Working Outwith the City- Dumfries and Galloway

13/03/2026

Today was an interesting day meeting with others from my local area to discuss the prospect of creating a Food Network led by Propagate.

Local food being available in our local area.

I have recently completed a unit on Sustainable Business as part of my MBA. As part of this I completed a case study of Tesco, did you know that Tesco has only 518 suppliers in Scotland - which I think is pretty sh*te. I won't bore you all with the details but you can read more here if you wish: https://lnkd.in/eX87NZaQ

The main reason I selected Tesco is that it is the primary option I have access to in my local area to do my food shopping. I live in a thriving agricultural area and yet when I go to get my food shop the Fruit is from Spain and the Lamb is from New Zealand.

I would utterly love to work with, and/or facilitate others to create an offering which means I, and others, can buy local, fresh and accessibly priced food which is also giving local producers a sustainable income.

This will be a focus in the Hub once open and today felt like a massive step forward in starting these conversations.

In the meantime we are working with Propagate to run this Free Course which has been funded by DG Council.

Open to everyone, don't let being free to access put you off. Kids are welcome too.

DG Community Food Network NHS Dumfries & Galloway

11/02/2026

📣📣 BREAKING NEWS! 📣 📣

Dumfries and Galloway Young Women's Network have launched a new funding opportunity for projects supporting young women and girls in the region!

It's called 'Her Voice, Her Choice' and groups can apply for grants of £500 - £2000!! 🤩🤩

Click here to read more about Her Voice, Her Choice and how to apply! 👇👇👇👇👇👇👇

https://www.dumfriesandgalloway.gov.uk/youthwork/involved/her-voice-her-choice-supporting-young-women-girls

09/02/2026

Week 4 of 51.

You know that auld interview question:
“Tell me about a time you worked successfully as part of a team.”

And you give a polished answer about collaboration and delivery…

but you leave out the people who quit, the menty Bs and the nights you lay awake convinced you were absolutely crap at your job.

This week in my MBA we looked at Tuckman’s theory of group development.
(Yes, I learned other things too but for the sake of this caption, this was the bit that stuck.)

People are the most complex and unpredictable part of any business and no, you definitely can’t replace them with AI.

I’ve been managing teams since my early 20s (which was… a while ago). When I first started, leadership felt very much like “I give you a task, you complete the task, and if you don’t… PIP.”
I hated it.

Now, I align much more with servant leadership. I genuinely enjoy enabling people to focus on their strengths, take the lead and grow. While still delivering what needs delivered. In small teams though, that balance can be hard. Job scopes are wider, skill sets are fewer and the work still has to get done.

I wouldn’t call myself an expert in team development. But I’ve seen plenty of examples of poor leadership, in work, sport, and volunteering, and I’ve learned a lot from what doesn’t work.

So here are four things I try my best to stick to:

1️⃣ Have a communication plan.
Be clear about who needs to know what and when. If people are at the same level, share information at the same time. No one wants to feel like they’re in the “out group”.

2️⃣ Deliver bad news in person.
Aye, it’s sh*te. But some things shouldn’t be hidden behind emails or Teams calls.

3️⃣ Create structured meeting points.
Especially early on. It gives people space to ask questions, supports newcomers and sets expectations around how the team works together.

4️⃣ Follow through and don’t overpromise.
Honesty beats people-pleasing every time. Constantly revoking promises erodes trust faster than saying no upfront.

06/02/2026

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This session will explore how individuals, businesses, charities, and community groups can improve their online visibility, choose the right platforms, and build a consistent digital presence without feeling overwhelmed.

Lockerbie Town Hall
Monday 23rd Febuary
11am - 1pm

Book Your space today (spaces are limited)

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/social-media-building-an-digital-presence-with-darby-stewart-tickets-1977391960584?aff=oddtdtcreator

05/02/2026

If you haven't heard already then the Scottish Edge Regional competition is back open for submissions.

The competition is open for LTDs, charities, sole traders and social enterprises and the closing date to pitch is 11th of February.

The pitch is to be video recorded and an application to be submitted.

This is a competitive and you need to have the potential of the business reaching £200000 in the next three years if you are given support.

It is definitely a fantastic opportunity for businesses that are looking to level up, are ambitious and with direct support can smash it.

You can find out more via: https://www.scottishedge.com/regional

04/02/2026

03/02/2026

Round up of What's On in East DG in February.

01/02/2026

Welcome to Week 3 of the MBA diaries, this week it is all about the business case.

I hear ya, what is a business case and why does my wee business need one?

Well have you ever found yourself a couple of months into a project, launch or service and thought 'this is absolutely draining me (and team) and the reward is very little!'?

I have been there, either because an offer 'too good to decline' or impulsivity, or being completely wrong about what people will want! This is where a business case comes in and I'll tell you it has saved me lots of times since I introduced them.

Obviously in a large corporate business it will be far more detailed and complex, which is what I am learning in my masters, however I have taken the core components and turned it into a easy check list for you to ask before you start anything new:

1.What problem are we solving?
2.What happens if we don’t do this?
3.What will success look like?
4.What will this cost us? (time, people, money)
5. Is this the best use of our energy right now?

And be honest when answering them, don't let your bias and emotions enter the chat.

I often use this when working with my board, we all need passion but to create a sustainable business then strategic choices need to be underpinned in facts.

Sometimes that fantastic idea of a project just looks completely unfeasible after reviewing or it might just need to be pushed to later in the year when you have more resources.

Follow along for more MBA learnings that you can easily implement.

27/01/2026

26/01/2026

Welcome to the weekly brief where I take what I have been learning in my MBA and make it applicable for small to medium businesses, charities and community groups.

I know all 36 of you have been dying to read it. 😉

I'll be honest when I saw that one of my first modules were sustainable businesses I was instantly like 😫- the whole ESG/CO2 gives me the cold sweats.

Ethically I want to be more sustainable but I also find that I have never been educated in HOW to be sustainable or what it even means really.

So my top take away in week 2 is that sustainability isn't just environmental. There are three pillars of sustainability are- planet, people and profit.

I definitely knew planet would be covered but I didn't know how interlinked profit and people were. It's often referred to as the triple bottom line.

And the latter 2 are definitely more in my safe zone- however saying that I have enjoyed researching sustainability for my assessment and did you know that they even have their own rail network that transports food, clothing and other products to stores. This saves over 6,000 tonnes of C02e annually.

But what is your business doesn't need a train line? Well here are 5 tips I have seen that save you time and money AND help the auld planet. 🌍