26th September 2026
September has become a month when Scotland's aspiring entrepreneurs are being encouraged to take a closer look at an idea that may have been sitting in the back of their minds for some time.
Scottish Start-Up Month, led by Business Gateway, has returned for 2026 with a simple message: if you have an idea for a business, this could be the month to take the first step.
That does not necessarily mean giving up your job tomorrow, finding premises or borrowing money.
It could simply mean finding out whether the idea has the potential to become a viable business.
Business Gateway is Scotland's national business support service and offers free advice and resources to people considering starting a business, as well as those who have already taken the plunge and want to develop and grow.
The campaign is particularly aimed at people who may have an idea but have not yet done anything about it.
Perhaps you have a skill that could be turned into a business. Maybe you have identified a gap in the local market, developed a product, considered becoming self-employed or wondered whether a hobby could eventually generate an income.
The first step can often be the hardest.
Last year's campaign produced a noticeable response
There is some evidence that concentrating attention on starting a business can make a difference.
Business Gateway says that 1,922 new businesses launched between September and November last year, 201 more than during the same period a year earlier.
Use of its online Business Support Tool also increased. Completions rose by 18% in September, with 1,092 people using it to test their business idea, compared with 924 the previous year.
Business Gateway also received 2,750 enquiries during September, more than 7% higher than the previous September.
The figures do not mean that every enquiry became a successful business, of course. Starting a business is still a considerable undertaking and many ideas will not survive the process of testing whether there is a genuine market for them.
But that testing is precisely where support can be useful.
You don't have to work it all out yourself
One of the attractions of Business Gateway is that its support is not restricted to people who already have a business plan sitting on their desk.
Its online Business Support Tool asks a series of questions and can then provide a tailored start-up toolkit containing resources, advice, webinars and other information.
There is also access to free one-to-one support from local business advisers across all 32 Scottish local authority areas.
Advisers can help with areas including refining a business idea, developing a business plan, identifying customers and finding appropriate sources of support and funding.
For someone thinking about becoming self-employed, that could be particularly useful.
There is a considerable difference between thinking "I could probably make a living doing this" and working out exactly how many customers would be needed, what they would pay, what the costs would be and whether there is enough demand.
Support does not stop once a business opens
The initiative is called Start-Up Month, but Business Gateway's support extends beyond the first day of trading.
Its programme includes webinars and events covering subjects such as business planning, finance, digital marketing, social media, sales, artificial intelligence, exporting, employing staff and growing a business.
There are currently hundreds of events listed across Scotland, including both online sessions and local events.
That is important because starting a business is only the beginning.
A successful business has to find customers, manage cash flow, understand its costs, market itself and adapt as circumstances change.
There is a message here for Caithness
For rural areas such as Caithness, encouraging more people to consider starting businesses could be particularly relevant.
A small business does not necessarily need a large town-centre shop or a sizeable workforce.
It might be a tradesperson working from home, a digital business selling outside the area, a tourism service, a specialist manufacturer, a food producer, a professional service or someone turning an existing skill into a self-employed career.
Digital technology also means that a business based in Wick or Thurso can potentially sell to customers far beyond Caithness.
That does not make the challenges of running a rural business disappear. Transport costs, broadband, access to finance, population levels and the size of the local market can all matter.
But it does mean that the definition of a local business is changing.
A small idea can be worth testing
Perhaps the most useful part of Scottish Start-Up Month is that it does not require someone to declare that they are definitely going to become an entrepreneur.
They can simply ask a question.
Could this idea actually work?
Business Gateway's message is that finding out does not have to cost anything.
And if the answer is no, discovering that before investing substantial money could be just as valuable as discovering that the answer is yes.
For anyone in Caithness who has been wondering whether an idea could become a business, September may therefore be a good time to stop thinking about it and start testing it.
Business Gateway's support is available throughout Scotland, not just during September, but Scottish Start-Up Month provides a useful reminder that the first step does not have to be a giant one.
Sometimes it is simply a conversation.
Find out more about Scottish Start-Up Month and the support available from Business Gateway at
bgateway.com/start-up-month