You ARE amazing!  We're really proud of the way our small business community is dealing with this crisis.  Your resilience, adaptability and creativity is amazing.

A big thank you to all our members who have been in touch to say they really value and appreciate what we're doing to support them during the crisis.  It's great to know that we're making a difference.  New members are joining DBN every week and we'd like to give a shout out to Alison Dore who contacted us to say . . .

"I've been really enjoying DBN Zoom and the connection with yourselves and your amazing and inspiring members. As you know, I've been coming along to DBN as a guest of Melanie after she asked me to join Elm as a strategic partner. Having the privilege of listening to all the wonderful advice and support that you and the other members are giving, I would love to become a member in my own right .... if you'll have me? I think that DBN is an amazing community of people, who genuinely care about and support each other and would love to be part of it."

We're absolutely delighted to welcome you Alison and look forward to seeing you at our meetings and online events.  Thanks to everyone who attended our mini-masterclass on how to make the most of Zoom with Melanie Cant.  The feedback has been terrific.

"Just a quick note to say thank you for the information you provided in yesterday’s webinar. I found the session on the tools and the settings on Zoom very useful. I have purchased the Pro version as I will be delivering my first online training courses next week, so am on a steep learning curve, but the information you provided, especially with regards to breakout rooms, will help me to set them up correctly. Please let me know if you are planning any other webinars. In the meantime, please accept my best wishes and stay safe. Kind regards, Philip Cooper, Managing Director PHILXAM Limited."

What does your future business look like? Book a 1-1 confidential Zoom meeting with us and let's get planning!

We're here to help you to "get your head around" where your business is going.  Simply drop us a line at connect@dobusinessnetwork.com to book your meeting with us on Zoom and we will take you through some future business planning and help to create an action plan for your business.  It's completely confidential.  And if you need extra support with a specific issue, we'll put you in touch with other DBN members for expert advice.

Coming in June - Virtual Visual Marketing with Ann English and Gillian Fortune

Whether your business is operating online or in the high street, visual marketing is key to attracting and winning customers and improving your sales performance. With support from Business Durham DBOP Programme, Ann and Gillian will be delivering a series of four online workshops to create tangible business growth for members of DBN focused on key workshop topics. Developing display, design and communication skills to confidently present their brand, products, services, and most importantly themselves. The workshops will enable our members to attract attention and engage with customers and prospects, both in person face-to-face and virtually online, resulting in increased sales.

You can pre-register your interest by emailing us here: connect@dobusinessnetwork.com

We're Doing Business in Derwent Valley

As part of our Derwent Valley AAP funded project, we'll be running a series of online mini-masterclasses every Wednesday starting on 27th May. We're still working on the running order but we'll be covering topics such as:

• Smarter sales online and in person
• How to make your business look great online
• Productising your services to boost sales
• Finding and winning new customers
• Using your social distancing policy to reassure your customers

More details at our next Zoom meeting on Wednesday. Which leads nicely into . . .

Join our Zoom Networking Meeting on Wednesday, 13th May

Our next DBN get-together is on Wednesday 13th May at 10 a.m. and we'd love to see you there.  We'll be sharing lots of business news and information and giving our members an opportunity to deliver training and workshops with local businesses.  We also encourage everyone to have fun at our meetings.  Gillian Fortune will be testing her new "Zoom superpowers" with us and sharing a technique to help us stay calm and positive.  Gillian currently has Covid-19 but she's in great spirits and all we all wish her a full and speedy recovery.  A big germ-free virtual hug to Gillian from all your friends across the DBN community and we look forward to you joining us on Wednesday.  If you need the link for the Zoom meeting, please drop us an email at connect@dobusinessnetwork.com