Affiliated Chamber

Dorchester Chamber for Business www.dorchesterchamber.co.uk We play an active role helping to promote local business and enterprise, representing a wide range of businesses both large and small. Our priority is to help our members work together to boost trade. In addition, we are also working with community partners on our Retain & Retrain campaign to promote apprenticeships and similar initiatives to further enhance employability in Dorchester.

Bridport Chamber of Trade and Commerce - Bridport Business www.bridportbusiness.org.uk A Voice and a Champion for businesses in Bridport. Our mission is to ensure that Bridport provides the ideal environment for businesses to thrive and supply the goods and services the town and surrounding area need to remain economically vibrant.

Our vision is that the Chamber will represent and work with the business community and others to promote the town and increase prosperity for our members.

Membership provides access to networking events, email updates, free online promotion and the chance to raise the profile of your business.

Ferndown Chamber For Business www.ferndownchamber.org.uk Ferndown Chamber For Business works tirelessly to make Ferndown a great place to do business. We work with the Town Council and local organisations such as the Rotary Club to put on events in the town to bring the public and businesses closer together whilst promoting the town in a positive way. FERNDOWN CHAMBER FOR BUSINESS

Gillingham Chamber of Commerce www.gcci.co.uk Gillingham Chamber of Commerce and Industry has been around since the 1930s and continues to have nearly 100 members. Many of our members come from outside the High Street where diversity encompasses old family firms, industrial estate Units and new modern work from home and digital businesses. We are very much involved in local initiatives and other groups such as Town Council, Gillingham School, Gillingham in Gear, Dementia Friends, Town Team in particular. We are becoming more visual within the town and host monthly networking happy hours where we often have local speakers talking to our members.

Shaftesbury Chamber of Commerce www.shaftesburychamber.co.uk The Shaftesbury Chamber has around 100 members from its two business parks and independent High Street businesses. They hold monthly networking meetings and are very active in the development of the town’s economy. Unlike many other towns, Christmas lights and activities are entirely run and paid for by Chamber members.

Sherborne Chamber of Trade and Commerce www.sherbornechamber.co.uk The Sherborne Chamber of Commerce exists to promote its members’ businesses and the wider business community. It has a membership in excess of 150. The Chamber is involved in just about every event that takes place in the town, supporting the Sherborne community, attracting media interest and creating a memorable experience for visitors to the town.

Swanage & District Chamber of Trade www.swanagechamberoftrade. co.uk Swanage Information Centre won another award in the South West England Tourism Excellence Awards and now holds a Gold and Bronze Award for Visitor Information Service of the Year. Swanage Town Council has funded and refurbished the Information Centre and four of the twelve toilet blocks in the town. It is great to see in this current climate investment in facilities that give a better visitor experience for people visiting Swanage.

Weymouth & Portland Chamber of Commerce www.wpchamber.co.uk The Chamber has been supporting firms in Weymouth and Portland for almost 90 years. We’ve helped many people to find their feet in the local business community, by providing an environment where they can connect with likeminded people. In recent years we’ve represented the concerns of businesses to the local councils, contributing to a significant cut in the cost of car parking charges.

Member To Member Chamber Offers

Discounted initial consultation for Dorset Chamber Members Alchemy Health Clinic is a holistic hub offering safe and natural health care for all the family. Established in 1982, this multidisciplinary clinic offers a wide range of therapeutic and healing disciplines including chiropractic, cranial-sacral therapy, homeopathy, physiotherapy, counselling, hypnotherapy, massage, Reiki as well as Yoga and meditation Alchemy also offers ergonomic advice and spinal checks in the workplace. For more information visit http://www.alchemy-healthclinic.com Dorset Chamber members: 20% discount on initial consultation. Contact: Dr Nashir Karmali DC Telephone: 01202 880136 Email: info@alchemy-healthclinic.com

Finger on the pulse research are offering Dorset Chamber Members the opportunity to be able to survey their staff at a heavily discounted rate. Their "Quick Pulse" surveys can help you acquire an independent, robust and objective understanding of what your employees think and are feeling. They are flexible, and will tailor the surveys to the specific needs of your business.

Finger on the Pulse Research (FOTP) specialises in obtaining feedback for clients from their key stakeholder groups. Typically, these include employees, customers and suppliers. Being an independent third party, they can enable your employees to speak more openly and truthfully about what they are going through so that you can take a more targeted approach to support them.

Nexus transforms the brewing industry with high-tech innovations

Poole based cooling specialists, Nexus Cooling, have been impressing the UK’s brewing sector with a user-friendly, hightech brewery control panel set to revolutionise temperature control within the industry. The internetenabled control panel allows brewers to monitor and change brewing temperature settings remotely.

Now available as part of Nexus Cooling’s end-to-end brewery cooling system installations, the internet-enabled temperature control panel allows brewers to monitor, regulate and amend the temperature of individual vessels 24/7 without the need to be on site. With temperature levels playing such a critical role in the brewing process, the ability to remotely view and control settings at any time will be hugely beneficial for many independent brewers. Nexus Cooling’s Managing Director, Ian Hill: "Being able to install the control panel as part of an overall brewery cooling installation is a real game-changer. Connecting to the panel, brewers can monitor the temperature of all their vessels via any internetenabled device, including their mobile phones. They can even change the vessel temperatures from any location, day or night. Having worked within the brewing industry for over 20 years, we understand what a critical part of the brewing process 24/7 temperature regulation is. The interactive control panel enables brewers to manage this effectively and easily whilst dealing with all of the other day-to-day issues of running their breweries."

Nexus will be the showcasing

32 April 2020 | Dorset Business Focus /company/dorset-chamber/ /dorsetchamber the interactive brewery control technology alongside their latest range of industrial chillers and pipework solutions at next month’s BeerX2020 event. Hosted by the Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA), BeerX2020 is the UK’s biggest beer and brewing trade event, taking place at the ACC Exhibition Centre in Liverpool in March.

Antony Batty & Company Opens Latest New Office – in Bournemouth

6th Office for the Insolvency Practitioner and Business Turnaround and Restructuring Specialist

Insolvency Practitioner Antony Batty & Company opened its 6th office in early March 2020. Located at Suite 218 Bourne House, 23 Hinton Road in the centre of Bournemouth, it follows hard on the heels of the recent opening of its Croydon office in January 2020. With its head office in Central London, and the other offices in Brentwood, Salisbury and the Cotswolds, the opening of the Bournemouth office continues the company’s policy of expansion, with a footprint that now extends from the south Midlands down to the South Coast.

Clive Fortis, Director and Head of the Bournemouth Office Comments:

“Antony Batty & Company has been working actively in assisting businesses and individuals in and around the Bournemouth area for a number of years now but operating out of our Salisbury office.

Bournemouth is at the centre of the South East Dorset conurbation, I think it’s important that in order to develop and work more closely with the Dorset business community in the area that we have a physical presence there. To help grow our support network in the area, Elaine Wilkins has joined us in a Business Development role.”

“Elaine is well known in the Dorset business community. She has a wealth of experience having spent 28 years in the banking industry and a further 10 years at an accountancy firm. She has a passion for helping businesses and for building relationships. Having spent the last 12 months in a business development role with an Insolvency Practice Elaine, will be a valued addition to the Antony Batty team on the South Coast.” How we Work The ethos of our Bournemouth office, as with all of our offices, is to bring a local and personal service to our insolvency and business turnaround clients.

We are an experienced and friendly insolvency practitioner team offering businesses, charities and individuals logical, DORSET BUSINESS FOCUS / NEWS

expert guidance when they need it. We work with our clients to help find practical, common sense solutions to financial difficulties. We’re proud of our traditional standards of integrity, professionalism and service, boasting a level of experience and expertise which is unique outside the very largest firms.

Elaine Wilkins Business Development Manager “ I am delighted to have been approached by Antony Batty to establish their new office in Bournemouth. I look forward to developing their passion for helping both individuals and businesses across Dorset.” www.antonybatty.com

Dorset Chamber welcomes our New Members

#GetBusinessDone

Integrated Cyber Brackendale Harcombe Road Axminster Devon EX13 5TB Contact 02037 270615 www.integrated-cyber.com Integrated Cyber provides a new future-proof cyber security solution for SMB and Enterprise companies with 24*7 coverage, zero up-front costs and a budget friendly monthly subscription including Insurance. Our solution can be leveraged as a standalone security product or as a fully integrated end-to-end cybersecurity service. The Work Shop 15 West Street Ringwood Hampshire BH24 1DY Contact 01425 489393 www.thework-shop.co.uk The Work Shop Recruitment Agency provides permanent and temporary, commercial and engineering staff and we have been doing it for over 20 years so we must be doing something right. We provide a true “partnership” honest approach to both candidates and clients. Sheridan Maine Recruitment Ltd Oxford Point 20 Oxford Road Bournemouth Dorset BH8 8GS Contact 01202 970970 www.sheridanmaine.com Sheridan Maine is a specialist Finance and Accountancy Recruitment Consultancy. We provide specialist support and advice across Permanent, Contract and Interim positions and manage key assignments for a broad range of clients including many of the top FTSE 100 companies

Shrap 19 Oxford Rd Boscombe Dorset BH8 8GS Contact 07837 182494 www.shrap.co.uk Shrap provides an alternative to using coins when giving or receiving change through a unique mobile App and Card. Shrap provides benefits to both business and consumers, being totally inclusive of everyone in society and completely free of charge.

Alchemy Health Clinic 154 Leigh Road Wimborne Dorset BH21 2DB Contact 01202 880136 www.alchemy-healthclinic.com Alchemy (est.1982), is Dorset's oldest holistic, multidisciplinary clinic, offering treatments to all ages: new born, top athletes to elderly. To businesses we offer spinal checks and advice on ergonomics.

Becks Neale Designer & Brand Consultant Ferndown, Dorset BH22 Contact 01202 973017 www.becksneale.co.uk Becks specialises in developing rich, personal, compelling brand design. Working with charities, community initiatives and purposeled organisations to achieve a brand they love and live, by distilling their brand story. Your passion, your brand. Design to tell your story. David A McDonald Consulting Ltd Southbourne, Bournemouth, BH5 2EP Contact 07872 407548 www.linkedin.com/in/david-amcdonald/ The success of a business relies on the strength of its people. David’s passion lies in making a difference; transforming the thinking and behaviour of business leaders and their teams, so that they create bigger and better changes of their own. Blue Shoots 4 Newlands Road Bournemouth Dorset BH7 6NX Contact 07547 749604 www.blue-shoots.co.uk Blue Shoots helps clients to win better business by providing three straightforward services: Interim Sales Team Leadership Sales campaign and bid leadership Business winning capability assessment and improvement Our experts have delivered win rate improvements from 10% to 60%. DigitalAir Wireless Unit 6 New Fields Business Park 2 Stinsford Road Poole Dorset BH17 0NF Contact 01202 612400 www.digitalairwireless.com DigitalAir Wireless are the leading UK networking experts with over 15 years' experience in designing, building & managing Wi-Fi networks. We have stock on hand and can provide professional services to support every aspect of your network infrastructure. Is your network secure & ready for Wi-Fi 6?

Antony Batty & Co Suite 218 Bourne House 23 Hinton Road Dorset BH1 2EF Contact 01202 551193 www.antonybatty.com Our ethos at our Bournemouth office as with all our offices is to bring a local and personal service to our insolvency and business turnaround clients.

We are an experienced and friendly insolvency practitioner team offering businesses, charities and individuals logical, expert guidance when they need it. Insight6 – Dorset 18 Queens Road Salisbury Wiltshire SP1 3AJ Contact 07887 554898 www.insight6.com/region/ dorset/ We support customer-focused organisations to close the 'experience perception gap' that exists between a business and its customers. We gather insight, feedback and measurements in order for us to coach and train teams to deliver excellent customer experiences and increase sales. Exhibit-UK.Net Ltd (Quadrant2Design) Unit H3 The Fulcrum 7 Vantage Way Poole Dorset BH12 4NU Contact 01202 723500 www.quadrant2design.com For 20 years, leading exhibition stand company Quadrant2Design have created over 10,000 eyecatching stands for businesses of every size and industry. As the UK’s exclusive supplier of the world’s premier exhibition stand system, they have truly unique product that makes exhibiting simple and cost effective.

34 April 2020 | Dorset Business Focus /company/dorset-chamber/ /dorsetchamber Bijou Recruitment 82 West Cliff Road Bournemouth Dorset BH4 8BG Contact 07941 319420 www.bijourecruitment.com At Bijou, our key difference is we believe that cultural fit is as important as possessing the requisite skills & experience. We therefore offer the same exceptional service to all our clients: combining creativity, integrity, and professionalism in filling executive & senior management roles across a range of sectors

Outstanding team secures industry accreditation

A-One Insurance Group staff secures industry accreditation

The A-One Insurance Group's (AOIG) further development training programme saw eleven employees celebrating their insurance industry accreditation. Each member of staff who advises clients has further demonstrated their knowledge and experience by holding the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) Level 3 Certificate, a voluntary qualification for

staff working in the Insurance sector.

The recent programme has seen a further eleven staff qualify. • Claire Brand • Ben Bronsell • Suzy Conroy • Chris Hay • John Harvey • Vikkie Holmes • Daniel Narey - McIver • Nina Nash • Gemma Parker • Darren Rolfe • Matt Warner Sarah Eades, group operations director of A-One Insurance Group said: “I congratulate every member of the team on their hard work and efforts, they’ve all studied hard during the day and also put aside time in the evenings and weekends to further enhance their skills and become an accredited CII Level 3 practitioner. This qualification formally recognises their knowledge in order to specialise and provide with absolute confidence an outstanding level of insurance support and service to our clients. Whilst not required by our regulators, we expect all our staff to achieve these high honours awarded by the Institute as a testament to the quality of service and expertise they personally wish to bring to our clients.

The supported courses and exams acknowledge their proficiency in insurance principles, the regulatory environment, key disciplines of underwriting and claims, and covers popular products such as motor, household, healthcare and packaged commercial insurance's.” Ian Penfold, managing director continued: “We’re a large dedicated team pushing each other to achieve higher standards for our client journey and I am immensely proud of the specialist teams and the knowledge they are able to

bring to the commercial sector backed by quality risk management advice. We remain fiercely independent and therefore we remain able to invest into our staff, their training which in turn passes through to the advice we are able to give to our clients, protecting them against the unexpected."

Established in Westbourne, Bournemouth, by managing director Ian Penfold in 1993, AOIG has grown to become one of the largest independent commercial brokers now proudly sitting now within the 50 firms within the UK.

From its head office at Ringwood specialists, who operate from ten regional offices, work for clients across the South who are seeking cover for everyday personal requirements, small and medium businesses or bespoke schemes, including protection, marine and aviation.

From the start AOIG adopted a customer focused, jargon-free approach, which has resulted in strong partnerships developing with clients who enjoy access to industry leading products, support and guidance on risk management, an in-house claims service all available with dedicated account management.

Ellis Jones celebrates LGBT+ diversity

A law firm which launched one of the region’s first same-sex legal services has celebrated LGBT+ History Month.

Ellis Jones Solicitors champions the campaign – held every February – as part of its ongoing support for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans (LGBT+) community.

The firm, which has six offices across the south coast in Bournemouth, Canford Cliffs (Poole), Christchurch, Ringwood, Swanage and Wimborne as well as London, says awareness is growing – especially with TV presenter Phillip Schofield coming out during the month.

Partner Lauren Day, who was named as a leading individual in this year’s Legal 500 guide, said: “Great progress has been made but there is still a long way to go.

“The understanding for Phillip Schofield was encouraging but there is still discrimination and under-representation in everyday life.

“We are proud to support the LGBT+ community in History Month and all the year round including expert legal advice on our website, sponsorship of Pride events over recent years, recognition of diversity internally and our same sex legal services.”

Lauren, who came out to her friends at the age of 17 and is married to photographer Rebecca, is Head of Dispute Resolution at 160-strong Ellis Jones.

She is part of the specialist LGBT+ team, which also includes Deborah Leask, Partner and Joint Head of Family; and Partners Katie Taft and Kate Brooks.

As part of Ellis Jones’ activities for LGBT+ History Month, Lauren gave a presentation to law students at Bournemouth University.

Ellis Jones launched its same-sex legal service in 2017 to help in many aspects of the law that directly relate to the LGBT+ community.

Many cases dealt with by the LGBT+ team cover family issues, such as gay marriage and divorce, finances, children, parenting and fertility, financial support for children and mediation.

The service also assists members of the LGBT+ community with discrimination issues and employment law advice.

Nigel Smith, Managing Partner, said: “Our specialist LGBT+ solicitors have a wealth of experience and understanding in the legal issues which affect the LGBT+ community.

“We are a progressive law firm which recognises diversity internally and within our client base. I am delighted that we are playing our part in supporting the LGBT+ community.”

Ellis Jones was listed as one of the country’s top 200 law firms in The Times newspaper’s ‘Best Law Firms 2020’ guide recently with individual recognition for Lauren, Deborah and Kate. ellisjones.co.uk

How to create a spring and summer rebrand design for your charity

Traditionally, donors give less to charities during warmer months. But marketing experts have proven that this does not need to be the case! There are significant seasonal opportunities for your charity to stand out and thrive through creating spring and summer limited edition, rebranding designs.

Let’s take a look at a few opportunities. A ‘spring clean’ out helps your local charity! Creating a seasonal rebrand design to support your marketing campaign around ‘spring cleaning’ is one way to increase brand awareness, donations, and charity recognition during the warmer months. By creating a design that asks consumers to declutter their homes and wardrobes then donate these items to your charity shop is one way to keep your charity in people’s minds. You may also choose to design a set of brand imagery and literature that inspires the public to sell these items online and then donate the monetary value to your charity. There are lots of opportunities to create and launch this from now so that you are ready to reach the public before customary spring cleaning begins. Easter is a great opportunity to launch a charity rebrand design. Easter sparks many seasonal design rebrand ideas for charities, including adding the right pastel colours to your logo and messaging designs, Easter egg hunt games/ideas illustrated as part of your logo, and social media content images to name a few.

Other seasonal rebrand opportunities include food and music festivals, local summer markets, sports days and more. All of these ideas implemented, after conducting precise research to ensure the solution is in alignment with your values, grow engagement, strengthen identity and messaging.

An experienced brand specialist streamlines these seasonal rebrand design strategies with ease while still keeping at the forefront the messaging and marketing goals. Design to tell your story. www.becksneale.co.uk

Making work better, striving for excellence

Most of us will spend around 80,000 hours at work in our lifetimes. For some, work is simply a means to play at the weekends. It’s all about the pay packet at the end of the week. But for an increasing number of us, work plays a more holistic role in our lives. The 5-2 week-weekend ratio really matters to most, and if we’re going to commit that much of our life to work – we better be happy there. However, finding an employer that holds those same values is the bigger challenge.

For Poole based Composite Profiles UK, their belief in a happy workforce goes beyond the boardroom. They have invested more than 10 years of consistent resource into creating a happy workforce and interdependently a happy workplace. And that’s why in March 2020, Composite Profiles were recognised by Investors in People with their highest and rarely awarded 'We Invest in People Platinum Accreditation'.

“We’re thrilled! It’s taken more than 10 years of working closely with the Investors in People team and framework. We’ve taken their advice and guidance and added in a sprinkling of our own ideas and flare” celebrates MD Mark Norton. Investors in People operate in 77 countries and Composite Profiles now joins a prestigious group of just 300 companies globally, who are collectively leading the way in valuing their teams as one of their most important business assets. Mark Norton adds, “for me, it’s not all about ticking boxes and creating policies in the boardroom though. Jonathan [Investors in People practitioner] interviewed members of the team and there were anonymous surveys to complete too, so you can only really achieve the Platinum standard if it’s genuinely embedded in the culture. I see it as a ‘thank you’ really from the team to the business for making it a happy place to work.”

Jonathan Saunders from Investors in People highlighted, “their plans, values and talent assessment, and their supporting processes and documents are among the very best I have seen…….. innovative things like the ‘Appreciation Tree’ is great”

Investors in People has helped improve the working lives of more than 11 million people within 15,000 organisations across 77 countries, and Composite Profiles is supporting a fortunate 26 of those 11 million from their head office in Dorset. www.compositeuk.com

Bournemouth & Poole College runner-up in Apprenticeship awards!

Bournemouth & Poole College is delighted to announce that its Electrical Department was runner-up in the AAC Apprenticeship Awards’ Construction Apprenticeship Provider of the year. With achievement rates 50% above the national average, Bournemouth & Poole College’s Electrical Department has been one of the top Apprenticeship providers for the last few years. The team’s infectious ambition to achieve excellence is rooted in wanting the best for their apprentices and employers.

The College’s Electrical Department is committed to ensuring both the apprentice and employer’s experience is excellent. This is continuously achieved through a combination of outstanding employer engagement, innovative and varied teaching, and open communication. Many of the department’s previous apprentices, having now progressed to running their own businesses, are choosing to recruit their

38 April 2020 | Dorset Business Focus apprentices through the Bournemouth & Poole College.

Darren Parker, Lecturer in the Electrical Department at Bournemouth & Poole College said: “We’re thrilled to be runner-up in the AAC Apprenticeship Awards’ Construction Apprenticeship Provider of the Year. The success of the Electrical Department at the College is rooted in our passion for developing the next generation of talent. We are committed to every apprentice and employer we engage with, working hard to maintain a close partnership to ensure the best results.”

The AAC Apprenticeship Awards, sponsored by FE Week and AELP, are a celebration of excellence in Apprenticeship delivery. The awards were established in 2017 to provide an opportunity to give Apprenticeship employers and providers the recognition they deserve. Diane Grannell, Principal of Bournemouth & Poole College, said: “I am delighted that Bournemouth & Poole College’s Electrical Department has been recognised by the AAC Apprenticeship Awards as runner-up in Construction Apprenticeship Provider of the Year. This award is testament to the hard work and dedication of our Electrical team, who continually help our apprentices to succeed.” Earlier in the year, Bournemouth & Poole College celebrated after seeing a continual rise in the number of young people applying for Apprenticeships in Dorset, bucking the national trend as the College saw a 12% rise in applications. The College works with over 2,000 employers across Dorset and Hampshire to match the right apprentices with vacancies in different industries including digital marketing, engineering, construction, catering and hospitality, hair and beauty, and care services.

The foot and ankle are made up of a large number of bones, ligaments, muscles, tendons and connective tissue (fascia) with the main purpose of absorbing load and force (landing, change of direction, deceleration etc) and locomotion (walking).

Bony Anatomy: The ankle is made up of 3 bones, the tibia and fibula from the lower leg and the talus, which is a bone in the foot. There are 26 bones in the foot which articulate together to provide both mobility and mechanical strength. These bones are called tarsals, metatarsals and phalanges. Ligaments: There are numerous ligaments found throughout the entire foot and ankle complex with a few of note. In particular, the 2 found on the outside of the ankle which provide stability when the foot/ankle turn in. These are called the Anterior Talo-Fibula ligament (ATFL) and the CalcanoFibula ligament (CFL). We also have a group of ligaments on the inside of the ankle which are commonly called the deltoid ligament. Muscles and tendons: There are over 100 muscles in the foot and ankle complex, all working together to provide movement, strength and stability. The more commonly known muscles are the calf muscles which become the Achilles tendon, the tibialis posterior which runs down the inside of the calf into the foot and provides support through the arch of the foot and the peroneals which run down the outside of the leg into the foot helping support the ankle as it turns in. Connective tissue/fascia: Along the sole of the foot we have a band of strong, connective tissue which helps support the arch of the foot. It runs from the heel bone to the base of the toes and helps in absorbing load. Common foot and ankle injuries: Achilles tendinopathy – we used to call this tendonitis but now understand that in the majority of cases we go past an active inflammation to a more chronic overload type injury. You will usually experience pain and stiffness in the Achilles first thing in the morning and during the first 5 minutes of activity/sport until the tendon warms. DORSET BUSINESS FOCUS / NEWS

1. Twisted ankle – the inversion ankle sprain is one of the most common injuries we see. The foot is forced into a position which stretches and sometimes tears the ligaments on the outside of the ankle. 2. Stress fractures – these fractures usually involve the smaller bones in the feet, but they can also occur in the tibia and fibula. Stress fractures are caused by repetitive overload through the bones. 3. Ankle fractures – unfortunately complete fractures of the bones around the foot and ankle are quite common. 4. Plantafasciitis – this is a condition when the band of tissue on the sole of the foot gets irritated, usually causing pain on the inside of the foot near the heel. If you want more information on the foot or ankle please get in touch with our physiotherapist Paul O'Connell on 01202 473800 or visit www.bridgehw.com

Does your business need to exhibit? Here are the top 5 reasons why you should

If your company sells a product or a service, then there is a limit to how much success you can have with just online marketing and typical advertising. Exhibiting, on the other hand, offers your business unique benefits that no other form of marketing can match. Not sure if your business needs to exhibit? Your local leading exhibition company, based in Poole, Dorset, Quadrant2Design have put together a list of the 5 main reasons why exhibitions should be on your radar . . . Connect With Clients on a Human Level Face-to-face meetings establish more trust and credibility than other forms of communication. What is more, unlike pushier forms of outbound marketing like email campaigns or cold calling, visitors to exhibitions are people who have turned up to learn about the services or products your business has to offer. Generate Lucrative Leads and Close Sales Did you know that over 83% of visitors to an exhibition have buying authority and 79% use these events to make big purchase decisions about their business? As an exhibition event means you get to sell directly to receptive decision-makers, the scale of lead-generating openings provided by exhibiting cannot be underestimated. Check Out Your Competition Exhibitions are the places where businesses will launch their new products or try out new ideas.

This lets you see first-hand how your rival’s new ideas go down with the crowd in the hall and will help you decide if this is something you want your business to do or avoid.

Brand Awareness An exhibition is one of the few places where you can operate on a level playing field with your larger competitors. This means they are the perfect place to establish your brand and strengthen your business’s position in your industry. Down at Quadrant2Design HQ in Poole, Dorset, we have developed a whole range of eye-catching design features for exhibition stands. And as these features are unique to us, you can be confident your exhibition will stand apart from your competition. Build New Business Relationships Simply being able to network with your industry peers means you are opening yourself up to invaluable business possibilities. According to an SME survey, over 71% of SMEs have gained business through face-to-face networking at an exhibition.

At Quadrant2Design, we have created over 10,000 eye-catching stands for businesses of every size and industry. We pride ourselves on having some of the most rigorous quality control checks in the exhibition world by doing everything in-house and pre-building every stand before it leaves our Poole HQ.

If you’re thinking of exhibiting your business, then come and visit us at our showroom for a chat to discuss your exhibiting options. You can find us just around the corner from Tower Park, Poole at H3 on Vantage Way.

As a leading exhibition company for 20 years, we know exactly what it takes to ensure your exhibition is a success.

Looking forward to seeing you soon! www.quadrant2design.com

Dorset Gateway signposts businesses to funding support during COVID-19 crisis

At the end of March the government-backed Dorset Gateway service, delivered by Dorset Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) in partnership with Dorset Chamber, refocused a core part of its service to provide support to any Dorset-based organisation affected by the Coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis.

Dorset Gateway is now extensively signposting businesses to the hundreds of billions of pounds made available by Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, during the Budget 2020 announcement – which has subsequently been extended – to support businesses during this unprecedented and extremely challenging time.

Dorset LEP has already invested in additional resource into Dorset Gateway, and will continue to monitor demand, while also exploring other initiatives to provide additional business resilience across the region.

Finn Morgan, Dorset Gateway Manager at Dorset LEP, said: “Utilising the expertise and resources of our established Dorset Gateway team means we’ve been able to hit the ground running in providing support to businesses as soon as it comes from government.”

“Calls to Dorset Gateway about Coronavirus were being logged as early as the start of March when businesses first felt the impact, and we’ll continue to do to all we can to make sure Dorsetbased businesses are supported during this period.”

Ian Girling, Dorset Chamber Chief Executive adds: “This is a very fast-moving situation. Dorset Gateway is on the front-line supporting people to get to the help they really need, but it is

40 April 2020 | Dorset Business Focus also important for organisations to know this is a two-way communication: while we are pushing out information from government, we are also reporting the needs and issues faced by specific sectors here is Dorset to ensure the relevant authorities are made aware of all the areas of help needed in our county.”

At the time of writing, a comprehensive package of measures has been unveiled by the government, including:

• A Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme Deferring VAT and income tax payments Statutory Sick Pay relief package for SMEs 12-month business rate holiday for retail, hospitality, leisure and nursery businesses in England, as well as grant funding of £25,000 for businesses with property with a rateable value between £15,000 and £51,000 Small businesses grant funding of £10,000 for all business in receipt of small business rate relief or rural rate relief Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) offering loans of up to £5 million for SMEs through the British Business Bank A new lending facility from the Bank of England to help support liquidity among larger firms, helping them bridge coronavirus disruption to their cash flows through loans HMRC Time To Pay Scheme. More is to come and daily updates are provided through the dedicated Coronavirus section of the Dorset Gateway website and social media accounts. If your organisation needs financial support, head online or contact the Dorset Gateway us directly using any of the following: Web icon: www.dorsetlep.co.uk/covid19 Twitter icon: @dorset_gateway LinkedIn icon: @Dorset Gateway Email icon: gateway@dcci.co.uk Phone icon: 01202 714800 Dorset Gateway is the central repository of information, advice and support for businesses within the county, offering a business support service and signposting to the most appropriate local or national commercial or public-funded assistance available to help them grow. It is part of the national Growth Hub network and provides an informed and bespoke service, free to any Dorset-based businesses looking for help to source appropriate available solutions for growth and development.