Grease Monkey

Training and upskilling support from West Lothian Council’s Economic Development team has helped local business Grease Monkey empower its team and achieve its growth goals.

Grease Monkey design, create, operate and maintain excellent sustainable travel solutions. Since it’s establishment in 2010, the Livingston-based business has experienced impressive growth. To ensure its small team is fully equipped to deal with this growth, Grease Monkey reached out to their dedicated Business Gateway West Lothian adviser, David, to learn more about the training and upskilling opportunities that are available to local businesses.

David made them aware of the Expert Help Programme, which is part-funded by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. This exciting programme gives eligible West Lothian businesses the opportunity to access fully or partly-funded consultancy support from specialists in a variety of business disciplines. Grease Monkey identified they required assistance with two particular areas: procurement and marketing.

To improve the team’s understanding of the procurement process, a 1:1 Procurement Surgery Session with expert Mandy Millar was scheduled. During this session, the team received guidance on how to put together strong applications and successfully bid for tenders. With this support, Grease Monkey can now be confident in their applications and have experienced increased success in winning business within the public sector.

The business then booked a 1:1 Marketing and Branding Surgery Session with expert Michelle Brown for advice on how to improve their marketing activity and increase the public’s awareness of Grease Monkey. They left the session with an improved understanding of the ‘5 stages of PR’ and ideas for activities that could be introduced to improve marketing results.

In addition to the Expert Help support, Grease Monkey also received funding through the Digital Development Grant. This grant is part-funded from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, and is aimed at enhancing the digital capabilities of Scottish businesses. West Lothian Council’s Economic Development service administer this funding locally. This funding allowed them to purchase IT equipment that increased efficiency and productivity.

The overall support provided has not only given Grease Monkey the skills and tools required to grow the business, it has also improved the working lives of the individual team members, who are now confident that they have the knowledge needed to succeed in their roles.

Marketing Manager Susan Laidlaw said, “the support provided by Business Gateway West Lothian has been instrumental in helping our business on a day to day basis, as well as providing staff members with additional skills to help grow the business.”

For more information on the Expert Help Programme, please click here.

For more information on the Digital Development Grant, please click here.

To find out how we can help your business, please email invest@westlothian.gov.uk