Aycliffe Today Business Aycliffe Today Business Issue 38 | Page 15

The magazine for Aycliffe Business Park | 15 ABOUT DBOP… The DBOP team (left to right): Guy Bashford, Lisa Wall, Pam Reynolds and Michael Harriott. T “The courses were a great success last year and participants were able to take a lot of useful information and experiences that they can use to benefit their business.” where businesses can start to grow and then create a deliverable business plan around them. “They are aimed at giving practical advice and support tailored to growing your business and are interactive, fun and engaging. “Participants can always expect lots of group discussion, ideas generation, problem solving and interaction. “The courses were a great success last year and participants were able to take a lot of useful information and experiences that they can use to benefit their business.” DBOP is a three-year programme for SMEs which is funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and delivered by Business Durham. Places on the course are limited but you can find out more by contacting Lisa Wall on 01207 291 268 or email [email protected]. he Durham Business Opportunities Programme has been providing support for businesses in County Durham since late 2016. In that time, the team has delivered strands of intensive support to businesses in the childcare, creative, food and drink and engineering and manufacturing sectors. A fifth strand, ‘Routes to Contract Success’, is also being launched in early 2019, which will help the growth of SMEs in County Durham by supporting them to take advantage of new and existing tender opportunities in the private and public sectors. The programme has already intensively supported over 170 businesses in County Durham as well as engaging with over 320 SMEs, connecting them with opportunities to support the growth of their business. The team aim to help businesses by connecting them with opportunities to support their business growth, as well as plugging gaps in business support and providing intensive strands of support to businesses which no other business support organisation can offer. Rockpool Children’s Books received support for their business through DBOP’s creative strand. “It was an enjoyable and informative day, within half an hour I knew I was in the right place to move my business forward,” said Stuart Trotter, creative director of the publishers. Lee White’s electrical engineering business, Bespoke Electrical, has doubled its headcount and won new business worth £30,000 in the space of a year. Lee explained “The business was only three weeks old when we attended EMCON last year. “The DBOP team gave us great support – at the show we picked up four really good leads that have led to some big projects and ultimately allowed us to grow.” Childcare entrepreneur Laura Davis, meanwhile, received support from DBOP which has seen her County Durham nursery acquire two other businesses. “At Child’s Play we approach childcare with a focus on development,” said Laura. “My ambition is to bring that model to other nurseries – eventually we’d like to have a group of five to six sites.” DBOP is a three-year programme for SMEs which is funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and delivered by Business Durham. To find out more about DBOP support, call Lisa Wall on 01207 291 268 or email [email protected].