Shetland.org

Start A Business In Shetland

This page is primarily aimed at people who’d like to move to Shetland and start a new business. There are essentially two ways of doing this.

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The first approach is to acquire a business in Shetland as a going concern. These opportunities do arise from time to time and they are normally advertised in the Shetland Times. Alternatively, you could advertise in the Shetland Times or in the other local media to see whether any business is interested in selling to you.

The second option is to buy premises in Shetland and start up your new business from scratch. This is obviously a bolder step, as you won’t be inheriting the customers, goodwill, staff and skills that come with an existing business. However, the risks can be reduced by careful attention to detail. In particular, you’ll want to undertake some market research in order to understand whether there’s a demand for what you want to sell. You’ll also want to develop a business plan. It will be important to check the need for various kinds of consent with all the various regulatory agencies who may be involved. These may include the Planning Service, the Environmental Health Service, the Trading Standards Service, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency and so on. Exactly whom you need to speak to will obviously vary according to what you want to do; for some projects, for example, it may be appropriate to talk to Scottish Natural Heritage.

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Staff in the Council’s Economic Development Unit, the Shetland Development Trust and the Shetland office of Highlands and Islands Enterprise will be able to offer some general advice about business prospects in the islands and we say more about the kinds of specific assistance they can offer in the page on Business Support Services.