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NEW MEMBER ANNOUNCEMENT

Please give a warm DBN welcome to Anthony Cunningham DipPFS from CW Financial Management 🎉Anthony is a Financial Planner/Advisor who supports people to achieve financial freedom through careful planning and investment decisions.Please connect with him on LinkedIn and make a point of saying hello at our networking meetings.Melanie & David...

NEW PODCAST: MEET OLIVIA WILLMORE FROM USHAW HISTORIC HOUSE, CHAPEL AND GARDENS

In this episode Melanie welcomes Ushaw Historic House, Chapel and Gardens to DBN.Ushaw’s history is tied to the development and growth of Christianity in the region. Beginning over a millenium ago with St Aiden in Lindisfarne.Olivia talks to Melanie about Ushaws rich history, the charity it is today and what plans they have in store for the future. Listen to the podcast HERE Connect with Olivia on LinkedIN HEREVisit Ushaw Website HERE...

WESTWOOD ACCOUNTANCY CELEBRATES 15 YEARS IN BUSINESS!

Business Birthday Announcement 🥳Today is Westwood Accountancy's 15th business birthday and Sharron's 25th anniversary since she qualified as a CIMA accountant!When Sharron started in 2009, the country was going through a bad spot (a bit like now) so it probably wasn't the best time to start a business, but she did and here she is 15 years later! Sharron really enjoys what she does and she still has some clients with her who joined her at the beginning, and a lot of them have become friends ra...

MEET NIALL McKAY-MOUNT FROM THE SCREAMING CHIMP CHILLI SAUCE COMPANY

Hey everyone,Meet Niall McKay-Mount from the Screaming Chimp Chilli Sauce Company.Niall started his business from his home kitchen in Co Durham and now ships his award winning sauces all over the world! Melanie talks to Niall about what inspired him to start making chilli sauce,  the "sauceome" awards he's received, exporting and his plans for 2024 and beyond.If you follow Niall on social media you'll be familiar with his 'saucy' sayings,  "hello chimpions", "stay sauceome", "keep on c...

NEW MEMBER ANNOUNCEMENT! DBN WELCOMES USHAW COLLEGE

We first met Olivia Willmore from Ushaw College at our June networking meeting last year.  Olivia then attended our Shoebox Expo at Beamish Museum in October. We were so fascinated with her presentation about the history of the college that we just had to visit for ourselves!In 2023, Ushaw College won the Historic Houses Collections Award, and were a finalist for the Visitor Economy Award at the County Durham Together Awards! Take a look at the featured video which highlights what is s...

NEW PODCAST: MEET KEIRON & CRAIG FROM WALK & TALK TRUST

New DBN members Keiron Young & Craig Southern from Walk & Talk Trust talk about their new project Heritage 100.The charity is looking to help fund the establishment of a series of walks spanning the region, to be known as the Heritage 100. These short walks will encourage people to explore the region and gain a wider awareness of its wonderful countryside, its history and heritage. Families will be able to walk together in new places and discover some of the treasures that...

Jan Cook Wills and Trusts

At our recent meeting at Lanchester Garden Centre, Jan from Jan Cook Wills and Trusts Ltd spoke to members about the importance of getting the right planning in place and that it was actually one of the kindest things we could do for our families.She spoke about the difference between a standard will and a will with a trust within it and how this might benefit families.  It was the difference between making predictions now on what you think the situation might be for each of your beneficiar...

THE DBN SMALL BUSINESS SHOEBOX EXPO AT BEAMISH MUSEUM

We had a fantastic day at Beamish Museum for our Small Business Shoebox Expo yesterday.A huge thank you to all the exhibitors for putting so much thought and effort into your shoebox presentations - they were all amazing!The focus of the day was to talk about the services each business provided and what they are looking for from other DBN members/ exhibitors in terms of support, referrals and feedback. It was also great to see so many 'light bulb' moments when exhibitors identified opportunities...

MEET TONY LIDDELL, ARCHAEOLOGIST AND BUSINESS OWNER AT VINDOMORA SOLUTIONS

In this DBN Podcast Tony chats to Melanie about the archaeological services he provides and shares what has been his most fascinating finds and why!More recently Tony has started a podcast of his own called Within the Boggart Wood, a Northern Counties Paranormal Podcast. In this podcast Tony shares stories and information on ghostlore, folk customs and superstitions, history and archaeology, as well as details on site investigations into our region’s alleged paranormal phenomena!Listen to our ...

Meet Phil Andrew, Director at 121 Business Links

In this podcast Phil Andrew talks to Melanie Cant (DBN) about how the idea came about for his brand new business 121 Business Links, his USP and why he plans to organically grow his business.For the main part of his career Phil has worked in the financial services sector.  His main roles have involved business improvement, sales and most recently he was the sales director for a large cost reduction consultancy group .  Phil always wanted to do something himself where he could bring tog...

Meet Carol Smith from County Durham Community Foundation

County Durham Community Foundation (CDCF) is an independent grant-making foundation that works with individuals, families and local businesses who want to put something back into their community, either in their lifetime, or through leaving a legacy.Melanie Cant (DBN) talks to Carol Smith about the foundation, how it works, who benefits and what Carol is looking for from DBN members.Listen to this Podcast HEREFind out more about CDCF https://www.cdcf.org.uk/Connect with Carol on LinkedIn&nb...

AFA POLICY ADVISORY LETTER FOR SMALL BUSINESS FORUMS

Changes to the way County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service respond to calls for assistance from Automatic Fire Alarms (AFA) in non-residential premises. I am writing to notify you of a key change which may affect you and your organisation. When an AFA actuates for any reason other than a fire condition, this is referred to as a false alarm. The point at which the Fire and Rescue Service is requested and responds to a false alarm is referred to as an Unwanted Fire Signal (U...

Mary Jallow, Utility Warehouse

Meet DBN member Mary Jallow who is a self employed consultant for Utility Warehouse. Since registering as a self employed consultant, Mary has saved her customers anything between £50 to £500 per month!  In this podcast Mary talks to us about why she loves her job and how networking has helped grow her customer base.https://www.podbean.com/eas/pb-8rb3h-14225df...

Interior Designer Lorraine McGill from Willow and Maine talks to us about growing her business

Meet one of our newest DBN members, Lorraine McGill from Willow and Maine Interior Designs. Lorraine started her business in 2018 and grew it while she was employed in a full time role for a North East IT business. Now, four years later she is working in her interior design business full time! In this podcast Lorraine talks to us about growing her business, some of the projects she's worked on and what her future plans are for Willow and Maine.Listen to the podcast HEREWebsite: https://www....

Maximising Your R&D Claim: The Secrets To Securing More Funding

So, you’ve filed a research and development tax claim - nice work. Better still, your claim was successful and you’ve received R&D tax relief. But what if we told you that you could have received more?Lumo Tax have written a blog giving you the secrets to optimising your R&D tax claims and helping you to maximise the amount of funding you’re entitled to. With some strategic tweaks to your internal processes and operations, you could begin reaping the rewards sooner than you think!...

EMPLOYMENT LAW BREAKFAST SEMINAR - SWINBURNE MADDISON LLP & BUSINESS DURHAM

DATE & TIME: Tuesday, 25th April 2023 - 8:30-10:30VENUE: Swinburne Maddison LLP, Venture House, Aykley Heads Business Centre, Aykley Heads, Durham, DH1 5TSEMAIL: srs@swinburnemaddison.co.uk...

BIG IDEAS EVENT IS BACK!

This is the 3rd fully funded programme we have been able to deliver thanks to the team at RTC North and Supply Chain North East.The DBN Big Ideas event is an action-packed, two-day event full of 'BIG IDEAS' to help you think, create, focus, be inspired and innovative with your business!Packed full of bite sized interactive workshops, our programme is designed to get you thinking about how to work smarter within your business and to encourage growth, increase your profit, customer satis...

NATIONWIDE TEST OF EMERGENCY ALERT SYSTEM ON SUNDAY, 23rd APRIL AT 3:00 p.m.

Nationwide test of Emergency Alert system on Sunday, 23rd April at 3:00 pm.The UK Government are launching a new life-saving Public Emergency Alerts system in the UK, which will give the Government and emergency services the capability to send an alert directly to mobile phones when there is a risk to life.Alert systems such as this are already successfully used across the world and save lives.The system went live on Sunday, 19th March and you may have heard that there will be a national test of...

OUR 'BIG CONVERSATION' ONLINE MEETING

Great to see everyone at our 'Big Conversation' online meeting this morning.... just look at all those smiling faces!Our Zoom meetings are another way to network with fellow DBN members when you are unable to attend our face to face meetings.Thank you to Gary and David for being wonderful hosts 😀Take a look at our meeting line up for the coming months HEREJo Long Ann English ★ Create Intrigue Jan Cook Trish Guy 3D Virtual Spaces Owen Weightman Mary Jallow David Andrew Kelly Coral Sirett Gar...

April Networking Meeting at Citizens House, Consett.

Our next face to face networking meeting is on Tuesday 18th April atthe newly refurbished Citizens House in Consett.Join us for some speed networking, bacon butties and tea/coffee from 8.30 am to 10.30 am. We also have new member announcements, guest speakers, funding updates and much more!Make sure you book your place here: https://bit.ly/42PiE29In the meantime if you'd like to find out more about Citizens House in Consett take a look at this video they've created to highlight their facili...

FREE Content Creation CoWorking Session with CDC Enterprise Agency

Hey, Small Business Owners!Do you want to get all your content planned and created for the next month?Do you need help exploring ideas and would love to support other businesses?Would you love to network with other local business owners?Would you enjoy free tea and coffee (and possibly biscuits)?Then come along to our free Content Creation CoWorking Session. Bring a laptop, phone or tablet so you can create your content. Pick the brains of our team and other attendees to get your mar...

DURHAM COFFEE - LIMITED EDITION CHARITY COFFEE

Our Honduran Charity Coffee is our newest limited edition coffee which directly gives back to our community.  In the case of our Honduran Charity Coffee, 20% of each bag sold is being donated to the Poverty Hurts Appeal.Poverty is becoming a harsh reality for more and more families and individuals across County Durham.  The region now has the highest rate of child poverty anywhere in the UK, limiting the hopes and opportunities of thousands across the county who have so much to offer.&...

DERWENT VALLEY PARTNERSHIP AREA - MAY 2023 HALF TERM

Holiday Activities with Healthy Food (HAWHF) – May 2023 – Derwent Valley Partnership AAP.Funding is available for face to face activities for children young people and families during the May half term holidays in 2023.The scheme aims to support local community groups and organisations based in the Derwent Valley Partnership AAP area to deliver enriching holiday activities during the May holidays including healthy food.Please note we cannot fund individuals or profit making organisations.App...

Welcome to DBN Willow and Maine Interior Design

We are thrilled that Lorraine McGill from Willow & Maine Interior Designs has joined DBN as a new member 🎉Willow & Maine is and interior design and styling consultancy based in Ryton. Lorraine has been running her business for 4 years now and she has turned houses into beautiful homes all across the North East!Take a look at some of her most recent projects on her website: https://www.willowandmaine.co.uk/Be sure to give her a follow on Linkedin ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/lorrainem...

Our March Networking Meeting

It was lovely to see you all again this morning, we certainly had lots to talk about!Thank you to David Hardy DipPFS for his presentation about planning for retirement. His informative visuals certainly helped us to understand the importance of having a plan in place for retirement! David has kindly offered a free consultation to any DBN member who'd like discuss they pension plans with him.Also, it was lovely to see Andrea McGuigan from Business Durham. Andrea and James Miller from WE ARE UMi k...