General business support 

The free to access national Business Support Service can help small businesses of all stages to find the right support and impartial advice, whether you are just starting out or growing your venture.  Advisers provide tailored guidance and information on schemes and publicly funded business support programmes available in your area and across England. Delivered on behalf of the Department for Business and Trade.

Visit the Business Support Service website

ActionCOACH Dorset are offering a series of free masterclasses focussing on critical aspects of business management. These aim to give business leaders and entrepreneurs in Dorset actionable insights to grow their businesses. For more information: 

Visit the ActionCOACH website. 

The AUB Innovation Studio Residency Programme is to help you develop your ideas into a business or a creative career.  Designed to support both pre-start-ups and small businesses seeking support, the Residency Programme delivered by Arts University Bournemouth will help you design your product or service, trial and prove ideas and concepts with potential users, build and test prototypes, create a robust business plan and build a network setting you up for success.

Visit the AUB Innovation Studio website

Providing businesses with a range of services to help them to connect, innovate and grow.

Visit the Barclays Eagle Labs website

Business support and advice available to businesses based in the Bournemouth Christchurch & Poole Local Authority area including Shared Prosperity Fund.

Visit BCP Council's business support services website

Offering a range of business support including:

• Input from experienced professionals with a wide variety of expertise
• Impartial advice and guidance that helps you challenge the status quo
• Programmes that drive real improvement

Visit the Be the Business website

Helpful guidance and toolkit of resources associated with the 10 steps taken by effective local partnerships.

Visit the Better Business for All website

Contracts Finder lets you search for information about contracts worth over £12,000 (including VAT) with the government and its agencies.

You can use Contracts Finder to:

• search for contract opportunities in different sectors
• find out what’s coming up in the future
• look up details of previous tenders and contracts

You can create an account to get email updates and save your searches. You can still search and apply for contracts without an account.

Visit the Contract Finder website

Dorset Business Mentors (formerly DorMen) is an acknowledged centre of excellence linking accomplished business leaders as mentors to businesses, charities and social enterprises in Dorset who want to realise their full potential.  

Visit the Dorset Business Mentors website

Dorset’s lead membership organisation offering solutions to help businesses to

• Grow – your market, your profile and your bottom line
• Protect – essential services such as HR, H&S, legal and tax cover included in your membership fee
• Connect – through events, introductions and wide reaching social networks, spanning the globe
• Save – exclusive low cost benefits and access to funding
• Lobby – We feed YOUR views to government, hold them to account and push for change

Visit Dorset Chamber's website

Business support and advice available to businesses based in the Dorset Local Authority area including Shared Prosperity Fund.

Visit Dorset Council's business support services website

Delivered by Cosmic, and fully funded by Dorset Council, these programmes are designed to equip business leaders with the tools and insights needed to thrive in today’s tech-driven world. The programmes are perfect for CEOs, Directors, Managers, and Digital Champions across all industries. Whether you lead a small team or a larger SME, the skills and knowledge gained will be invaluable. The programmes include: 

• Interactive virtual sessions with real-time Q&A 
• 1:1 mentorship for personalized guidance 
• Certificate of completion to showcase your new skills 
• Exclusive access to a network of Dorset’s top business leaders 

With 50 places available to organisations within the Dorset Council authority area, there is a 3 day and a 5 day course across September until early 2025. 

For more information visit Cosmic's webpage 

To register your interest click here. 

Providing support to businesses across Dorset.  Specialists provide guidance and information on all aspects of business, including start-up, growth, finance and digital. 

Visit Dorset Growth Hub's website

This offers free advice to employers, tailored to the needs of smaller businesses including

• Guided information for employers to help support disability or health conditions in a range of common workplace situations.
• Help on legal obligations, including reasonable adjustments.
• Links to more detailed resources.

Visit the government's Access to Work website

Designed for small businesses Enterprise Nation connects you to the resources and expertise to help you succeed.

Visit Enterprise Nation's website

Providing advice on starting, growing and exiting a business, supporting the business, leader and team.

Visit Evolve's website

HSU's Innovation Vouchers offer small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) the opportunity to access the wealth of academic expertise, cutting-edge research, and advanced specialist equipment at Health Sciences University. These vouchers are designed to enhance a business’s innovation capacity, providing solutions to complex challenges while fostering long-term partnerships with the university.

This scheme is an ideal gateway for SMEs to collaborate with Health Sciences University, facilitating meaningful partnerships and identifying new opportunities for ongoing innovation and growth.

Visit the HSU Innovation Voucher Scheme website 

The UK Government’s Help to Grow: Management Course is designed and delivered by entrepreneurs and industry experts at world-class business schools. Run over 12 weeks, the course includes online and face-to-face sessions, 1-to-1 mentoring and peer networking. With just one session a week, it is designed to fit around existing work and personal commitments.

Building on the success of the Help to Grow: Management Course, Help to Grow: Management Essentials launched in April 2024. This free self-guided online course will include bite-sized videos and online resources on different business topics.

Visit the Help to Grow Management website

There is an opportunity for businesses in Dorset to participate in a research project by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) and the Behavioural Insight Team (BIT).  As part of this study we’re offering SMEs the chance to receive 1 – 2 days of free HR consultancy provided by CIPD-accredited HR professionals. 

Building on the success of a previous pilot led by Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), this study explores if providing SMEs with expert HR consultancy can improve long-term employment outcomes, and ultimately help to reduce labour market inactivity. 

To find out more and register your interest, visit the BIT website. 

Dorset Council, in partnership with the University of Plymouth and fully funded by UKSPF have launched a new programme of business support. STRIDE Dorset is a high-impact programme designed to help businesses innovate by using new ideas or technologies. It offers tailored support to businesses looking to commercialise new opportunities and is focused on driving measurable improvements and unlocking new funding opportunities.

Building off the success of its Cornish counterpart, the STRIDE team have helped businesses in a number of sectors, including clean energy, agri-tech, space, tourism and the arts. With the project's expansion to Dorset, it is dedicated to bringing the same expertise to the region.

Visit the STRIDE Dorset website 

The Intellectual Property Office (IPO) is the official UK government body responsible for intellectual property (IP) rights including patents, designs, trade marks and copyright. The IPO offers support, particularly to SMEs, to recognise, understand and protect their IP assets in the UK and to manage and protect their IP abroad. 

Visit the IPO's website

The IPO also provide The Standard Essential Patents (SEPs) Resource Hub - a collection of guidance and signposting to help UK businesses navigate the SEPs ecosystem.

Visit the SEP Resource Hub 

The National Cyber Security Centre supports the most critical organisations in the UK, the wider public sector, industry, SMEs as well as the general public. When incidents do occur, they provide effective incident response to minimise harm to the UK, help with recovery, and learn lessons for the future.

Visit the National Cyber Security Centre's website

Access to a range of mentors, experts, events and programmes to help your business thrive and take your further, faster. 

Visit Nat West's business website

The ScaleUp Institute is a private sector, not-for-profit company focused on making the UK the best place in the world to scale up a business.

Visit the ScaleUp Institute's website

A portal providing a user friendly, intuitive process to advertise all open tenders and quotation opportunities for councils in the South West. 

This procurement portal is free to join for businesses and offers the following advantages:-

• Immediate access to current business opportunities
• Receive email notifications on business opportunities that are align with your company
• Reduces costs as the process is online
• You are in control of your tender submission and not reliant on a third party courier or postal service
• Submissions can be completed electronically rather than hand written
• Submissions can be amended up until the closing date and time

Visit Supplying the South West's website

A government agency that helps to deliver economic confidence by supporting those in financial distress, tackling financial wrongdoing and maximising returns to creditors.

Visit the Insolvency Service website