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DBN MEETING DATES FOR 2024

We have added our networking schedule for face to face meetings in 2024.Make sure you pop these dates in your diary.Melanie & David...

COVID-19 MEMORIAL CONSULTATION EVENT

Durham County Council is hosting a series of drop-in consultation events around Consett to discuss the installation of a memorial dedicated to those that sadly lost their lives during the pandemic. In partnership with the elected members, local community groups and local schools, the Community Economic Development team have commissioned initial designs and would like to share these design options with the local community to gain feedback and opinions on the proposals. If you would like...

CHRISTMAS IN CONSETT 2023

Join the Derwent Valley Partnership (DVP) for a FREE festive entertainment programme on Saturday 9 December in Middle Street, Consett.The fun starts at 4pm ending with the Christmas tree lights switched on at 6pm.Live musicChildren’s costumed characters and SantaWear your Christmas jumper to be in with a chance to win a family ticket to see Jack and the Beanstalk at The Empire Theatre, Consett.  (Tickets kindly donated by The Empire Theatre)Pop into The HUB i...

NEW MEMBER ANNOUNCEMENT: CITIZENS HOUSE IN CONSETT

Citizens House is a brand new purpose built venue ideally situated in the centre of Consett.Offering its own car park, disabled access, an on-site café and kitchen facilities, Citizens House provides a user friendly meeting place custom made to meet all your requirements.We are sure you will meet Sharon at one of our meetings soon. In the meantime take a look at the video below which explains more about Citizens House and their heritage.Website: https://www.citizenshouseconsett.o...

Join us for our last meeting of 2023!

Our last face to face networking meeting is on Tuesday 5th December at The Steel Town Bistro within Derwentside College, Consett.As it's December this meeting is Christmas themed so Christmas jumpers are encouraged but not essential.Come along to meet our members and join in our speed networking hour. Tea/Coffee and breakfast buns will be served on arrival.Places at this venue are limited so please book early to avoid disappointment: https://bit.ly/47djesfSee you soon!Melanie & David...

Welcome to DBN Screaming Chimp Chilli Sauce!

We'd like to offer a warm DBN welcome to Niall Mckay-Mount from Screaming Chimp Chilli Sauce!Based in Witton Gilbert, Screaming Chimp is a small family run business producing free from chilli products with no nasty additives, colourings or artificial ingredients. They make fresh chilli sauces that are both vegetarian and vegan friendly and delicious on all the meat you can eat or fish you can dish!I'm sure you'll meet Niall at one of our meetings soon but in the meantime check out his website&nb...

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...

Heritage 100 Project

At our last networking meeting we had the pleasure of welcoming Keiron and Craig from the Heritage 100 Project.The Heritage 100 project is a series of 100 collectable, circular walks and accompanying stories set within County Durham.  Managed by Durham based charity -  The Walk and Talk Trust - its aim is to create a legacy of walking and wellbeing. The walks will showcase the wonderfully diverse Durham countryside from the Heritage coast in the east to the Durham dales in th...

The White Room Music Cafe

In the spirit of supporting local we'd like to introduce a new business located in Stanley!Initially a picture framing house, the White Room Music Cafe has since been established as a warm, friendly and very accommodating place for people to enjoy good coffee, cakes and great craic as well as attracting top local musicians to their weekly acoustic & folk club sessions and various monthly events.We are looking to host one of our DBN meetings at the cafe in 2024. In the meantime, if you'd like...

BEAMISH MUSEUM - TAKE A SEAT!

Sponsor a seat in Beamish Museum's 1950s Grand CinemaBeamish Museum is building a recreation of The Grand from Ryhope in Sunderland and you can have the opportunity to sponsor a cinema seat as part of our Take a Seat campaign.Beamish buffs and film fanatics alike can sponsor an individual seat within the main auditorium of our recreation of The Grand, supporting the museum.Cinema seats can be sponsored by individuals or businesses.  Those who Take a Seat can have a name of their choice engr...

Celebrating individuals who have helped raise money for Willow Burn Hospice

David & Melanie had a lovely evening at Willow Burn Hospice last night to celebrate the individual fundraisers who have challenged themselves this year to raise money for the hospice.Willow Burn is 44% funded by the NHS which means that 56p in every £ they spend needs to be raised by them.Melanie took part in the Consett Steel Town 20 this year and walked 20 miles to raise money for Willow Burn in memory of DBN member Gemma Justice who passed away earlier this year.Thank you to&nb...

'DO BUSINESS' NETWORK AFTER DARK WITH TONY

A big thank you to Tony Liddell.  We thoroughly enjoyed the meeting and were thrilled, shaken and bewildered by stories of things that go bump in the night!  Or do they!?Tony has now edited the material and if you have some time to spare it is definitely worth listening to!  Pop it on in the background as you are working (the podcast lasts about one hour).There are two sites where you can listen to the podcast:https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-cykyr-14ee487https://theboggartwood....

NEW PODCAST. MEET ONE OF OUR NEWEST MEMBERS, MICHAEL GIBBON FROM RAINTON BRIDGE GROUP LTD.

Rainton Bridge Group Ltd is an IT solution business providing an outsourced IT department to SME's all over the UK.In this episode Director Michael Gibbon talks to Melanie about how he started his business, what is main 'bread and butter' service is and the benefits of using his services.You can listen to this podcast hereConnect with Michael on LinkedinWebsite: https://www.raintonbridgegroup.co.uk/...

NEW DIGITAL SUPPORT - FREE TO NORTH EAST BUSINESSES

At Department for Business & Trade (DBT), we have now rolled out new specialist support programme open to all businesses across the Northeast, specifically for all aspects of Digital support, to help you grow your overseas sales. This new support includes access to free one-to-one support with a Digital Trade Adviser, employed within DBT, to assist across all areas of your digital objectives, this can include a website analysis for example a deep dive into your website reach or competit...

FUNDING AVAILABLE: CHRISTMAS 2023 HOLIDAY ACTIVITY WITH HEALTHY FOOD (HAWHF)

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

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...

Create Intrigue Celebrates 10th Business Birthday!

This week Ann English from Create Intrigue is celebrating a milestone that isn’t just about numbers… it’s about the impact made by the countless individuals and businesses she's had the privilege of working with over the last decade. In October 2013, when she embarked on this rollercoaster of a journey which is called self employment, she didn’t know where that would take her, or all the incredible people she’d meet, many who’ve become clients and life-long friends. Along the way sh...

DBN AFTER DARK AT HALLOWEEN

The Spooky Season is upon us, and its time for DBN to plunge into the world of the mysterious . . .Archaeologist Tony Liddell is recording the Halloween Edition of A Northern Counties Paranormal Podcast (hosted by Within the Boggart Wood), and he’s inviting members of DBN to join him online for “The Strange Case of the Harperley Hotel” - a short presentation of things that used to go bump in the night at The Harperley Hotel near Stanley, followed by a question and answer session....

Check your Cyber Security for FREE!

A successful cyber attack can cause major damage to your business. It can affect your bottom line, as well as your business' standing and consumer trust.Cyber Essentials is a government backed scheme which helps organisations defend against the most common cyber threats. You can carry out a FREE cyber security check via their website here: https://bit.ly/3LrlzaeIn addition to this, our experts can work with you to perform your evaluation and support you in achieving your Cyber Essentials Ce...

Spooky Halloween Podcast with Tony Liddell

Member Online Event:  Wed, 25 Oct 2023 from 20:30The Spooky Season is upon us, and it's time for DBN to plunge into the world of the mysterious… Archaeologist Tony Liddell is recording the Halloween Edition of A Northern Counties Paranormal Podcast (hosted by Within the Boggart Wood), and he’s inviting members of DBN to join him online for “The Strange Case of the Harperley Hotel” - a short presentation of things that used to go bump in the night at The Harperley Hote...

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 ...

DURHAM BUSINESS GROWTH

Investing in a brighter tomorrow.The UK Shared Prosperity Fund is here to empower your business for tomorrow's challenges.With the Right Support, Great Things Can Happen.At Durham Business Growth, we are your trusted partner in navigating the intricacies of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.  Our dedicated team of experts are committed to helping you unlock the full potential of your business.  Together, let's embrace the future of growth and make County Durham a hub of success.You're in s...

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...

Melanie raises £500 for Willow Burn Hospice in memory of Gemma Justice

We are thrilled to announce that Melanie Cant hit her £500 fundraising target for Willow Burn Hospice after walking 20 mile to remember our friend Gemma Justice.For those who don’t know Gemma she was a client of Melanie’s but also a member of DBN until she received her cancer diagnosis. Sadly she passed away in June at the age of 42 leaving her family and friends heartbroken 💔 Willow Burn Hospice had been a great support to Gemma and her family over the years so Melan...

Building Self Belief's 5th Birthday Celebrations and AGM

On Thursday 7th September we had a lovely afternoon at the Derwent Manor Boutique Hotel for Building Self Belief's AGM and to celebrate their 5th birthday 🥳The charity’s core aim is to build stronger communities by building self-belief in vulnerable young people and run programmes that improve self-confidence, self-esteem and enhance the social skills of young people.A huge well done to Christine and Peter Thomas for providing a much needed support service to young people in our area. ...