Back to Blog

Christmas at Beamish Museum

Thank you Liz Peart and the team at Beamish Museum for inviting us along to the Friends of Beamish Christmas open evening on Saturday.If anyone is looking for an injection of Christmas cheer we’d highly recommend a visit to Beamish!Hot chocolate, Middletons chips, fairground fun, Christmas carols and a trip to Santas grotto was enough to make the Grinch smile 😆👏We are pleased to announce we’ll be back at Beamish next year for more networking, dates will be announced in the New Year �...

ENHANCE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE & BOOST SALES WITH CONSUMER INSIGHTS

From the creation of your company to scaling it successfully, understanding your customers and meeting their needs is the cornerstone of thriving in today’s competitive market.  Knowing who they are, what they want, and how to serve them effectively can mean the difference between success and failure. Join Elaine Morris for an engaging and FREE online programme designed to help you elevate customer satisfaction and make your business stand out.  Packed with p...

GIVE YOURSELF THE GIFT OF INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS SUCCESS IN 2025!

Well here at the UK Export Academy, we are here to help you make that goal a reality in 2025, with our brand new How to Export series that covers the fundamentals of selling to the world.  The new series kicks off on Thursday, 9th January, and bookings are now open!What will you get out of the How To Export series?Learn how to navigate international regulations;Learn how to choose the right export markets for your own business; andGet top tips on how to find new int...

INTERNATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES AND SUPPORT FOR YOUR BUSINESS GROWTH

As we start to enter the festive period and 2024 comes to a close, we would like to take this opportunity to send you our best wishes for the New Year.  We look forward to continuing to work with you and supporting your international growth ambitions in 2025.Read on to find out what’s coming up, including our latest trade missions, events, and international trade news....

MAYOR'S LOCAL TRANSPORT PLAN CONSULTATION

I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to everyone who has already responded to the North East Local Transport Plan consultation.  With nearly 6,000 responses so far, we’re off to a fantastic start - but there’s much more to do.This consultation is about shaping a transport network that works for everyone - a vision for safer journeys, better connections, and making sustainable travel the first choice.  We want to hear from as many voices as possible including the business commu...

GUIDANCE ON THE NEW WORKER PROTECTION ACT - SUPPORT AND HELP AVAILABLE

Starting October 26, the UK Worker Protection Act requires employers to proactively prevent sexual harassment in the workplace. Unlike before, employers now have a legal duty to take “reasonable” steps to prevent harassment, both on-site and during work-related activities like training days. Employers can be held liable even if unaware of misconduct, but they can defend themselves by proving they took all reasonable precautions. Key actions to take now include: Educating ...

CATHERINE'S FESTIVE FUN RUN/WALK 2024

If you are local to the Consett area and you’d like to get involved in some fun, festive , family fundraising, you might like to come along to the Catherine’s Festive Fun Run/Walk on Sunday, 15th December 2024 - starting from 9:30.On 20th December 2018, my wonderful wife Catherine lost her brave fight against Breast Cancer.  She spent her final weeks in St Cuthbert's Hospice in Durham, a place that means so much to my family as they gave the most amazing, end of life care to Catherine b...

TRADE MISSION TO AMBIENTE 2025

Don't miss out on your chance to join us on our trade mission to Ambiente.Dates: Friday, 7th February to Wednesday, 11th February 2025Location: Frankfurt, GermanyPre-Mission Briefing: Tuesday, 17th December 2024 - Online The mission will provide you with an exclusive programme of activities allowing you to research the latest trends and connect with key buyers in the retail and consumer goods industries from across the globe.Benefits of joining:Access to the Department for Business and Trad...

FREE DIGITAL WEBINARS

Customer Personas Webinar - Thursday, 9th January 2025 - 10:00-12:00In this webinar we'll look at what customer personas are and how to write them. By the end of the webinar, you'll be able to describe who are your main customer groups, and understand their needs.  This in turn will help you write compelling messaging that resonates with your customers and improve your wider marketing.  Register here. Value Proposition Webinar - Thursday, 16th January 2025 - 10:00-1...

GPSR COUNTDOWN + KEY INSIGHTS ON VAT AND ChatGPT FOR YOUR BUSINESS

David, stay ahead in international trade with our upcoming webinars, designed to help you tackle regulatory changes, simplify VAT compliance, and harness cutting-edge AI tools.  Whether you’re exporting to Europe or looking to innovate, these sessions are packed with practical insights to drive your business forward.Scroll down to see all the sessions on offer, and simply click on the buttons to head over to our website and book your place.Friday, 6th December 2024 - 10.00-...

OUR DECEMBER NETWORKING MEETING AT DERWENTSIDE COLLEGE

What a lovely end to our 2024 networking season at Derwentside College Thank you to Tom and Ryan from KL Accountants for the tax advice for 2025 and to David Andrew Kelly for pulling together questions for our Christmas quiz!We have lots to celebrate this year, DBN is growing and we have some amazing members. We are committed to growing bigger in 2025 to create more businesses opportunities, promote the amazing business talent we have in the North East and provide support for business owners in ...

SOUTH EAST ASIA TECH WEEK 2025

The UK Government is delighted to announce UK-Southeast Asia Tech Week 2025.  This is the UK’s flagship annual event on science, innovation and technology in Southeast Asia.UK-Southeast Tech Week 2024 was a resounding success, with 150 bespoke business meetings organised, several of which resulted in commercial partnerships for UK companies.This year’s event will run from Monday, 24th March to Friday, 28th March 2025 in the Philippines (Manila) and Vietnam (Ho Chi Minh City).Progra...

OUR LAST NETWORKING EVENT OF 2024

We Ho Ho hope (sorry 😂) you can join us for our last networking meeting of 2024 at the Steel House Bistro, Derwentside College on Tuesday, 3rd December🎅It's become a DBN tradition to finish off the year at the College and it's always been a fun and well attended event.This year we will be celebrating our members' successes during 2024 as well as thinking about goals for 2025.Time: 8.30 to 10.30Cost: FREE to members and £10 non membersWhere: Derwentside College, Front Street, Consett, Coun...

121 BUSINESS LINKS DRAFT

Following our September networking event at Beamish Museum we received this lovely email from Chris Bonas, co-director at 121 Business Links."Phil and I are proud to be members of DBN with our company 121 Business links Ltd. "We find the meetings fun, informative and above all give us opportunities to generate business through meeting professional people at quality venues. "Melanie and David are friendly, positive, and open to help in any way they can. If you are a seasoned networker o...

INTERNATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES AND SUPPORT FOR YOUR BUSINESS GROWTH

Welcome to our newsletter.We are pleased to share some great highlights including the launch of our 2025 Women's International Networking (WIN) programme, as well as our new Enhanced Trade Partnership scheme launched in Greater Manchester to get more small businesses exporting.Read on for updates on our latest events, missions and international trade news....

EXPLORE GRANTS, LOANS & INVESTMENT STRATEGIES TO FUEL YOUR BUSINESS GROWTH

Join Julie Cuthbertson, Business Funding Director at UMi on December 2nd, 2024 from 10am for Episode 1 of our Get Funding Webinar Series, where we’ll explore the full landscape of grants, loans, and investment funding options available to your business. In this session you'll learn: An overview to the various grant, finance, and investment opportunities.How to determine which funding source aligns best to you.Tips and strategies to make the application process smoother and more ...

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY - FRIDAY, 6th DECEMBER 2024

On Friday, 6th December I’m undertaking gravestone recording at St. Oswald’s Playground, Durham City.  The playground was originally a cemetery, but when the council converted it to a playground they just left the bodies where they were and moved the gravestones to line the cemetery/playground walls.The aim on the 6th is to transcribe, photograph and map the location of the gravestones, with the results being made available on the web for people to search: Durham County Counci...

WE'RE HERE TO SUPPORT YOUR COMPANY'S GROWTH ASPIRATIONS

At Business Durham, we're committed to supporting the continued success of our businesses.As a past participant of our support programmes, you know our dedication to helping businesses like yours thrive in County Durham. That's why we're excited to introduce the Durham Business Growth (DBG) programme, designed to support your company's growth aspirations. Here's how the DBG programme can help you achieve your business goals:Unlocking Your Growth Potential: Our specialists will collaborate w...

WILLOW BURN FUNDRAISING HEROES

Last night Melanie and David enjoyed a fundraising celebration evening at Willow Burn Hospice.This annual evening is an opportunity for the team at Willow Burn Hospice to thank the local community fundraisers who have ran, walked, hiked, jumped, baked along with everything else to help raise much needed funds for our local hospice.Collectively the attendees in the room had raised just shy of £12,000 in 2024. Chief Exec David Barker, Head of Fundraising Rachel Quince and Marketing Manager Ali En...

'DO BUSINESS' NETWORK NEWSLETTERS 2022, 2023 & 2024

Newsletter - December 2024Newsletter - November 2024Newsletter - October 2024Newsletter - September 2024Newsletter - August 2024Newsletter - July 2024Newsletter - June 2024Newsletter - May 2024Newsletter - April 2024Newsletter - March 2024Newsletter - February 2024Newsletter - December 2023Newsletter - November 2023Newsletter - October 2023Newsletter - September 2023Newsletter - August 2023Newsletter - July 2023Newsletter - June 2023Newsletter - May 2023Newsletter - April 2023Newsletter - March ...

DBN Member Testimonial

Meet Keiron Young, Operations Manager at Heritage 100. The Heritage 100 is a series of 100 collectable, circular walks and accompanying stories all within the ceremonial borders of County Durham.Keiron has been coming along to our networking meetings for just over a year now, this is what he has to say about DBN..."DBN has supported the Heritage 100 project by raising awareness of it, helping us find sponsors for our walks and by supporting us in extending our own network within our ta...

HAVE YOUR SAY - SHAPE THE FUTURE OF THE UK GOVERNMENT'S NEW INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

The UK Government invites you to help shape the UK’s new modern industrial strategy.  This is a unique opportunity for you and your business to influence the path of the UK’s economy and achieve sustainable, inclusive and resilient growth.About the consultation Growth is the number one mission of this government.  Our new industrial strategy is central to supporting growth across key sectors, promoting innovation and advancing sustainability.  Your feedback is crucial to ...

SUPPORT LOCAL: FREE CHRISTMAS EVENT IN CONSETT!

FREE Christmas event in Consett on December 7th!The perfect opportunity to support local, this lovely free event has been organised by DBN members at Derwent Valley Partnership - AAP.Great if you have young children and an opportunity to visit town centre shops too!...

THE UNICORN KINGDOM: PATHFINDER AWARDS 2024

The competition is designed to unearth the most promising international businesses in the Tech space and open a dialogue with them about investing and operating in the UK.  The four awards categories are: Artificial IntelligenceCyber Security Digital Trade Solutions Connected & Automated Mobility (CAM) Technology We have received an extremely high standard of applications from companies from across the world.  We would love to invite you to meet our 10 fina...

UMi - KEY INSIGHTS FROM THE AUTUMN BUDGET 2024 FOR SMALL 2024 BUSINESSES!

To get your business ready for the upcoming changes, we've outlined what was announced and how it will affect your business.Key updates are: Increased employers’ National Insurance Contributions - From 6 April 2025, employers’ National Insurance Contributions (NICs) will increase by 1.2% to 15%.Frozen Corporate Tax Rate - With a Corporate Tax Roadmap published published as the Budget was delivered, the Chancellor has committed to capping the headline rate of Corporation T...