Advice and support

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  • Free advertising support for your business

    LoyalFree - advertise your business for free on the LoyalFree app

    We've partnered with the loyalty app LoyalFree to provide free advertising for local businesses. This service is free for you and has zero admin. All you need to do is let the team at LoyalFree know you’d like to advertise and they will do the rest for you.

    You will benefit from

    • Advertising of your offers/events to locals and visitors with the option to run a ‘loyalty stamp’ scheme
    • Customer insights through a live dashboard
    • Click throughs to your website, social media, reviews and more
    • Featuring in local LoyalFree trails on the app - for example Vegan, Family Friendly, Best Independents.

    What makes a good offer on LoyalFree?

    • The offer is either loyalty based (stamps) or exclusive to the app
    • The offer has simple terms and conditions for the customer.

    Examples include:

    • 25 per cent off your bill Monday to Friday
    • Sixth coffee free
    • 10 per cent off when you spend £20 or over
    • Free drink with any cake

    How to get involved?

    Simply let LoyalFree know your offer by emailing info@loyalfree.co.uk.

  • Business advice surgeries

    We run free one-to-one business advice surgeries in partnership with the Hertfordshire Growth Hub, which provides fully funded support and guidance to Small and Mid-size Enterprises* in Hertfordshire. Its Growth Account Advisers can give you in-depth advisory support, including assistance in accessing finance and funding, developing your workforce, and planning for future growth. If you are interested in attending, please email maylands.reception@dacorum.gov.uk to book a session, giving a brief overview of your support requirements, such as:

    • Financial management
    • Access to funding
    • Recruitment and training
    • Strategic planning
    • Sales and marketing
    • Digital support
    • Legal and regulatory compliance
    • Wellbeing 

    *Support is only available for established businesses with more than five employees.

  • Tourism support

    Free listing on the Enjoy Dacorum website

    Enjoy Dacorum is a tourism website featuring a mix of attractions in the area, developed and managed by us to promote local tourist attractions, restaurants, hotels and events. Simply email us at business@dacorum.gov.uk with the images, website link, address, contact details (phone and email) and a few lines of text to promote your business. You can also feature seasonal events and promotions on the website events page and on the Enjoy Dacorum social media channels.

    Free business listing on the Visit Herts website

    Visit Herts is able to give all tourism / hospitality businesses a free listing on its website, simply email enquiries@visitherts.co.uk for more information.

  • Herts Start-up Programme

    We work closely with Wenta and Stanta, and are happy to refer Dacorum businesses so they can be introduced to the European Regional Development Fund, which offers free business advice and training for Hertfordshire-based start-up and established micro businesses (up to three years old).

    The programme offers 12 hours of support to each business, which may consist of:

    • Business advice meetings with an experienced business advisor
    • Assistance with registering the business with Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and Companies House
    • Training workshops covering a wide range of topics, such as starting a business, Microsoft programs, finance, customer service and marketing.
  • Support for established businesses

    Economic Development Support

    If your business is not eligible to join the Herts Start-up Programme, we are still able to offer you free advice and support on a range of matters. We aim to make contact with as many companies as possible in the Dacorum area and are keen to hear about what you feel are the positives about being based in the area and what could be done to make improvements.

    To get in touch, please email our Economic Development Team at business@dacorum.gov.uk.

    Eastern New Energy Project

    Eastern New Energy (ENE) is a £10.2 million project led by the University of East London, part funded by the European Regional Development fund (ERDF), to help organisations decarbonise their operations and research how to remove barriers to rapid decarbonisation.

    It will work with business, councils, communities, organisations, households and individuals to:

    • Develop and execute Net-Zero action plans
    • Act in response to climate emergencies they have declared
    • Explore approaches to building affordable zero-carbon homes
    • Retrofit existing homes and commercial buildings
    • Switch their vehicle fleets to lower carbon alternatives
    • Develop community and commercial energy projects
    • Design, develop and bring to market new low carbon products and services.

    Delivery area

    The ENE Project will be delivered across the East of England's Local Enterprise Partnership areas: Greater Cambridgeshire and Greater Peterborough, Hertfordshire and New Anglia. 

    This encompasses Cambridgeshire, Peterborough, Lincolnshire and Rutland, Hertfordshire, Norfolk, Suffolk and the Uttlesford region of Essex.

    For more information, please email ene@uel.ac.uk.

  • Hertfordshire Growth Hub

    Hertfordshire Growth Hub is Hertfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership’s flagship business support service. Funded by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and, in some cases, the European Regional Development Fund, Growth Hubs provide locally tailored support and advice to connect businesses with the right expertise for their specific business needs.