Family Run Morpeth Pub Collects Glasses, Skills and Jobs

The Anglers Arms, a local family run pub, are embracing rapid growth with profits soaring as well as welcoming new staff members to the team. The Choppington based pub are praising business support programme, Business Northumberland for the unique offering of diverse and fully funded support.

Joanne McGarry opened the pub in 2019 after looking to bring their family business knowledge together to run a successful business. With the family working in various roles across the business the thriving pub is now looking to expand their staff force, creating more jobs for the area.

Joanne and sister Brenda McIntosh, who is the Marketing Manager for the pub, were keen to further develop their skillset to ensure the pub and B&B is a success, not only with the punters and staff but by reaching new customers online as well. After spotting an advert on Facebook for free digital business support offered by local programme Business Northumberland, they knew this was an opportunity not to be missed for the new business and registered to the programme straight away.

Business Northumberland provides support to small and medium enterprises across the North East who are looking to sustain and grow their business online. The fully funded support programme is funded by the European Regional Development Fund and Advance Northumberland, so there is no cost to eligible businesses when accessing the support.

Once registered, The Anglers Arms, were appointed a Business Growth Advisor to work with on a 1:1 basis to help the business understand how the programme could help them market their business online and have the right tools and support to grow their business.

Quick to spot the growth potential within the business, Joanne McGarry was referred onto the Growth Programme arm of Business Northumberland.

Working with a specialised coach through Transmit Consulting, who deliver on behalf of Business Northumberland, eligible businesses have exclusive access to 12 hours of tailored 1-2-1 support from a specialist coach. The Growth Programme covers subjects outside of the digital realm of Business Northumberland including, Strategic Planning, Digital Marketing, Leadership & Management and Employment and Training. The Growth programme is designed to help businesses take a more strategic view of their businesses in order to move it forward.

Joanne was appointed coach Sharon MacArthur to develop her Leadership & Management skills to help build skills around managing staff, processes and ensuring the day to day running of the business is at a high and consistent level.

“We are currently taking part in their 12 hours growth programme to support us to help drive productivity, help with business processes and offer quality service levels…

“As a business we are always looking to improve things and learn as much as we can, and the Business Northumberland programme is just perfect for that.”

After welcoming 6 new members of staff to their now team of 18, a total job increase of over 30% the pub is creating jobs both full and part time in Choppington.

Damian Baetens, Business Support Director at Transmit Consulting, said: "Joanne's experience brilliantly illustrates how valuable it can be for business owners to take a step back from day-to-day operations to take a good look at the bigger picture and where they want to be.  And this fully-funded programme means businesses in Northumberland can harness the knowledge of specialist coaches to reach their goals, without the price tag that usually comes with such expertise."

Not only has Anglers Arms received support from the Growth Programme but Marketing Manager, Brenda has also taken part in the fully funded workshops available on the programme. The free workshops have enabled Brenda to develop her skills across a range of topics, Digital Marketing, Social Media and Canva as well as attending various networking events both face to face and online.

“We have taken part in their virtual networking events which bring lots of small businesses together and there is a real sense of community and a sense of each businesses wanting to support one another to do well in those events.”

Why not join the Business Northumberland team as they team up with Transmit Consulting to bring SMEs from across the North East,  Broaden Your Business. Held at The Great North Hotel, Gosforth on Thursday 17th March, Broaden Your Business is a unique event that combines networking and the opportunity to not only meet the coaches but also hear from the businesses who are already on the programme.

So, if you are a business owner currently employing staff and could do with a new pair of eyes and guidance to help you work on your business and not in your business, why not register to Broaden Your Business today!

For more information about Business Northumberland and how the team can support your businesses growth, please email or visit www.businessnorthumberland.co.uk