered through the Framework and Action Plan for Women's Enterprise. [xv] The framework refresh, funded through Scotland CAN DO and published this summer, will ensure that the shared effort around gender and the overall context of business support are fully aligned. It will facilitate an implementation group of public, private and third sector partners to ensure that progress is met against outline goals, and act as one voice in directing the most appropriate path for policy and interventions. This implementation group will collaboratively scope, cost and ensure the success of future policy and interventions to drive the realisation of the Women In Enterprise Framework.
Existing commitments to support delivery alongside the framework include:
- Doubling funding to £120,000 for Investing Women's support to women-led businesses, providing growth advice and links to angel investors (announced April 2017).
- Supporting the CAN DO Women's Ambassadors Project delivered by Women's Enterprise Scotland to provide case studies as well as speakers and delegates to engage with conferences and events. Over the next year we will ensure the recruitment and deployment of a further 10 Women's Enterprise Ambassadors with a focus on STEM and high growth.
- Supporting Business Women Scotland's delivery of the #BWSLiveEvents programme - informing women about the support landscape for female entrepreneurs and encouraging them to network and gain confidence to grow their businesses.
In addition, the Digital Technology Skills Group has established a Gender Action Group to tackle the gender gap and underlying issues in the technology sector and wider economy. [xvi]
Action: Realise untapped economic potential by tackling the gender gap across start-ups and growth companies - including through this summer's refreshed Women in Enterprise Action Framework, with action to deliver a sustainable model that collaboratively develops and monitors future gender-aware and gender-specific policies and interventions.
Social Enterprise
Social enterprises blend commercial and social objectives in pursuit of a fairer and more equal society. For more than a decade, the sector has benefited from sustained investment to develop Scotland's system of support for social enterprise. This features, for example, social enterprise incubation, specialist business support, training, and education opportunities. Scotland's first Social Enterprise Census, published in 2015, found that more than 5,000 social enterprises in Scotland employed more than 100,000 people and contributed around £1.68 billion to the Scottish economy each year.
In December 2016, the Scottish Government's Social Enterprise Strategy, co-produced with the social enterprise sector, set out shared ambitions with three priorities:
- Stimulating Social Enterprise - strengthening local development, social entrepreneurship and innovation, social enterprise in education, and national recognition.
- Developing stronger organisations - through social finance, business support, collaboration, leadership and workforce development, and the demonstration of social value.
- Realising market opportunity - in public, consumer and business markets.
The first action plan, published April 2017, [xvii] is set against the backdrop of this review and features specific actions to support social enterprises as businesses. These include:
- Extending the national programme of specialised business support - Just Enterprise - by another year and investing a further £1.2m before reviewing its performance and impact more fully.
- Equipping a growing network of business advisors with the knowledge and relationships to deliver the best possible support to social enterprises, including through a Business Support Exchange Network of advisors from SE, HIE, SDI BG, Just Enterprise and others.
- Helping early stage social enterprises through support for Scotland's first social enterprise accelerator programme (LaunchMe).
- Boosting digital innovation and growth; supporting first steps into international markets; helping social enterprises to win public sector business.
- Ensuring that a growing number of social enterprises enjoy the benefits of engaging with mainstream business advice and support from SE, HIE and Business Gateway.
A number of Business Gateway advisers already focus on supporting social enterprises. HIE's core remit specifically includes support for social enterprises and communities, and it works intensively with them over a sustained period through account management. SE provides account management and specialist services according to the standard eligibility criteria for mainstream businesses. It leads Scotland's input, as one of six European partners, to an Interreg Learning Exchange Programme focussed on social enterprise. In addition, collaborative and employee ownership business models are supported by Co-operative Development Scotland, an arm of SE working in partnership with HIE. Building on this, we will task our delivery partners with widening social enterprises' access to mainstream business support alongside any other commercial business.


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3) Cure for minor burns: Lavender oil provide an instant relief to the burns, without the scarring. Once you have cooled the burnt area with cool water, gently apply neat lavender oil on the effected part.
4) Cure for ear-ache: Lavender oil can work its best to heal the pain in ears and throats. Just warm a bottle of lavender oil in hot water for a minute or two and then gently apply the warm oil over the skin around the ears and throat.
5) Anti-Bacterial: French lavender oil has been tested to exhibit an extremely strong anti-bacterial property. Lavender oil in dilutions of 5 percent or less can work efficiently against the diseases like TB, diphtheria and typhoid, in combination with lemon balm.
6) Cure for Eczema: Apply infused lavender oil on the dry and itchy skin. You can also mix few drops of lavender oil with a carrier oil like olive oil or a calamine motion, and apply the same for instant relief.
7) Cure for Faintness or Palpitations: You can prepare your own customized fragrant salts to cure the problems of palpitations, by combining sea salt, lavender oil, peppermint oil and basil oil.
8) Cure for Fatigue: Just put 5-6 drops of lavender oil in hot water and soak your feet in it. Since, the soles of the feet are quite porous, the lavender oil can instantly reach your bloodstream, thereby applying its soothing and relieving actions to various body parts.
9) Cure for Fever: When in fever, while sponging the patient's body with warm water, add a few drops of lavender essential oil to it. This works well for both adults and children
10) Cure for Menstrual Cramps: Massaging a few drops of lavender oil into your lower abdomen can give quite relief from the menstrual cramps.
Apart from the above mentioned healings, lavender oil can provide multiple more benefits, especially for the healing of respiratory problems related to cold, cough, influenza, congestion in lungs and sinuses. As a matter of fact, one of the most proficient benefits of Lavender essential oil, is the healing it provides for the respiratory problems.
Lavender is mostly composed of the esters, which are aromatic molecules and are know for their antispasmodic, tonic and pacifying attributes. The other molecules that fill in the Lavender provide additional anti-inflammatory, anti-viral and anti-bacterial properties.
Buy Lavender Oil Online
You can now easily buy lavender essential oil and other related aromatherapy products online at amazon. There are varieties of aromatherapy lavender oil, now available right from lavender bath oil, lavender fragrance oil to lavender body oil. Below are few of the most popular lavender product ranges mentioned:
- Beauty Diaries
Know more about makeup, beauty and cosmetic products, launches and reviews of some known and some not-so-known beauty and cosmetic brands here.

subset: commoncrawl


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Special equipment: a mandoline
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish and set aside.
Heat the cream, milk, garlic, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a small saucepan over medium heat until simmering. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until the liquid has reduced slightly, about 10 minutes. Turn off the heat.
Peel the potatoes and slice into thin (about 1/8-inch thick) medallions on a mandoline. (If you do not have a mandoline, use a sharp knife to slice the potatoes as thinly as you can.)
Layer one-third of the potato slices, overlapping slightly, in the baking dish and sprinkle one-third of the cheese on top. Repeat with the potatoes and cheese until you have three layers of potatoes. Sprinkle the remaining cheese and the rosemary on top. Pour over the cream mixture.
Bake until the cheese is golden brown and the liquid is bubbling around the edges, 50 to 60 minutes. If the top isn't golden brown after 60 minutes, broil for a few minutes to color and crisp the cheese. Cover with foil and let stand for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.
This dish is best assembled and baked the same day.


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The Skin Deep School of Modern Music in Ellon recently held a successful country afternoon.
It took place at the Station Hotel and featured various acts.
The event was kicked off by Ellon duo Alibi - Amy Lawrence and Bethan Illingworth - followed by three-time world champion line dancers Stephanie Cardno, from Fraserburgh, and Roy Hoeban, from the Netherlands.
Next up were Ol' Spice who played many country favourites, including a tribute to Johnny Cash.
Local singer Chloe Milne took to the stage along with Skin Deep Music School tutors John Mather and Matthew Bearne.
Ian and Jayne Brown, who run the school, were delighted with success of the event. Ian is the drummer with Ol' Spice.
Jayne said: "It was a great day for everyone involved and we'd like to thank all those who came along.
"We raised £252 from the raffle proceeds which is being donated to Ellon Rotary Club to go towards the senior citizens Christmas party."
The event was compered by Amy Young, from Aberdeen, and the crew who helped were Nick Langan, George Mitchell, Andrew Barnett, Dennis Stewart, Neill Will, Edwin Duguid, Isobel Duguid and Christine Mitchell.
Jayne said they were also grateful to the owners and staff at the Station Hotel for their support.
The couple, who are originally from Fraserburgh, moved to Ellon more than seven years ago, and the school celebrated its 10th anniversary last year.
If you want to know more about the school contact Jayne on 01358 725864.


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Waterfront Custom Craftsman in Newport Shores...
Bellevue, WA 98006
Custom craftsman on 90' of Newport Shores canal front! Re-built in 2004, this stunningly beautiful great room home has soaring ceilings, walls of windows, water views & main floor master! Main floor also boasts two additional bedrooms, one en-suite and one used as office. Lower level has two bedrooms with shared bath, wet bar, wine cellar, second laundry room, theater room, rec room & boat storage room that is heated and finished! Four car garage plus lift. Live the life of your dreams!
- Single Family Home
- Garage
- Backyard
- Air Conditioning
- Fireplace
- Two or More Stories
- Basement
- Laundry Room
- Waterfront
- View
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We have this story about Noah and the flood. ~270 flood stories have survived. The Hawaiins have this story that after the first dude in the world died, the place became corrupt and violent. So God decided to flood it. One guy, Nu'u, built a big canoe and put a house on it. He and his family were the only people to survive the flood.
The Chinese say Fuhi did it. With his 3 sons and 3 daughters. Noah had 3 sons and their wives.
Toltec Mesoamericans say the first world lasted 1716 years, and that only one family named Coxcox survived. Bible birth dates before the flood added together produce 1656 years. That is within margin of error. So it Nu'u to Noah. Say em. Say em both. Then look at the Hawaiians language patterns.
Do note that this boat shaped piece is 300 cubits long, as described in the Bible, and located at 'Noah's Big Boat' in Turkey.
Consider Atlantis. Probably a flood legend, and probably no longer exists at all because of the flood. www.creationism.org.
Well, if you're going to get it you've gotten it by now! Join me in researching this!
I'd also like to examine the possibility of up- and down- evolution. It is easy for Darwin's finches to be produced by natural selection, but these finches will never ever turn into eagles, or humans. This is down evolution, and the creatures have drifted downstream from their starting point.
If up-evolution occurred, there would be a much looser grouping of species. It would not be chains of species, but more of an intense fraying of species ropes into individual fibers, each competing for space as individuals or possibly families and not as species. Instead, we see tightly grouped genetic chains, specific methods of genetic transmission, and new species appearing in steps like a staircase. Up-evolution would be like a waterfall or a ramp.
Down-evolution is unexceptional, as in there is no up-evolution. Genetic drift is like cloud transformation. These clouds will not become mountains or planes though. End.


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What exactly is Living Lean?
Living Lean is working to establish a healthy and strong body and mind. Living Lean is establishing a nutrition plan to help you live life to the maximum. Living Lean is learning that your life does not have to be spent in the gym for 2 hours 5-6 days a week. Living Lean is learning that a healthy sustainable nutrition and exercise plan will support a lean and healthy body.
So why should we strive to live a lean healthy body? Well, the most important aspect is decreasing the amount of body fat in our abdominal area is to decrease our chances of cardiometabolic diseases (CMS), including diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia, and coronary heart disease (CHD). Multiple studies of peer reviewed journals describe establishing and maintain a healthy waist to height ratio. What is a healthy waist to height ratio. First find out…what is your height in inches. Then take that number and cut it in half. This number should be the size of your waist when measured at the navel area. For example: I am 66 inches tall, therefore the area around my navel "waist" should be 33 inches. 33 inches is my target to decrease my chances of developing CMS.
Cardiometabolic syndrome (CMS) is a clustering of interrelated risk factors that promote the development of atherosclerotic vascular disease and type 2 diabetes mellitus.
Here are a few Journals to support this (these are medical journals, NOT fitness fraud!):
Many popular groups right now are supporting a healthy, positive body approach and this is great. But, as healthcare providers, strength coaches, fitness professionals we also have to be the bad guy and tell our clients the truth to help them be healthy and strong. We must embrace the healthy body approach to get all people exercising and loving themselves. But, with that love we must accept the responsibility of helping to change the body, if the body does not fall in the parameters of decreasing chances of cardiometabolic diseases.
This is where my story begins, for my whole life I have been constantly seeking the method to live within or at a balanced to waist to height ratio. Get my waist to 33 inches! This has always been my goal as an adult. I do not worry too much about the scale. Just focus on getting to 33 inches. You might ask, why did you ditch the scale? Well, many weeks my weight would not change, but I would see a decrease in the number around my navel area. Hence, maintaining healthy muscle tissue and decreasing fat tissue. This was great, I was building and maintaining muscle tissue while also decreasing my body fat in my abdominal/torso area.
It has not always been easy for me and never will be easy for me. I grew up a "husky" kid. Got the jokes cracked on me and this is the original reason I began weight training at age 14 and then playing sports.
Want proof…see pic below. My days as an Ilion Angel in my hometown.
I wish I had a picture at my biggest size. I was a junior at Canisius College and I tipped the scale at 220 pounds at a height of 5 foot 6 inches. I was fed up, I took more responsibility for my body, I began to watch more of what I ate and it did the trick. I also put a hold on my weight training and began more of a "cardio" phase of my fitness. I would spend an hour on the elliptical.
Now, this was when the elliptical was HOT and everyone was crushing calories on those things in 1999!
Once I got to a more manageable weight I did transition to running. I ran for a solid 10-12 years and just remained the same. I would participate in 3 triathlons in the summer time and my body would not change. I ran, biked, or swam at least once a day 6 days a week. I ate the right food….but I was still triathlon fat! I carried a bunch of weight in my torso.
It just was not working! I then came back to weight training. Weight training with the kettlebell. The kettlebell allowed me to train well and move well. It allowed me to accomplish many of my goals and have fun doing it. But, the mid section stayed the same…
Lets fast forward to this past May of 2016. This past May I decided to purchase and follow a fat loss template written by Renaissance Periodization(RP). RP is backed by science and written by professionals to help you to reach your goals. This was the answer I was looking for! Within the first 30 days I started to see changes in my body and in my torso. I followed the templates well and even made some modifications as needed with the help of the RP Facebook support group. I continued with my regular exercise plan and was excited because the RP template told me what to do for "off days." RP gives you several templates based on the level of exercise you participate in and also the time of day you are training. In my quest for the the "leans" I followed the "off day" and the "light training" day. These worked very well for me and have even laid the foundation as I am maintaining my "leans!"
This coming Fall at Iron Body Studios we will be launching our Living Lean Program.
I am excited to share this program with everyone who has walked a similar path as myself. A certified Eric Gahan No Fitness Fraud Program! If you have looked everywhere for answers to become leaner and healthy with nothing helping. Then the answer is here and the answer is Living Lean!Living Lean is our 60 day on-line transformation program that will give you the keys to unlock your own health and Iron Body "Leans" with our special blend of adventure and proven serious fitness techniques. This quick start program has helped several Iron Bodies, chasing the "leans" just like you to make the lifestyle changes necessary to live a life of fitness dreams.
Here's What's Included:
- 3 Living Lean Workouts per week(24 total) — $450 value
- PLUS a BONUS 4th workout each week (8 BONUS Workouts) –$150 value
- TOTAL of 32 Living Lean workouts during your 60 days on the Program — $600 value
- Workouts delivered to your computer or smart device via exercise.com — $200 value
- Regressions and Progressions so YOU can complete each training session — $200 value
- Access to instructional coaching video designed to teach and correct form and technique — $200 value
- Daily online support via very private Living Lean Facebook group support — $200 value
- Nutritional Guidance: Fat Loss Template via Renaissance Periodization (RP) (must purchase separately)
Link to Renaissance Fat Loss Template (this is a must purchase via renaissanceperiodization.com to be part of the program): Use discount code "Artemis10" at checkout.
OVER A $1,400.00 VALUE in training material FOR ONLY 1 PAYMENT OF $125.00
Use the code
at the check out for
20% off thru September 5th!
Let us show you how a busy schedule doesn't have to ruin your fitness and nutrition goals. Learn to nourish your body based on the level of exercise you do. Learn to spend time with food prep to yield maximum results. Let us teach you…life does not have to be spent in the gym for hours at a time. Life can be spent LIVING and eating a nutritional plan that meets the all your your demands! Eat and train SMART…eat and train for the "leans!"
Click HERE if you think you want to be one of the eight to train in this exclusive transformation challenge!
Hamstring mobility always seems to be a hot topic for being strong and decreasing a chance of injury. Take a look at my follow up video below on quick tips to get you started and create sustainable mobility. Give this simple set of drills a try and enjoy moving better and moving stronger!
Also don't miss out on our Summer SWAGGER promo packs at Iron Body Studios. These are a great opportunity to get into training in our exclusive West Roxbury studio space. These packs are on sale through June…so don't wait…there are only 10 packs available for purchase!
Click Here to see Iron Body Studios Schedule and to sign up!
In this video blog I outline some simple and systematic programming to improve group training. At Iron Body Studios we use these programming concepts to write effective and exclusive programming to ensure success of everyone who comes in to train with us. These concepts can also be carried over into writing more effective rehabilitation programs. Simple and Systematic is the key!
I cover many of these concepts in my Kettlebell Fundamentals Workshop. As well as developing great communication with Strength and Conditioning Specialists; Read that post HERE. If you're interested in having me come and teach to your staff please fill in the contact form below and I will be in touch with you ASAP!
Read my Bio with over 16 years of clinical practice and presentations: HERE
One of the most common questions I receive is "Eric, How did you develop such great relationships with strength coaches in the college setting?"
I take pride in the fact that at every college and university I was lucky to be part of; I always worked and fostered a great relationship with the strength coach. From the University of Kentucky, St. Bonaventure University, Ole Miss, and Boston University I was always a student of the strength and conditioning coach…I actually prefer to call them the Strength and Conditioning Specialist. They are truly the specialist of the fundamental strength patterns.
In the short video below I share some insights into developing a great relationship with a Strength and Conditioning Specialist and becoming a better Athletic Trainer. When we become masters of the fundamental movements we can ONLY then become experts in rehabilitating patients and athletes to return to sport and life.
Contact me below to schedule a Kettlebell Fundamentals Workshop in your Athletic Training room TODAY!
[Birthday Celebrations!] This coming Monday April 25th I will be turning 38! To celebrate my birthday I am running a special on the Iron Body Studios Vimeo OnDemand [Kettlebell Fundamentals]. You will get a 38% off the complete collection of 10 videos when you use the code: EricBday. They are the complete guide to kettlebell fundamentals. If you are a rehabilitation specialist, personal trainer, or strength coach or training for yourself. These videos will teach you the fundamental of working with kettlebells. Exclusive coaching cues and movements to allow you to have grace and power with the kettlebells! Over an hour of material and coaching with 10 videos. Again 38% off the complete collection use code: EricBday. **Time is limited…this code is only good through 4/25. Check out the link below and the short video: Remember use the code: EricBday
Link to purchase with discount code EricBday–>> https://vimeo.com/ondemand/ironbodystudios
In my newest video blog I discuss strategies for having nutritional success. Topic covered here is Planning for Success. I tend to think of the Seven 7 Ps! Seven Ps stand for Proper Prior Planning Prevent Piss Poor Performance. Heading into the store we need to have a proper plan to achieve success and overcome "false marketing". I hope you enjoy this video blog on helping you to achieve nutritional success.
Please feel free to contact me for nutritional coaching and training! If you missed last weeks video blog please head on over and check it out.
What is Organic? Is Organic Healthy? Should I buy this organic product? These are all common questions I get asked on a daily basis. Fact is…marketing companies are mis-using this word and tricking you into buying their products. In this short video…learn some strategies to help navigate through the marketing to have a sustainable nutritious diet!
I can help educate you on this topic is detail. Check out my blog on nutritional coaching and creating a sustainable nutrition plan for life!
Here–>> Nutrition Coaching to Help Overcome Candida and Food Intolerance.
I am excited to announce I am now talking on 5 new clients for nutrition coaching. Over the course of the past year I have been diving deep into nutrition literature and studying the best of the best for nutrition coaching and overcoming candida and also food intolerances. Of course the foundation for this was my bachelors (BS) and masters (MS) of science degree and my further education of the Precision Nutrition Level I certification.
Not very often do you have a health care provider as well as a strength coach that understand the needs of a nourishing well rounded diet. A nourishing diet that helps to control candida and control inflammation in the body.
I only have space for 5 dedicated individuals that are ready to overcome the effects of candida and also food intolerance. I am only accepting 5. I want to keep this to a select group so that I can give really great attention to the progress and success of the 5 people accepted and ready to change their life and nutritional habits.
I will give detailed breakdowns of the proper macronutrients needed to make gains toward a happy and healthy body. While coaching you and guiding you to staying way from foods that will trigger growth of candida and/or trigger IgG inflammation.
If you have been reading my previous blogs:
The Burn and the Bloat! Part 1.
The Burn and the Bloat: Part 2
The Burn and the Bloat: Part 3
Candida: byproduct of a lowered immune.
Exercise: one secret to success over Candida and Food Intolerances.
The Burn and the Bloat: Part 4: IgG get the test enjoy the GAINZ!
Now is the time to enter into my select group of 5 and receive excellent nutrition coaching with experience, evidence and up-to-date knowledge to support your needs as an individual.
If you are looking for more nutrition guidance about what is the best diet for YOU, then I hope you will join me for my 12-Week Online Nutrition Coaching Program, Iron Body Fuel. I am only taking on 5 new clients. When this group is full, the group will be closed for 12 weeks.
Our Iron Body Fuel Program is a combined Precision Nutrition and Holistic approach which includes:
- 28-Day Iron Body Restore (a guided 28-day elimination and re-introduction program);
- A two month nutrition plan tailored specifically to the client;
- Two 45 minute Skype calls;
- Weekly email support;
- Access to our private Facebook group and coaching videos for additional support and information.
Iron Body Fuel kicks off Month One with Iron Body Restore, a 28-day guided elimination and re-introduction program.
After you complete Iron Body Restore you will meet with me for your first 45-minute Skype call to review your Restore program results and create your Nutrition client coaching profile to kick off Month Two.
Months Two & Three include a two-month nutrition plan, specific to the individual.
The second 45-minute Skype call can be scheduled at the discretion and need of the client over the three month program.
Cost is $499 (save $90 when you pay in full!) for the 12-Week program or $197 per month for 3 months.
Sign up under "online store", "contract" and select the "Iron Body Fuel" payment package you prefer HERE.
If you have already completed our Iron Body Restore program, but are interested in personalized online nutrition coaching, you may sign up for two or three months of nutrition coaching at $197/month. Contact me at email@example.com to inquire about this option.
Or if you just want to contact me to discuss and find out if this program can work for you contact me at firstname.lastname@example.com to inquire.
I look forward to working with you!
In this video Blog you will get a little taste of my background and experiences. I also discuss why having experience and skill is not the answer to everything and it most certainly does NOT "trump" science. You MUST have experience + skill + the ability to interpret the science. These are key areas to developing into a great coach. We must strive for this everyday. I finish with sharing a nice shoulder stretch and mobility drill.
Working on posterior chain and Active Straight Leg Raise does not have to be challenging.
This is my latest video blog outlining some of the concepts related to FRC (Functional Range Conditioning) and why mobility and stretching does not have to be complicated. Find a line or area of tension. Stretch this line and then perform some light isometrics to help build sustainable flexibility…but more importantly…control of the range of motion and mobility.


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It was a big day down at the club with the Pink Ribbon day for Cancer research, which included a Ladies lunch and also the players wearing pink socks for the occasion. The event was a huge success and we managed to raise hundreds of dollars for a great cause.
Seniors Match Report:
Unfortunately the PHAFC seniors made it 2 losses in a row as they slipped to 1-3 and 9th position on the table, the game started well and it was a tight contest with only a goal in it at quarter time.
Albert Park kicked clear in the 2nd quarter, but the move of Ben Leske to full forward proved critical as he quickly added a couple of goals to the scoreboard, Luke Stubbs slotted a goal then Daniel Buckley snapped a goal from the 40 and there was only 1 point in it at the major break.
The main focus was to not fade out in the 3rd quarter as had been the case all year, unfortunately a fade out is what transpired. Albert Park used the wind and their pressure to slam on 6 goals to 1. The final quarter was a bit of a stalemate until Albert Park kicked a couple late and killed the contest. The Lakeside Cup once again remains with the Falcons, we will play them in 5 weeks' time for a shot at redemption.
It was a disappointing day for the House, skill errors cost us dearly and there will be much focus on intensity at training this week.
Rhys Gregory again played well off half back alongside Aidan Reynolds, Adam Collett and Ben Circosta tried hard all day, Ben Leske and Cale Urwin provided great targets up forward all game – unfortunately there were a lot of players down on the day and we didn't play the game plan well at all.
We will need a big lift against Eley Park this week, a team who sits just below us also on one win. We will need to hit 2-3 to give ourselves a chance of playing finals this year. It needs to be a solid week on the track by all.
|Power House AFC
|Albert Park
Power House AFC
Goal Kickers: B. Leske 4, C. Urwin , L. Stubbs , D. Buckley , B. Circosta
Best Players: B. Leske , C. Urwin , R. Gregory , B. Circosta , A. Collett , A. Reynolds
Reserves Match Report
The Reserves team again fielded a strong side and continued their excellent start to the season. Coaches Scratcher and Phil are very pleased with the squad and they are continuing to improve.
This was a tight contest for much of the game, Nick Jeffrey showed what a goal sneak he can be by slotting 5 goals – he roved everything and was in the contest all day. Patty Arnold presented well all day and ended up with 3 majors.
In the midfield Dom Mitchell ran all day and also kicked a couple of goals, Michael Lynch put his hand up for a senior recall with a very strong performance. Irihman Traoloch O'Sullivan played his best game for the year and Greg Bell was the rock down back as he looked to break the record for mosy marks ever taken in a VAFA game.
It was a strong tram effort with Ben 'The Fridge' Roberts and sidekick Joel Anderson providing great run and rebound off half back.
The game was in the balance at 3 quarter time with only a kick in it, but the boys rallied and kicked 5 goals to 2 in the last quarter. The Reserves now sit at 3-1 and have a massive opportunity to turn that into a 4-1 this week against winless Eley Park reserve side.
Let's get everyone down this week to training and keep the momentum going!
|Power House AFC
|Albert Park
Power House AFC
Goal Kickers: N. Jeffrey 5, P. Arnold 3, D. Mitchell 2, C. Reid
Best Players: D. Mitchell , B. Griffin , M. Lynch , N. Jeffrey , G. Bell , T.O'Sullivan


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> I would like to know how w3schools gets 9% for Moz/Gecko. [...] > to indicate something more like 2-3%. AFAIR W3Schools relies on TheCounter.com [1], but I found no clue for this again (and the data significantly seem to differ). It might be the best to look there anyway because of their large base of visits (around 300 millions per month). Regards, Jens. [1] http://thecounter.com/stats/ -- Jens Meiert Interface Architect http://meiert.com/Received on Tuesday, 30 March 2004 03:16:10 UTC
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.3.1 : Monday, 2 May 2016 14:27:12 UTC


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The reusable outer container can have the traditional branding shape and color while the refill container is designed for maximum shipping and filling efficiency.
The biodegradable refill container is manufactured and shipped to the filling plant in a volume reduced format producing shipping savings of 70-85%. The utilitarian shape allows for maximum packaging efficiency both in filling line operation and shipping efficiency.
Imagine a container that is designed for improved shipping, filling and an inviting display shelf for the consumer. Our revolutionary product is designed to create savings all along the manufacturing process and sales chain, says automation visionary Gene Eckert of Pack Flow Concepts. Consumers will like the Green packaging component and the reduced costs while enjoying the benefits of reduced storage.
The fact that the Flow Bottle has been designed with the needs of reducing transportation costs, eliminating empty bottle sortation and creating a flow directly into the bottle filling station is exciting for the producer says David Brown, President of Pack Flow Concepts. But the benefits to the consumer in Retail Ready Packaging for both the individual store shelves or the big box store pallet layout will bring convenience and costs savings.
"With the Flow Bottle, you never lose control of the refill container during the entire product life until the consumer selects it from the shelf or pallet. No money is wasted on re-orientating the refill compared to what is often seen in traditional manufacturing, filling and shipping today says John McFadden, Automation Strategist at Pack Flow Concepts.
The main driving force for the package design is the reduction of the enormous waste of plastics in our world. By creating a package that not only can suitably reduce a manufacturers cost but also benefit the world we live in, it seems to be the next logical step in manufacturing design.
Pack Flow Concepts is currently in early discussions with several companies for the licensing of this technology and will be exploring other markets.
About Pack Flow Concepts LLC
Pack Flow Concepts was formed in 2011 to develop and market novel packaging and integrated automation solutions for industry, focusing on logical transitions of the overall product and process for the life cycle.
Source : digitalproducer.digitalmedianet.com


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Range Directory » Computers » Software
|Custom Intel Computer
MDofPC Custom Computers offers custom amd athlon systems & custom intel pentium 4 computer system packages at discount prices and a wide selection of inexpensive download software titles to choose from.
|Greenhouse Talent Acquisition Suite
Learn more about all the software features Greenhouse has to help optimize your recruiting process and grow your company with the right talent.
Software CRM y gestión administrativa (ERP) en espańol para la gestión de empresas PYME.
|Blog finding and commenting software
Blog Finder is no-spam blog commenting software that provides you with a great way to get free quality backlinks for your sites without using any risky tactics that could destroy your search engine rankings
Online archiv of downloadable programs.
|Email broadcasting software
The most effective and reliable way to do permission-based email marketing, create and send opt-in email newsletters in minutes. With brilliant designs and powerful features of G-Lock EasyMail you can bring spectacular results to your email marketing campaigns and beat your competitors in the business.
|RebelGadgets - Online PC Store
Specialists in all types of Hardware & Software Computer Products.
|Chronos eStockCard Inventory Software
Chronos eStockCard Inventory Software is an easy to use inventory management system for small and medium businesses to manage Sales, Purchasing and Warehouse Inventory control with barcode tracking. Free Edition is available for download.
|Claims management software
JDi Data Corporation is a software provider for insurance claims since 1992. It develops a system for insurance company claims departments and third party administrators of property, casualty, general liability, and commercial auto, with special emphasis on complex litigation.
|offshore software outsourcing website design remote staffing Good Land offshore software outsourcing
Offshore software outsourcing and website design by Good Land informatics - Vietnam company, cost competitive. GoodLand is a proven service provider of offshore software outsourcing, software application development, website design, remote staffing and e-commerce solutions
|Content management system
Acquia is a software company that provides value-added software products and services for the Drupal.
|book2 Italiano - Tedesco
Learn German quickly and easily with 100 downloadable mp3 files. book2 is free and contains 100 lessons that provide beginners with the basic vocabulary. Listen to book2 on your mp3 player anywhere! You will be able to fluently speak short sentences in German in real-world situations in no time. The book2 method (www.book2.de) successfully combines audio and text for effective language learning.
|IT consultancy
Octavia is a specialist IT company dedicated to both IT support and consultancy, whilst also offering bespoke software development.
|Shopping Cart Software
Shopping Cart Software is a new breed of ecommerce software includes everything you need to start, run, promote and profit from your online store. Unlike traditional shopping cart software, Interspire Shopping Cart ships ready to sell right out of the box with inventory management, live chat integration, email marketing integration, order management and professionally designed themes.
|YouTube Downloader+
YouTube Downloader+ is a powerful and easy to use application that will help you to download your favorite videos from YouTube. The program offers a unique feature that makes it possible to extract video files names from the YouTube website. The application is platform-independent and runs in Windows, Linux and MacOS. The YouTube Downloader is distributed with a bonus application by the same author.
|Surf Canyon for Firefox
Surf Canyon accelerates the search experience on Google, Yahoo!, Microsoft Live Search and now Craigslist by enabling you to find relevant information buried in the search results. Employing advanced search technology, the application determines what you want and then goes as deep as page 100 of the result set to fetch it. Filter your results to find the information you need. This tip is a great trick for searching. It is easy and it is free!
|Q3 Technologies, Inc.
Q3 Technologies is the leading provider of outsourced software product development services ranging from product conceptualization and development to testing, product maintenance and support.
|Enterprise Information Security Metrics
Intellitactics solutions feature enterprise information security metrics in everyday terms. Dashboards dynamically update the metrics with enterprise specific data and security info. Security assurance metrics provide data for continuous improvement.
|Custom Software
Custom software by The Integrated Solution Group, Inc. Custom software design and development since 1993. custom programming for smart client desktop and database driven website applications. Database application development.
|Case Management Software Solutions
Case Management Software solutions and information for the media and lawyers.Provides product and company news, customer stories, events and articles on law office technology.


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Empower for Document Management consists of three tools that elegantly tackle business needs for document control – Users can create new documents from corporate templates, Admin staff can manage the creation and use of case files with complex permissions, Users can send documents by email directly from SharePoint, with a record of the transmittal being created.
Empower for Intranet gives the web team and super users elegant and simple ways of displaying content – in ways that bring pages in a site to life – even when the content displayed comes from another site. Smart Branding creates excellent look and feel at a sensible price.
Allows users in their document libraries to create a new document from a "New from template" button. This lets them pick from relevant templates for that library.
This means you can have confidence that changed documentation or branding will be widely used as soon as the centralised template is updated.
Simplifies case file management, by making it easy for teams to create and maintain their cases, without having to have SharePoint administrator rights.
Create for jobs; contracts; personnel files; incidents etc.
Lets you be sure you know what crosses your organisational borders. Important documents can be sent as original files or in pdf format direct from SharePoint and copied to the user's email as well.
Great for contracts, variations, key reports, requests for information.
Smarten up your intranet with visually striking tools for displaying news; lists; links; tag clouds; reference documents, located in any site.
Great for home pages; reference pages like "working here" and team or project site home pages.
Turn a site's publishing pages into a flexible and intuitive hierarchy for users. The metadata for each page includes its "parent page". This then creates for the page the breadcrumb that shows the page in relation to its parent and the parent's parent etc .
Great for How To's; Working Here; Knowledge Base etc.
Creating a custom look and feel to match your organisation's branding can be expensive and risky. We've taken the cost and risk out through our design and interview process that allows changes to around a dozen variables.
Most designs are created for under $10k.


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|Department of Public Information • News and Media Division • New York
Security Council
7245th Meeting (PM)
Co-Leaders Brief Security Council on Multi-Country Visiting Missions,
Stressing Need for National Unity Government in South Sudan
Visits to Belgium, Netherlands, Somalia Also Described
The Security Council this afternoon heard briefings from the co-leaders of its visiting mission to Europe and Africa, which took place from 8 to 14 August.
Briefing on the first leg of the mission to Belgium on 9 to 10 August, Michael Bliss (Australia) said that the purpose was to commemorate the centenary of the commencement of the First World War, to pay tribute to the sacrifice of those who served and draw lessons relevant to the Council. Visits to the towns of Dinant, Leuven, Ypres and a military cemetery underlined the futility of armed conflict, the dramatic scale of losses in a war that was supposed to "end all wars", and the importance of protection of cultural heritage.
The final part of the Belgian leg was a visit to the Poelkapelle military base, where chemical weapons from the First World War continued to be dismantled and destroyed. It served to underline the devastating impact of those weapons and was a timely reminder to the Council of the need to ensure their complete elimination, Mr. Bliss said.
Cristián Barros Melet ( Chile) described the Council's visit to the Netherlands. The Council met with the International Court of Justice (ICJ); the Special Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia, Lebanon and Sierra Leone; the International Criminal Court; and the Organization for the Prevention of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to express their support for the bodies and to receive updates on their latest work.
He expressed appreciation for the direct exchange between the Council and the ICJ in which issues of sovereignty, borders and emerging issues were discussed, as was recognition of the Court's universal jurisdiction, implementation of its rulings, and its relationship with other international tribunals. During meetings with the Special Tribunals, their contribution to developing a specific area of international law and fighting impunity was discussed, as was each Special Tribunal's specific aim.
Meeting with the Criminal Court, the Council learned of the Court's work against impunity and atrocities. Strengthened cooperation was discussed, with the Council's prestige and related ability to support the Court's work emphasized, along with broader cooperation in preliminary examinations and synergy in sanctions use. With the OPCW, the bodies discussed their joint mission to implement Council resolution 2118 (2013). The Council also met with the Dutch Government where members received thanks for approving resolution 2165 (2014).
In his presentation on the mission to South Sudan on 12 and 13 August, David Dunn ( United States) said that the visit to that beleaguered country could be called "an emergency call". In meetings with President Salva Kiir and other members of the national cabinet, as well as with opposition leader Riek Machar, via videoconference, the Council's key message was that there was no military solution to the conflict and plans must be acted upon to form a Government of national unity. In addition, the Council stressed the critical need for full cooperation with the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS). At the conclusion of the meetings there was a sense of "hope but not confidence" that the leaders would take action on the points raised, he said.
Mr. Dunn also recounted a visit to the Malakal camp in which thousands of civilians were being protected by the United Nations and where Council members were moved by the civilians' dire plight and by the testimonies of civil society and women's groups. Finally, in meetings with UNMISS staff, the Council paid tribute to their work and assured them of the body's full support. He also described a stop-over in Nairobi, Kenya, where Council members met with President Uhuru Kenyatta and officials of the Intergovernmental Authority for Development (IGAD) on the situations in Somalia and South Sudan.
Finally, Mark Lyall Grant ( United Kingdom) said the trip to Somalia had focused on progress towards the 2016 election, the participation of women, the security situation and efforts to tackle Al-Shabaab, and the humanitarian situation. It was the first time the Council had visited since 1994 and members welcomed Somalia's recent progress while underlining the importance of unity within the federal Government. They also underlined the importance of establishing a constitution and other key legislation.
In discussing Al-Shabaab, the need to provide basic services in areas recovered from that group was cited as vital. The Government briefed the Council on its next phase of work in combating Al-Shabaab, he said, adding that the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) had underlined their need for attack helicopters. The United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) also briefed the Council on the humanitarian situation and the underfunding of the United Nations emergency humanitarian fund was also discussed. He expressed a feeling of optimism, despite the immense challenges, stressing that if the Government followed through on its commitments, the Somali people could have the peace and prosperity that they deserved.
The meeting began at 3:05 p.m. and ended at 3:20 p.m.
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Trump wants to pardon Muhammad Ali, and that's hypocritical for one glaring reason
It's safe to say that President Trump is throwing a pardon party. Earlier this week, he commuted the sentence of 63-year-old grandmother Alice Marie Johnson, who was serving a life sentence for a nonviolent drug offense. Reality star Kim Kardashian petitioned the president for her release and was successful. Johnson was reunited with her family after 22 years in prison.
Following the good deed, Trump announced plans for other presidential pardons on Friday. Just before boarding a plane to attend the G-7 summit in Canada, the president told a group of reporters that he is considering the pardons of 3,000 people, including one legendary athlete.
"I'm thinking about somebody that you all know very well, and he went through a lot and he wasn't very popular then," Trump said. "His memory is very popular now. I'm thinking about Muhammad Ali. I'm thinking about that very seriously."
Well, Trump couldn't be too serious about pardoning the late boxer, who died in 2016. Ali had no criminal convictions that need pardoning.
Though he was convicted of evading the draft during the Vietnam War in 1967, the Supreme Court overturned that decision in 1971. The boxer was cleared of all wrongdoing. Furthermore, in 1977, former President Jimmy Carter pardoned all people who had dodged the Vietnam War draft.
Ali's lawyer released a statement saying, "We appreciate President Trump's sentiment, but a pardon is unnecessary. The U.S. Supreme Court overturned the conviction of Muhammad Ali in a unanimous decision in 1971. There is no conviction from which a pardon is needed."
The internet was quick to call Trump out on his historical flub, metaphorically rolling its eyes with memes and snippy comments. Others also called out the president on his apparent hypocrisy. Why was the president so willing to pardon, or forgive, an African-American athlete whose legacy includes protesting racism while at the same time condemning modern African-American athletes who are currently protesting racism?
Do not be deceived by this Trump rope-a-dope on Muhammad Ali. How can you pardon a black athlete for refusing to serve in the Vietnam War and then call another black athlete a "son of a bitch" who takes a knee to protest police brutality? https://t.co/JPESrzD9Oc
— Keith Boykin (@keithboykin) June 8, 2018
Colin Kaepernick inherited the torch from Muhammad Ali and is now our most important black athlete activist. Downright laughable that Donald Trump wants to pardon Ali (SCOTUS unanimously reversed conviction!), yet Kap is a "son of a bitch" who "maybe shouldn't be in the country."
— Adam Best (@adamcbest) June 8, 2018
It's comically appropriate in its stupidity and hypocrisy that President Trump is considering pardon for Muhammad Ali (actually there's no conviction to pardon) while railing and raging against players like Colin Kaepernick. Remember what Ali was (at first) convicted of.
— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) June 8, 2018
According to Trump an athlete who refused to serve in the military during a war deserves a pardon from a conviction that was already overturned, but athletes who protest by sitting on a knee are "sons of bitches" and unpatriotic.
I commend Muhammad Ali but don't be a hypocrite
— Brian Krassenstein (@krassenstein) June 8, 2018
Peak Trump?: In a week in which he portrayed Eagles players as unpatriotic for not standing for the national anthem – they did – he says he might pardon Muhammad Ali, who went to jail rather than going to war because of his beliefs. Fame, it seems, conquers all.
— Jonathan Allen (@jonallendc) June 8, 2018
A couple things on Trump saying he might pardon Muhammad Ali:
1. Ali's conviction was overturned so he doesn't need one.
2. This notion of giving privilege/clemency to one member of an oppressed group while holding the group down is as old as racism itself.
3. Ali KNEW THIS. pic.twitter.com/17WqGsBzPa
— Mikel Jollett (@Mikel_Jollett) June 8, 2018
In addition to the fact that Muhammad Ali doesn't need a pardon, Trump's logic is bizarre. He's willing to pardon Ali for the very same resistance for which he's castigating NFL players.
— Marc Lamont Hill (@marclamonthill) June 8, 2018
Muhammad Ali: Was a popular black athlete, protested against racism and the Vietnam War
Colin Kaepernick: Is a popular black athlete, protests police brutality and systemic racism.
Trump doesn't make sense, as always.
— Denizcan Grimes (@MrFilmkritik) June 8, 2018
If President Trump wants to honor Muhammad Ali, he can start by respecting the rights of athletes to peacefully protest. A pardon is NOT necessary.
— maryum ali (@maryum7) June 8, 2018
Watch: Kim Kardashian got through to Trump; now Twitter wants her to lobby for other political issues:
Read more from Yahoo Entertainment:


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Hillary Clinton has been displaying odd behavior over the past several months that has left many, including mainstream media believing that she is suffering a serious medical condition. From her uncontrollable coughing fits, to her odd facial expressions, and more recently her episode where a frail-looking Hillary collapsed during the 9/11 memorial service in lower Manhattan on Sunday morning.
Here is the footage of Hillary collapsing during the 9/11 memorial service in lower Manhattan on Sunday morning.
On July 21, a video (below) was posted on YouTube showing Hillary's head suddenly turning and shaking vigorously for several seconds when reporters began asking her a barrage of questions.
Fox News reported that the Hillary Clinton campaign on Wednesday released what it called a "comprehensive update" on the candidate's medical information, describing the illness that took her off the trail this week as a mild and non-contagious bacterial pneumonia.
"She is recovering well with antibiotics and rest," Dr. Lisa Bardack said, adding the candidate remains "healthy and fit to serve."
Describing the pneumonia diagnosis, her doctor said she detected a "small" sign of pneumonia in the right middle-lobe of her lung.
The report follows Clinton in recent weeks having coughing spells in public and stumbling on Sunday during a 9/11 memorial service in New York City.
Clinton, the Democratic presidential nominee, abruptly left the morning event. The campaign hours later said she had been diagnosed Friday with pneumonia.
The new information also shows Clinton takes the Thyroid medication and the blood-thinner Coumadin, which was previously known. She also was recently prescribed B-12, Clarinex and Levaquin, which treats bacterial infections, which appears related to the pneumonia.


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The screenwriters of the original When a Stranger Calls have sued Sony over allegedly being cut out of the development and profit participation in the studio's recent (terrible) remake of the horror-thriller, according to Variety. Stephen Feke and Fred Walton also have named Screen Gems, Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment, Simon Film Prods. and Melvin Simon as defendants in the breach-of-contract suit filed in a Los Angeles district court. In the film, A high-school student traumatized while babysitting by a caller who repeatedly asks, "Have you checked the children lately?" After notifying the police, she is told that the calls are coming from inside the house. Read on for details on the lawsuit...
Variety reports:
Sony attorney Dennis Nolette said, "We do not comment on pending litigation."
Feke and Walton allege that under a 1978 agreement with Simon Film, the producer was obligated to pay the pair additional compensation for any sequel, prequel or remake, with the amount to be determined by discussions and/or custom and practice. The duo allege that Simon violated the agreement in 2003 by not consulting with them when assigning the rights to Sony.
Feke and Walton also allege that Sony is obligated to pay them fixed compensation plus a percentage of net profits, defined in the original agreement as 15.25% of the profits.
Suit lists five causes of action, and the plaintiffs are seeking more than $1 million in damages on four of them. Suit was refiled recently after Judge Joseph Biderman ruled that the plaintiffs could not seek attorneys' fees.
The original "When a Stranger Calls," starring Carol Kane, was released in 1979. The remake, starring Camilla Belle, opened in February to $21.6 million and went on to gross nearly $48 million domestically and $12 million internationally.
Remake was produced by John Davis via his Davis Entertainment shingle along with Ken Lemberger and Wyck Godfrey. None of those is named as a defendant in the suit.


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