Long before the terms “networking” and “contacts” found their way into our everyday business vocabulary there was the old saying “It’s not what you know, but who you know,” meaning simply, it’s sometimes easier to get ahead if you know people in the right places. The phrase is thought to have originated in the early 19-teens and was in regular use in society by the mid 1930s.
While this might initially be seen as a negative – for example, an unqualified applicant for a job is hired over clearly more qualified candidates because he or she has a relative or family friend already working in the company. But it can also be a positive – you’re a business with a quality product to bring to market but you don’t know quite where to begin. Knowing someone who can make an introduction or open a door to get you and your product in front of an influencer or decision maker can be invaluable. This is the value that the Scottish Business Network seeks to bring to its members.
The SBN was founded by Christine Esson and Russell Dalgleish. Photo courtesy SBN/Stewart Attwood
Established in 2016 by Scottish entrepreneurs Russel Dalgleish and Christine Esson, SBN today is “an independent international membership organization for Scottish entrepreneurs and business leaders” comprised of over 8,000 senior Scots executives in Europe, Asia, the Americas, and Africa , representing over 100 Scottish companies and with a global network community of more than 17,000. The SBN’s goal is to be a communication conduit, a social network if you will, connecting Scottish businesses with leading Scottish diaspora around the globe.
Among its many services, the SBN hosts events across the UK and internationally (including its upcoming Scottish International Week). It facilitates introductions to business leaders in target markets, typically senior Scottish executives from within the international diaspora community; it offers promotional services to raise its member’s visibility, and it provides a library of business and cultural research on markets across the globe.
SBN hosts a variety of events both in-person and online, including its own podcast series, all for the benefit of its members.
Russell Dalgleish is the chairman and co-founder of SBN. He is a serial entrepreneur, investor, and a business strategist – at 6’5” in height, he is also sometimes known as the “Tall Scottish Guy.” Dalgleish is the very definition of an “influencer” who sits on the boards of ten companies and organizations, and has been recognized as one of the top 100 Most Influential British Entrepreneurs.
Key Points:
05:09 – What inspired the formation of the Scottish Business Network?
06:58 – Is Scotland as a brand an easy sell around the world?
10:15 – SBN tends to work mostly one on one with individual companies to achieve their individual goals.
11:35 – Does SBN ever work on behalf of diaspora businesses looking to enter Scotland or the UK?
12:45 – Does SBN get involved in the ongoing “Keep Scotland the Brand” campaign, a concern over the branding of Scottish products as British?
14:05 – How does the SBN identify and reach out to business leaders in the global Scottish diaspora?
16:00 – How are SBN Global Ambassadors selected and what is their role in SBN?
19:05 – Why the decision to make the SBN website a part of the dotScot domain community?
23:15 – Have you seen an “Outlander” effect on the Scottish business world?
27:05 – How is SBN counseling its members about the global business climate in light of events like the pandemic and upcoming Brexit?
30:35 – Who should be joining the SBN?
Want to know more about the Scottish Business Network? check out these links:
•Scottish Business Network (website)
•Russell Dalgleish on LinkedIn
Or reach out directly to SBN Chairman Russell Dalgleish via email: russell@sbn.scot
And if interested in a dotScot domain like sbn.scot, simply use this link: