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DBN Meeting Dates from February to July 2023

Let's Get Organised For 2023!Here's the dates of our 'Do Business' Network Meetings for this year - February to July. All meetings run from 8:30 through to 10:30.Pop the dates in your diary and book your place HERETuesday, 21st February - Consett Rugby ClubTuesday, 21st March - The Greenhouse, GreencroftTuesday, 18th April - Venue TBCTuesday, 16th May - Lanchester Garden CentreTuesday, 20th June - Derwentside CollegeTuesday, 18th July - DBN Netwalk at the Land of Oak and Iron...

DBN NEWSLETTER

Calling all DBN members!  The deadline to submit your free article for our next newsletter is 5pm on Friday 24th February.If you miss this deadline we can carry your article over to our March newsletter.If you are not a member you can sign up to receive our newsletter by completing the box in our website footer.  The DBN newsletter is currently circulated to just over 800 North East businesses.If you are interested in becoming a DBN business member please find out more here....

It's a wrap! Ending on a high at our Big Ideas event.

Thank you to everyone who participated in our 'Big Ideas' event.Over the last two weeks we've covered;* Business Planning* Setting Goals* Offline Marketing* Digital Marketing* Creating Content* Customer Service ( Looking after your customers)It was lovely to see everyone leaving happy with lots of ideas for their business in 2023 and beyond.A special thank you to Jo Long,( Jo Long Marketing) Melanie Cant (Elm Marketing Solutions) and Terry McStea (RTC North) for delivering the tra...

APPRENTICESHIPS AND JOBS FAIR

News from Richard Holden, MP for North West Durham . . .My next Apprenticeships & Jobs Fair - Friday, 10th February 2023 - 11:00-16:00 at Derwentside College.Whether you’re starting your first job or thinking of changing career there are lots of apprenticeships and jobs available.  I can’t wait to see as many of you there as possible.  Apprenticeships drive productivity and growth in our economy as well as allowing you to earn while you learn.Apprenticeships are also great for ...

OUR BIG IDEAS FOCUS FOR 2023

Day 1 of our Big Ideas event and we've built our business empires with Lego!Thank you to Terry McStea for leading our Lego Serious Play session which got us thinking about short term and long term business goals, what we need to do to achieve our goals and what obstacles we may encounter on the way.The second half of the day was focused around offline marketing and was delivered by Jo Long from Jo Long Consulting. Jo focused on identifying your target audience, business values and exploring trad...

HAVE YOU MET THE LUMO TEAM?

It's been such a busy start to January here at Lumo, our team have been run off their feet but they always have a smile on their face 😁Last year we had the pleasure of working with the team at Wander Films and we asked them to capture the essence of what makes Lumo different to other R&D firms.Anyone who knows us would agree that the Wander team have captured us perfectly - socks and all !! 🤣🤣. If we haven't had the pleasure in meeting you yet this video will give you an insight int...

NEW POST - NEBSF

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WHAT ARE YOUR BUSINESS GOALS FOR 2023?

At our January meeting our main topic of discussion was business goals and how we can support each other to achieve our goals in 2023. It was really interesting to hear what everyone had planned for the new year and lovely to see how many of us could help each other with business introductions or work together to help achieve our goals.With the permission of our members we have published a few of these business goals below in hope that if anyone can help them they'll get in touch.** We respectfu...

CRAFTS FOR WELLBEING

Wishing you a creative New Year! I have a lovely selection of workshops coming up for you in January and February, including a lovely crepe paper flowers workshop that will be perfect to make everlasting flowers for your Valentine! Have a browse around the workshop calendar on my website to see the full range of workshops coming up over the next few months. If you would like to book one of these workshops as a wellbeing event for your company, please do get in touch, I'm happy to ...

CHARITY RACE NIGHT FOR WILLOW BURN HOSPICE

Industrial Workwear is hosting a charity race night at The Royal Oak in Medomsley on Friday 3rd February to help raise money for Willow Burn Hospice.  If any of our members would like to get involved with the race night there is an opportunity  to sponsor a race at the event! A race can be sponsored for the cost of £100, for this you'll be included in their race night brochure and in all their social media posts during and after the event. You are also more than welcome to c...

GET FIT TO EXPORT

Do you have an ambition to grow your business?  Are you unsure if exporting is for you? Join the Department for International Trade North East for a free workshop & find out what you can do to make your business ‘export-ready’. Who’s it for? This workshop is for anyone who: Has an ambition to grow their businessWants to plan the next steps into exporting as part of an overall business growth strategyIs unsure what exporting might involve, but wants to understand the risks and ...

ONLY A FEW MONTHS REMAIN FOR FIRMS TO UTILISE THE NORTH EAST BUSINESS SUPPORT FUND

Businesses are being urged to submit growth-based grant applications, as the deadline for a much-used fund approaches.  For over a decade, the North East Business Support Fund has provided a protective shield for business owners, helping SMEs de-risk investment in growth. The fund’s success has been staggering, supporting nearly 5,000 SME businesses with over £9.1m in grants distributed across the region. However, the fund is due to end in March 2023, and, with grants still available ...

BUILDING SELF-BELIEF - QUIZ NIGHT

Building Self-Belief CIO, a Consett based children's charity, is having their first Charity Quiz Night at The Demi, in Consett on Wednesday 23rd November, 7.00pm start.It's a £5 entry & there are prizes and a prize raffle as per the Eventbright link here. There are some really good prizes available, including £100 first prize!It would be great if there was a DBN team of Quizzers too!We are also looking for raffle prize donations if anyone feels able to support & would l...

DIGITAL DRIVE COUNTY DURHAM SOCIAL MEDIA FESTIVAL 2022

DATE & TIME: Thursday, 6th October (9:15-16:45)We are pleased to announce that the Digital Drive Social Media Festival is back on Thursday 6th October at the Radisson Blu Hotel Durham.  This unmissable event has been created to help ambitious entrepreneurs and marketing teams take the next steps with their social media.We are pleased to announce that the Digital Drive Social Media Festival is back on Thursday 6th October at the Radisson Blu Hotel Durham.  This ...

POP-UP PRIMER PROGRAMME

The Pop-up Primer is a workshop programme designed to develop the retail skills of local creative and food and drink businesses.  We’re looking for businesses who would like to join this workshop programme, learn more about incorporating the pop-up format into their retail activities, and develop some of the unique skills that can help make pop-up retail a success.Hosted at Newcastle University Business School, online and at Sook, a pop-up retail space in the Metrocentre, Gateshead, these...

JOB OPENING AT DESIGN XPRESS, CONSETT

Do you know of anyone looking for work locally? Busy Large Format Print company seeks Full Time Administrative/Accounts assistant to join their small, friendly team based in Consett. The role can entail ever changing priorities and be fast paced. Job Description  As an Administrative Assistant your duties will be, but not limited to:  provide administrative support to the accounts and estimating Teamsprocessing high volumes of invoices and uploading to external client systemsconve...

ARE YOU A COACH, CONSULTANT OR ENTREPRENEUR LOOKING TO GET YOUR BRAND KNOWN ONLINE?

Listen in, because I’ve been invited by Sheryl Plouffe a former Canadian TV broadcaster and video strategist, to be a guest on CashinonCamera video podcast.  Talking about visual note-taking for business and Sheryl will offer insights on marketing, content creation, media and communication to help you grow your service-based business.I first met Sheryl in 2020 through the magic of Zoom.  Despite being stuck at home during lockdown, we connected virtually at a global business developm...

DAVID AT FIRST COHORT INTERNATIONAL ANSWERS A QUESTION

A recent question was asked of us regarding substance misuse testing at work and the legality of it.  So here is David with the answer.  Click here to see the video....

PLEASE JOIN US IN WELCOMING CASSANDRA McGILL TO THE BOWE DIGITAL TEAM AS BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT EXECUTIVE!

Cassandra, who has more than 25 years’ experience in business development and account management, will be responsible for building relationships with existing customers and new clients, and so much more.We are also delighted to announce that we have moved to Silverlink Business Park.  We have been looking for the right space for Bowe Digital for a short-while and the two-storey space offers the perfect space for our growing team. Bowe Digital is a trusted IT solutions partner for your bus...

HM REVENUE AND CUSTOMS

HM Revenue and Customs has used new powers today to publicly name directors of tax avoidance promoting companies, with customers being warned to leave the firms’ schemes or risk large tax bills. Read more here. HMRC has proposed a massive expansion of the data it collects from taxpayers. Is this data grab justified, and how will it affect those businesses and individuals?  The consultation: 'Improving the data HMRC collects from its customers', covers six areas where HMRC says that collec...

HAVE YOU SEEN MY NEW CALENDAR FOR 2023 - A MOMENT IN TIME?

Available to buy on my website.Phil, Phil Benton Photography...

BACK TO SCHOOL THIS WEEK?

The headmaster in our 1900s Pit Village school is looking forward to welcoming you back!  We hope you've been practising your three Rs.Did you know that the school in The 1900s Pit Village came from East Stanley, a couple of miles from the museum, and originally opened in 1892?  Reading, writing and arithmetic were the basis of elementary teaching back then.  The school leaving age was 12 and attendance was compulsory, although attendance could be affected by girls staying at home...

OUR NEW BRAZILIAN BEAN!

Our Miners’ Gala coffee is always a single origin bean from Brazil, but occasionally we can’t get a hold of the same bean; thus we are welcoming a new Brazilian bean to our Heritage Range, but fear not, for those of you who love out Miners’ Gala, our new Brazilian bean has a similar flavour profile.  It is still a wonderful medium-light roast showcasing a well-rounded pleasant sweetness which will appeal to most people. Flavour notes: Brown Sugar - Maple Syrup - Creamy.Fazenda Bela Vi...

TRY AN ALTERNATIVE CHRISTMAS PARTY THIS YEAR

Sorry for mentioning Christmas so early, but I'm already taking bookings for this year's Christmas craft workshops!Craft workshops are a fun alternative to the Christmas office party. Learn a new skill, make some lovely Christmas decorations, and enjoy some festive nibbles too.Either decorate a ceramic bauble or learn the skill of lino printing and print up some Christmas crackers. Learn more about the workshops and book over on my website.I look forward to welcoming you on a workshop soon!Carri...

CONSETT ROTARY GOLF COMPETITION

Thank you for supporting Consett Rotary Golf Competition.  Let's hope we make lots of money for Local Charities.  Consett Rotary aims to make a positive difference in our community.  We give our time; we use grant funding to set up projects and we have money raising events.On Monday 17th October 7.00pm enjoy a full Cantonese banquet at the award-winning Pavilion restaurant in Iveston at the unbeatable one-off price of £34.  Includes the legendary duck!Bring your family, frie...