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JAMES IBBITSON OF VISUAL PUNCH ASKS...

Have you thought to yourself I need to do more video on LinkedIn, but then realised you don't know where to start? James has published a short guide on LinkedIn that will hopefully put you on the right track to creating videos that provides value to your network. LinkedIn is where we connect with like-minded people, decision-makers and businesses and is a place where we can benefit each other’s professional content.  With 610 million professionals LinkedIn is hard to ignore and If yo...

NEW PHIL BENTON PRINTS

Phil Benton is now selling a range of A4 quoted prints on his website and reports that they are selling fast.  To order your prints, please click here....

CAFÉ NEENA'S COVID-19 STORY

It was lovely to welcome Joanne Malki of Cafe Neena's in Chester-le-Street at our recent Zoom meeting.  As a business operating in the hospitality sector, we asked Joanne to share her current experiences with us. "Our Covid 19 experience has had it's highs and lows the same as most other businesses.  Trading had already started slowing down throughout march, but serving takeaways only was very poor.  Although we still had lots of stock, we had to make the hardest decision ever.&nb...

BUSINESS FLEXIBILITY AT TAYLOREDFIT PHYSIO

Hello my lovelies! Here is a little offering from me. Tayloredfit Physio, owned by myself, Vicky Smith and my husband Mark, is a physio, health and wellness centre, based in Langley Park on the outskirts of Durham. It has grown over the past 2 years and is a busy hub of 24 practitioners providing physio, pilates, massage, aerial yoga and a huge range of treatments and services.  Or should I say was. Like many businesses, our physical doors have been closed since the 23rd March due to c...

SIGN UP FOR THE CDC BUSINESS BOOK CLUB

Joe Murray tells us that CDC Enterprise Agency have launched a Virtual Business Book Club! The Business Book Club is a FREE to join group for business owners and aspiring business owners to enhance their learning and personal development.  Each month they will choose a book to study and members will commit to reading and reflecting on the book. Our first meeting will be held on Wednesday, 17th June at 1 p.m. and their book for June is Essentialism - The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by G...

FROM SIT-MATS TO SCRUBS RUTH IS STAYING SEW POSITIVE IN TIMES OF CRISIS

With business severely affected by the lockdown and like so many others businesses Jacwicks Designs has had to pivot and change.  Ruth has looked for ways to help out in this crisis and keep the business moving forward. With the sit-mat side of the business quiet, she switched to producing scrubs and laundry bags for local care providers.  Ruth volunteered to be an area coordinator to the group, who have collectively provided approximately 10,000 items across the North East. As shops o...

A NEW RAIL LINK FOR CONSETT? WE'D LOVE TO HEAR YOUR VIEWS

You may have read that Richard Holden, MP for North West Durham, has submitted a formal expression of interest to the Department for Transport to request feasibility study for a potential new rail transport link between Consett and Newcastle.  The application was raised during a question at Prime Minister’s Questions, where he got the support of the Prime Minister for the application. We think that it could be very good for the local economy and will benefit businesses, residents and visi...

CORONA BEER

Will the coronavirus lockdown strengthen the family bond?  Or not? To record what it’s like to be in the lockdown home with young children, Noriko is documenting her everyday family life with cartoons....

WHAT DOES YOUR FUTURE BUSINESS LOOK LIKE?

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 iss...

JUST AN HOUR AT A TIME . . .

Pacing ourselves has become something we've all become increasingly adept at recently.  The small step approach to life many people are adopting can be applied to time too . . .You can read more in the latest blog from Jane Anderson here....

TAKE A SOLO GUIDED BIRD WALK WITH THE LAND OF OAK & IRON

Sunday 26th April 2020 was to be the second of this year’s guided bird walks from the Land of Oak & Iron Heritage Centre in Winlaton Mill.  The walk was organised with local ornithologist Michael Turner, who has led several popular guided bird walks for Land of Oak & Iron over the past couple of years.The planned walk was cancelled due to the Coronavirus situation and the need to practice social distancing.  However, living locally to the Heritage Centre, Michael decided to go ahead ...

TIME TO SAVE MONEY ON ESSENTIAL BUSINESS UTILITIES

We are still operational at Great Annual Savings and have helped a lot of businesses look at their underlying Gas, Electricity and Water business costs which is vital for their profit and cash flow in this difficult time.  We can help all size businesses no matter how small or large via a quick assessment from myself.  All that is needed is a copy of a current bill, I will give DBN members free advice and a no obligation quote for their next contract.  Simply email me at Chri...

JOIN SUZANNE FOR AN HOUR OF MEDITATIVE PRACTICE FROM THE COMFORT OF YOUR OWN HOME

Our meditation events are currently free to join and we would love to welcome you. These are delivered by a member of the Ocean Zen team. Each session is individually created with its attendees in mind, so if you have any issues you want to resolve, please let us know and we can add relevant dialogue into our practice. Sessions are delivered via Zoom, so you will need a device which can run zoom and you will need to have downloaded the app. Find yourself somewhere nice and quiet and comfortable ...

IS ANYBODY THERE . . . ? TONY SEEKS OUT YOUR SPOOKY STORIES OF OLD DERWENTSIDE

One of the things I’ve been doing between work and cabin fever is starting to work on the spooky side of life again. One of the ideas I’d had is to ask all of the members of DBN to contribute any local ghost stories (Derwentside) that they’ve heard or odd experiences they’ve had to go towards some sort of presentation or potential publication for, if the response is big enough, a Halloween release. It’s a bit different and not business related exactly, but it could be fun and take folk...

A REVIEW OF ANN'S #FREEDAY BY ALLISON DORE OF HELLO FRIDAY VIRTUAL BUSINESS SUPPORT

As a new DBN member, I just wanted to write a few words in support of one of my fellow member’s #Freeday sessions run by Ann English of Create Intrigue during lockdown.  When the lockdown was announced I was left feeling bewildered, but also had a sense of not knowing how to move forward with the business I was in the process of creating, as I felt incredibly uncertain about the future. I am so grateful for the session with Ann, along with all the brilliant advice she gave me during our c...

JAMES IBBITSON OF VISUAL PUNCH ASKS "HOW CAN I HELP YOU?"

So many businesses have gone virtual with their services due to current circumstances and I’m no different.  Having introduced 3 brand new adaptations - or offerings - for my amazing clients, I’m trying to make sure that we can all keep moving forward in one way or another.  Which is why I really want to know WHAT ELSE I could be doing to help any of you with specific needs right now.  I’ve listed my 3 new offerings below, and I will be delivering a Live Video Masterclass fo...

SHARRON SKEEN OF WESTWOOD ACCOUNTANCY ASKS: 'ARE YOU ELIGIBLE FOR THE SELF-EMPLOYED INCOME SUPPORT GRANT?'

HMRC have updated their website for the Self-Employed Income Support Grant.  You can go on and check if you are eligible and HMRC will then give you a date when you will be able to claim.  You will need your UTR and NI number when you go on.  Unfortunately your accountant cannot make this claim for you, so if you are eligible to claim, then you will need to ensure you have your own Government Gateway account....

LOCAL PURCHASING IS ESSENTIAL FOR SMALL BUSINESS RECOVERY

Did you know that in Vienna, the local government has started handing out restaurant vouchers to its residents to boost their hospitality sector? While we can't do anything on that scale, we absolutely will need to encourage everyone to spend more with local businesses, it's vital for the local economy. Lower level purchasing by local authorities is going to be a lifeline for many small businesses and we hope that each north east authority is going to make it's lower level procurement easily ava...

DBN MASTERCLASS EVENTS

As part of our Derwent Valley AAP funded project, DBN is organising a series of online mini-masterclasses to inspire and support our small business community. Available to book now: Selling Success with Moira Barnes, Weds 27th May @ 10:00 a.m. Anyone can join! To find out more and register CLICK HERE Upcoming masterclasses include (Dates TBC): Taking great photos for your business using your smartphoneVisual marketing - making your business stand out onlineProductising your services to boos...

DBN NEWSLETTER & UPDATES [MARCH, APRIL & MAY 2020]

During March, April and May, DBN has produced a number of Business Updates.  If you missed any of them, you can still read them; just click on the links below.  If you would like to join our mailing list, please feel free to drop us an email and we'll add you to our list: connect@dobusinessnetwork.com DBN Business Newsletter - March 2020 DBN Update - 27th March 2020 DBN Update - 2nd April 2020 DBN Update - 9th April 2020 DBN Update - 16th April 2020 DBN Update - 24th April 2020 DBN Upd...

RICHARD HOLDEN MP

INTRODUCTION It was the greatest honour of my life being elected as North West Durham’s first ever Conservative MP and the past few months have been a whirlwind.  I grew up in a tiny village near Clitheroe and went to the local grammar school before getting a place at LSE, where I graduated from in 2007.  I’ve worked in both the public and private sectors and worked at CCHQ and in various Government departments.  I now live in Wolsingham and my office is based in Consett. Loca...

HAVE A READ OF THIS EMAIL TO GARY

Gary recieved this email from his friend Sharon in Australia and wanted to share it with you.  People around the world are feeling exactly the same way at present and are hopeful that something positive will come out of this.  The bit about the older generation saving things "for best" certainly struck a chord with Gary and reminded him of clearing his parents house! Hello distant friends . . .  a big hug to you all.  I'm very excited as I'm allowed to go visiting my little g...

WHAT DO YOU SEE WHEN YOU LOOK OUT OF THE WINDOW?

My little office is at the front of our house. It overlooks a short busy path which leads to The Allotments.  Many people pass along here even in the current situation, wheeling wheelbarrows, walking the dog or three (does anyone just have a singular dog anymore?), carrying home muddy vegetables. Finding beauty on our doorstep during Covid-19. You can read more in the latest blog from Dr Jane Anderson here....

ROBSON PRINT - OPEN FOR BUSINESS!

Don't forget that our friends at Robson Print are still open for business.  We just wanted to reassure you that here at Robson Print we're committed to providing you with the best service that we can through thick and thin, as we have for the last 40+ years.  In these uncertain times it's important that you know we're open for business as usual, and have put in place all sensible measures to ensure we stay that way.  In response to the current situation we are following all g...

WHAT BUSINESS INSURANCE COVER TO I NEED?

Recent unexpected events have left many of us reflecting on our current circumstances, what the future will look like following ‘lockdown’ and considering what we can do moving forwards to ‘futureproof’ our businesses in the months and years to come. We’re all no doubt now aware of Business Interruption Insurance (BI) which has received a fair amount of negative press recently. On the specific issue of BI, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) released a statement on 01/05/2020 announc...