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Reinforcing Synergies

Reinforcing Synergies

The Enterprise Agency for Wear Valley and Teesdale supports 3,800 businesses through a range of support services, business counselling, advice, training and consultancy, and places e-business firmly at the centre of its successes. The creation of two online directories, which promote 3,200 local firms and receive over 10,000 unique visitors per month, has helped the Agency provide an award-winning service for the area’s businesses. The Enterprise Agency for Wear Valley and Teesdale offers a range of support services, business counselling, advice, training and consultancy for around 3,800 businesses in the area. Between 80 to 90% of these businesses are sole traders, micro-businesses and family-run businesses, operating in many different sectors.

Located in South West Durham, the Agency is an independent not-for-profit organisation; its core objectives are to regenerate and revitalise the local economy through the creation of new jobs and profitable, successful businesses. It achieves this through a combination of services to business, including one-to-one-support and guidance, as well as help with accessing grants and funding. The Agency attributes much of its success to its ability to help facilitate the adoption of e-business. Chief Executive, Shaun Stuart, said: “It is important that we are aware of the technology available and the opportunities it might provide customers. We send our staff on relevant conferences and encourage them to keep up-to-date with new technologies, and they are keen and they do that as a matter of course.”

A specialist ICT advisor will sit with the owner of the business and help them to develop an individual website. For more complex projects the Agency will bring in more specialised e-business support from local agencies. The Agency also ensures all new clients receive a free micro-site and a directory entry on either the Durham Dales or the Teesdale portal sites, and further hands-on support quickly follows for companies with an interest in going further with e-business. E-business helps to level the playing field and increase competitiveness for rural and micro-businesses in Wear Valley and Teesdale. Marketing Adviser, Charlotte Stow explained: “Free n Easy Saddles, for example, who hand-make adjustable leather saddles for equestrian events are able to service clients based in America through their website. An excellent example of how the internet facilitates the development and servicing of new markets.”

The Agency’s services are supplemented by specific projects which have been designed to support groups of businesses. For example, The Agency recently launched an online Enterprise Forum for business owners and managers who want advice and ideas from others in business who have faced the same challenges and are willing to share their experiences. Charlotte said: “The nine to five just doesn’t exist for small businesses. The only time they often have for research or thinking is 10pm at night or 6am in the morning. The online forum is a private and secure members-only website that will let these businesses create a promotional profile and will allow them to meet and discuss issues and ideas with other local business people online.” The Agency is aiming for the forum to become an online information exchange where people can post ideas and share their knowledge about e-business in particular. Eventually it is hoped that the online exchange will be expanded into a trading forum, allowing the people of Teesdale to source locally.

Since its formation the Agency has delivered a broad range of publiclyfunded business support projects, consistently over-achieved against targets, and has won many awards including two National Enterprise Awards from the National Federation of Enterprise Agencies (NFEA). Judges were impressed with the digital media element to the Agency’s activities, notably managing and maintaining online directories www.teesdale.co.uk and www.durhamdales.co.uk , which promote 3,200 local firms and receive over 10,000 unique visitors per month. Also, highlighted was the key role that the Agency played setting up and running local community station Radio Teesdale.

Charlotte said: “We recognised that in the rural, sparsely populated part of the region there were lots of challenges for businesses. The e-business agenda, and specifically the creation of the Durham Dales or the Teesdale portal sites, was critical in helping the Agency succeed. “The Agency’s greatest e-business success has to be the development and implementation of these two highly successful portals combined with the new Enterprise Forum..”