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** Dorset Business Mentors Insights: Leveraging Seasonality
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Most businesses experience seasonality, presenting golden opportunities for strategic planning and goal setting. Proactive owners can use these quieter times to find a business mentor and meticulously plan for the future.
Seasonal fluctuations affect many sectors. Retailers peak in winter, while tourism thrives in summer, leading to inevitable lulls. These quieter periods allow for deep reflection and strategic thinking. Seeking out a business mentor during this time can be a route to invaluable guidance, helping to identify blind spots, offer new insights, and suggest innovative strategies.
Quieter times are also perfect for comprehensive goal setting, encompassing long-term visions, refining brand messaging, and exploring new markets. This period allows business leaders to evaluate operations, conduct SWOT analyses, and plan strategically.
Moreover, these periods are crucial for focusing on work-life balance, allowing owners and employees to recharge, engage in professional development, and reassess personal goals. Embracing seasonality ensures businesses emerge stronger and more resilient, ready for the next peak.
Read more
** Support Careers Activities in Local Primary Schools
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Dorset Careers Hub is working with primary teachers across Dorset as part of ‘Start Small; Dream Big’
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As early as the age of six, children can adopt limiting stereotypes based on gender, ethnicity, and social background. Through encounters with employers, this programme aims to challenge stereotypes and broaden children’s horizons. Working with primary schools is a fantastic opportunity to support your local community and start your careers conversations early!
Join a webinar to find out more. Sign up using the links below.
* Tue 23 Jul 2024 at 12:00 | Eventbrite
* Wed 14 Aug 2024 at 12:00 | Eventbrite
* Thu 26 Sep 2024 at 09:00 | Eventbrite
Alternatively, head to Dorset Careers Hub’s website
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** Dorset businesses encouraged to pledge support towards providing meaningful workplace experiences
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Offering young people the chance to experience the world of work can have a significant impact on their future career choices and employment outcome. For some, it’s their first taste of what work could be like and for others it’s the chance to follow a passion.
Dorset Careers Hub and Dorset Chamber have joined forces to support local organisations to offer work experience to young people across Dorset. The Dorset WorkEx Directory is a new resource which aims to support relationships between employers and schools, by signposting them to available opportunities.
The team is offering a free webinar to support employers. Wednesday 17th July 2024, 12:30 – 13:00: Make your Workplace Experiences safe and accessible
Find out more or pledge your support for the future workforce
** Great South West Regional Roadshow: Dorset
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16 July 2024
- Bournemouth University, Talbot Campus
The Great South West Partnership is hosting a series of regional events to connect business leaders, investors and local authorities to mobilise efforts to raise the profile of our region and champion our business community on the national stage.
You can also find out more about the Great South West’s work in championing their businesses to national investors, and how we can work together to create a stronger national voice for our fantastic region.
Find out more and register
** TikTok Takeoff: Helping small brands get themselves noticed
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Enterprise Nation have teamed up with TikTok to deliver a new email marketing course that helps your small business use the social media platform to promote your brand and build your own thriving community.
Through their TikTok Takeoff partnership
, you can connect with a group of like-minded small business owners and successful creators who can help you make content to get your brand noticed.
Find out more
** Emerging Dorset tech business receives funding boost
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An emerging Dorset tech business has received a £10,000 Start Up Loan boost via SWIG Finance to develop its online business planning platform.
The Plana platform, officially launched in April, enables key stakeholders to collaborate in business planning and keep track of progress.
Experienced business growth consultant Mark Painter designed Plana for consultants, academics and business owners to support seamless and cost-effective collaboration across multiple business functions.
Read more
** Sustainability Expo 2024
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17 July 2024 - Bournemouth University, Gateway Building
Join the Centre for Sustainable Business Transformations (CSBT) at Bournemouth University for an annual Sustainability Expo showcasing a sample of the Centre members’ latest research and collaboration with local businesses and organisations. The event will also provide an opportunity for networking with local businesses, organisations and members of the CSBT, exploring opportunities for collaboration.
The themes discussed this year include:
* Decarbonisation and Net Zero
* Sustainable Materials, Manufacturing and Design
* Sustainability and Cybersecurity
* Sustainability at Bournemouth University
Find out more and register
** Farming Futures: Nutrient Management
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The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) will invest up to £15 million in innovation projects. This funding is part of Defra’s Farming Innovation Programme, which is a partnership with and delivered by Innovate UK.
The aim of this competition is to fund collaborative development projects with ambitious solutions to address the challenges related to nutrient management in soils and water associated with agricultural livestock and crop production. The solutions provided will enable sustainable and resilient farming.
Nutrient management involves using nutrients, both organic and manufactured, as efficiently as possible to maximise plant uptake, crop growth and yield. It also includes applying nutrients where and when they can be best utilised by plants, thereby combating run-off and soil erosion. Good nutrient management should increase productivity whilst protecting the environment by minimising nutrient loss.
Find out more and apply
** Last chance to register for trade mission to meet buyers from GCC, India, China, Japan and South Korea
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Looking to grow your international business? Join Visit Britain/Visit England at Destination Britain Middle East and Asia, taking place in India from 20-22 November 2024, to meet and contract with buyers from across the region, all under one roof.
Visitors from this region spent on average £1,778 per visit in the UK, more than double the all-market average (£830), based on latest available reported data for January-September 2023.
This event offers the chance to meet leisure buyers from the region over a period of two full business days in 1-2-1 pre-scheduled appointments.
Book your place
** Global Incubator Programme: Gateway to Australia - AgriTech
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Innovate UK’s Global Incubator Programme is an acceleration programme for innovative businesses to work with world-leading incubators abroad. They are currently accepting applications for up to eight innovative companies in the Agri-Tech sector to join their programme with Farmers2Founders and GROW in Australia. This initiative will be delivered virtually with two market visits.
They would welcome applications from innovative companies with expertise in the following focus areas:
* Resource use, efficiency and management systems across arable livestock and horticulture
* Water management/irrigation and fertigation
* Gene editing to achieve resilience and efficiency
* Livestock nutrition, health and genomics – managing rumen and cutting enteric methane production
* Land and soil management and cultivation strategy
* Robotics, AI and sensor tech
* Regenerative/climate smart agricultural systems and carbon capture and storage tech
* Controlled environment agriculture
* Waste reduction systems (crop and livestock)
Download a flyer
** Fully Funded Growth and Productivity Groups are back!
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Evolve are excited to launch, in partnership with Dorset LEP, this year’s Business Growth & Productivity Groups.
Starting in September, we’re set to enhance the capabilities of 40 promising businesses through one-to-one coaching and group sessions, which explore strategic growth, funding for growth, leadership for growth, internationalisation and so much more.
The programme starts in September 2024 and runs to March 2025, with 15 hours of contact time. It’s about exploring and reaching your potential.
Sector specific groups are available for people in the following areas:
👉 Engineering & manufacturing
👉 Marine & maritime
👉 Digital & creative
👉 Visitor economy
Register your interest
** UK-Singapore Collaborative R&D 2024
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Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation, will invest up to £5 million in innovation projects in partnership with Enterprise Singapore
. This competition has an open scope.
UK registered organisations must collaborate with at least one Singapore non-linked registered business applying under the equivalent Enterprise Singapore programme. UK registered organisations must apply through the Innovation Funding Service (IFS) portal to Innovate UK and will be funded by Innovate UK.
The aim of this competition is to fund business led collaborative research and development (CR&D) projects focused on industrial research. The projects we fund are expected to result in a new product, industrial process or service. They must be innovative, involve a technological development and have high market potential in the participating countries.
Read more
** HMRC - Advice and Support: Homeworking and Travel Expenses
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If you reimburse or pay expenses and provide benefits to your employees – including directors – find out about the effects on tax and National Insurance, by joining our live webinars.
If you have any questions, feel free to ask them using the on-screen text box.
Expenses and benefits for your employees – phones, internet and homeworking
This webinar provides an overview of the tax and National Insurance treatment where an employer:
• provides a mobile phone
• reimburses the use of a personal mobile phone
• provides broadband in an employee’s home, or pays towards it
• provides homeworking expenses to its employees
Expenses and benefits for your employees – if your employees have more than one workplace
Looking at:
• employee travel to different types of workplace
• geographical locations
• the 24-month rule
• the 40% test
Expenses and benefits for your employees – travel
Find out about the tax treatment of:
• travel and subsistence payments to employees
• mileage payments for employees using their own vehicle
• benchmark and bespoke scale rates
• keeping records and sending reports to HMRC
For information about 'PAYE Settlement Agreements (PSAs)
' choose from a playlist of short videos – available on HMRC’s YouTube channel.
** EEN Energy Solutions Catalogue
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Last month, a 2024 Partnership Catalogue for Renewable Energy Solutions was launched across the EEN
.
The catalogue contains almost 100 profiles of EEN clients looking to find commercial partners to work with to trial their solutions, representing unique collaboration opportunities for South West companies.
Solutions are listed by type and include: Power generation; Energy Storage; Mobility (EV); and Energy Efficiency.
Find the full catalogue here
** Volkswagen sales and conversion specialist revs up offering with funding
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A South West-based Volkswagen Transporter sales and conversion specialist is set to open a new headquarters with the support of a seven-figure package from HSBC UK.
The new 22,000 sq ft site has enabled Dorset-based Van Haven to triple the size of its workshop, increase its van inventory and bring more services in-house, such as vehicle wrapping and service setting.
The funding has also allowed Van Haven to introduce its new dedicated camper division, overseen by a specialist team.
Read more
Horizon Scanning Service
Dorset LEP provides a fully funded, horizon scanning service to help more Dorset entrepreneurs, SME’s and projects to identify government funds to power their business growth, increase collaborations and drive innovation. The funding landscape is vast and can be difficult to navigate. Dorset LEP’s horizon scanning service will assist business owners and senior leaders in identifying suitable funding competitions for their businesses to bid into. Your business can also take advantage of the fully funded bid writing support service once a suitable funding competition has been identified.
Bid Writing Support
Dorset LEP provides a fully funded, specialist bid writing support service to help more Dorset entrepreneurs, SME’s and projects access government funds to power their business growth, increase collaborations and drive innovation.
Apply for Horizon Scanning Service or Bid Writing Support
Dorset Growth Hub - Latest events
Innovate UK KTN - Latest Funding opportunities
Latest Innovate UK KTN Events
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