OPINION: It makes good business sense to make BID work for you

Published: 18:30, 09 February 2024

By Karen Stuart

Nairn High Street is often busy during events. Picture: James Mackenzie

Nairn BID is moving forward with not one, but two new chairs and I am pleased to be one of them! I have a varied background and have lived in Nairn for 20 years.

I served 17 years in the RAF, have 20 years retail management experience, and currently run a self-catering cottage and Vitamin Sea on Nairn High Street with my husband Phill.

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I am confident I can help Nairn BID move forward and most importantly help it work with its members in a positive way.

Like every other eligible business in Nairn, I pay my levy.

I pay £325-a-year for my High Street shop which is 89p a day.

Here’s what I get for that…

There is Taste of Nairn, Wheels of Nairn and the Christmas Countdown, as well as several street markets.

These events attract visitors, increase footfall and give businesses a fantastic opportunity to be seen and attract additional customers through their doors.

We have always taken advantage of these events by taking a stall. It is hard work, but it’s good fun and definitely worth it for the additional sales and exposure.

Nairn BID has also played a role in improving the aesthetics of the town with hanging baskets, seagull control, new benches and they facilitated a shop front painting scheme to name but a few.

And there are of course always advertising opportunities through Visit Nairn and via the BID social media channels.

I have also done so much networking via BID and this has brought business my way.

They are engaged with Scotland Loves Local promotional events and tap into other regional events where businesses can have a platform. The team has been helpful in supporting members getting grants and they make sure Nairn is represented at various local, regional and Scottish conferences.

Of course, we can always do more. But it comes down to one thing – engagement. We need the businesses to engage. Speak to us, email, come to our meetings and tell us what they want. We are at the beginning of a new five-year term. Whether you believe in BID or not, it makes good business sense to make BID work for you.

Karen Stuart is one of the joint chairs of Nairn BID.

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