Talking Shop: Borders Podiatry and Performance

BID for Galashiels’ Retail Resilience Pilot has been supporting local businesses with tailored advice from retail expert Graham Soult, helping them identify practical ways to improve their businesses and build connections with each other. In our Talking Shop series, participants share what they’ve put into practice and the difference it’s making. This time, we hear from Anne from Borders Podiatry and Performance.

“I signed up for the Retail Resilience Pilot because I thought it sounded like a really good opportunity to hear what other businesses are going through and get advice from a retail expert. I think there's power in numbers, and I wanted to find out what everyone else was doing, what struggles they were facing and how we could all learn from each other.

I really believe that if we work together, we can collectively make a difference and improve our high street. That was one of the main things I was hoping to get out of it.

One of the things that came out of the pilot was the importance of improving our shopfronts and our social media presence, and I think that's something that applies to a lot of us. It'll be exciting to see what we can all do with that feedback and what we can bring to the high street in the future. Exciting (and big) changes are planned!"

"I think it's been a great pilot scheme, and we've all got a lot out of it. Even just having the opportunity to get together with other shop owners has been brilliant. We're all working on the high street every day, but the funny thing is, we don't actually get much chance to see each other!

It's been really positive to get everyone in the same room, put our heads together, share ideas and hear what other businesses are experiencing. There's been some really nice feedback and collaboration, and I think that's been one of the biggest benefits of the whole thing.

Overall, I've found it a really positive and empowering experience. It's brought businesses together and given us a chance to come up with some really good ideas about how we can improve things, not just for ourselves, but for the high street as a whole.”