Networking Event in Dornoch – My First Visit

Today I ventured out to my first networking event in many years – organised by the Highland Small Business Network at the Dornoch Station Hotel.

Read on for all you need to know about this event, including practical information, attendees and the venue.

If you want to go ahead and book your tickets you can do that right now by clicking below;

Photo Credit: Highland Small Business Network

Networking Event in Dornoch

The Highland Small Business Network is relatively new.

It’s run by two small business owners – Kathryn Collinson of Coppercat Solutions who specialises in marketing (doing all those things small business owners should be doing but don’t because they are busy working in their business) and Sam Carpenter of Albion Financial Solutions who deals with things such as mortgages, remortgages and life insurance.

The Highland Small Business Network meetings run from 10am to 12 noon on the last Friday of each month at the Dornoch Station Hotel.

I hadn’t realised that my first meeting was actually the second meeting of the group. That’s surely a testament to Kathryn’s marketing efforts!

I also liked that there isn’t a membership, you just turn up when you can.

Photo Credit: The Dornoch Station Hotel

Networking Event in Dornoch

Meeting Practicalities

The Dornoch Station Hotel has plenty of parking at the side and front of the hotel.

On entering the front doors turn immediately left and walk through the bar area to the snooker room.

On entering the snooker room you are met by Kathryn and Sam and you get your name badge.

Then head for a tea and coffee and start chatting.

Having not been to a networking event for many years I was quite nervous about going but everyone was great at moving around naturally and making sure no one was left on their own.

Midway through the meeting there was a quick fire introductions round.

I found this really helpful as I hadn’t met everyone in the first hour so it gave me a heads up of who I wanted to make a beeline for during the second half of the meeting.

After the meeting you receive a list of everyone who was there with their contact details which was really helpful for the couple of people I missed too.

Networking Event in Dornoch

Meeting Great Local Businesses

As someone who has been based in Ross-Shire for 25 years it’s great to have a networking event in the patch.

That was reflected in the businesses attending the event with many of them from the North Highlands area too.

There was a great selection of businesses there too.

Here are just a few of the businesses that I met during the morning;

Alex Kennedy from Squiggle Web Design – check out her portfolio of recent projects to see examples of her lightning fast WordPress sites

Carrie Forbes from Carrie’s Voice – I had wondered what the sound studio in Tain was all about and now I know because I met Carrie. She is a professional voice over artist and has some fab examples on her website for you to listen to – they sound fab.

Hamish Malcolm – Hamish runs a fab business that combine two of his loves, golf and whisky. He specialises in golf themed whisky tastings, what a brilliant idea for this area. He describes himself as a Whisky and Golf Sherpa and his business is aptly named The Dram Caddy

Pamela Munro of Munro Accounting Services is there to do all the stuff that we might not get very excited about as business owners. Pamela however does get excited about it and is so dedicated that she makes sure her holidays have great WIFI connections so she can continue supporting her clients while away.

Richard Pease of Assynt Windows – Richard cleans windows from ground level using his pure water system. He also uses cameras to clean gutters from the ground too. He covers most of the Highlands area, and does commercial and residential property too.

Catherine Kidd of North Coast Holiday Homes not only has a great selection of holiday homes available to rent but she has a cleaning business that looks after them as well – what a great combination for property owners who can get everything done in one place.

There were more businesses at the meeting, but these are the people I spoke to the most.

I was there to talk to people about my independent travel agency business Guided Travels. Having taken over 10,000 people on holidays all over the world during the last 37 years I decided to use my experience to help people book their own holidays and travel.

Photo Credit: The Dornoch Station Hotel

Networking Event in Dornoch

The Dornoch Station Hotel

The Dornoch Station Hotel is now a grand hotel set in a beautiful location in the upper part of Dornoch overlooking the golf course and the sea.

Not so long ago it operated as a budget hotel for groups.

I stayed at the hotel about 3 years ago and it was quite an experience. Everywhere was a bit tired, with hints of past grandeur and feeling that John Cleese might appear at some point.

The breakfast was almost inedible!

Now in it’s second year of the operation the transformation of this hotel is amazing, so much so that I just stood in amazement when I entered the front door.

The hotel has been transformed into a luxury experience for guests. The decor, fixtures and fittings are lovely, with lots of lovely thoughtful details.

As you would expect there are lots of links to golf, whether it be pictures on the wall or golf clubs around the pillars of the grand staircase entrance at reception.

There are cosy corners to relax, along with a beautiful restaurant and bar on the ground floor.

The bar menu has a great range of dishes featured Scottish produce. Everything from Shetland mussels to Scrabster crab, Peterhead landed Haddock and more.

The transformation in the rooms is equally astounding, with luxurious decor, furnishings and fittings.

It is also within easy walking distance of the Dornoch Golf Course, making it ideal for golfing enthusiasts too.

Why not book a visit to the next Highland Small Business Network meeting on the last Friday of the month, make some great connections and check out the beautiful Dornoch Station Hotel at the same time!

If you are interested in staying you can book online directly or check availability through Booking.com if you prefer

Networking Event in Dornoch – Conclusion

• If you want to make some new connections then the Highland Small Business Network meeting is a great one to attend, particularly if you are North of Inverness
• Don’t feel anxious, you will be made most welcome, as I was
• The Dornoch Station Hotel is a beautiful venue for the meetings, why not linger a bit longer and visit the bar and perhaps have lunch?

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My links to local recommended companies in Invergordon

You can also find all my Highlands articles on my Scottish Highlands page

Further Reading