Welcome to the Harrogate and Knaresborough page of the Business North Yorkshire newsletter. Here you will find details of local networking groups, events in the area, and business news from around the constituency.

To feature your business news or events, contact us by email.

Networking events in your area

York and North Yorkshire Property and Economic Forum

Cedar Court Hotel, Park Parade, Harrogate, HG1 5AH

• 3 February, 8am to 10am

Book a place on Eventbrite

Harrogate District Chamber of Commerce

Various locations, see booking link for details

• Digital Tools for Operational Efficiency - 9 February, members and first-time visitors only 5:30pm to 8pm
• Spring Business Safari - 13 April, members only 5:30pm to 8pm AGM plus retail and tourism update

Book a place on the Digital Tools for Operational Efficiency on Eventbrite

Book a place on Spring Business Safari on Eventbrite

Connect over a cuppa

Starling, 47 Oxford Street, Harrogate, HG1 1PW

• 19 February, 16 March, 16 April

Book a place on Eventbrite

In group networking

The Balcony, Harrogate Cricket Club

• 20 April, 9:45am to 11:30am

Book a place on Eventbrite

Networking for health care professionals

Cold Bath Brewing Co, 46 King's Road, Harrogate, HG1 5JW

• 26 February 1:30pm to 3:30pm

Get ready to connect and grow with like-minded individuals at the In Group Networking Group event.

Book a place on Eventbrite

News and events in your area

Drop-in training day for Harrogate retail and evening hospitality sector

Starling Café, The Barn, 47 Oxford Street, Harrogate, HG1 1PW

• 24 February

Retail, hospitality and night‑time economy staff from the Harrogate and Knaresborough area are invited to a free drop‑in training day delivered by Safer North Yorkshire.

• Hate Crime for the Night‑Time Economy 10am to 11:30am - learn how to recognise hate crime, identify warning signs and report incidents correctly to help create safer, more inclusive venues.
• Martyn’s Law – Level 1 11:30am to 1:30pm - an introductory session explaining new responsibilities for public‑facing venues, focusing on security awareness and protecting people from harm.
• SCaN Training 2pm to 3pm - practical guidance on how to spot suspicious behaviour, engage safely and report concerns in busy or high‑footfall environments.
• Bleed Kit Demonstration 3pm to 4pm - a hands‑on demonstration showing how to use bleed kits effectively and take life‑saving action while waiting for emergency services.

Whether you work in retail, hospitality or within the Harrogate area night‑time economy, this training day offers valuable knowledge that directly supports your role. From enhancing public safety to improving emergency preparedness, each session is designed to empower businesses and staff with essential knowledge and practical skills. It’s also a great opportunity to connect with other local professionals.

Book a place on Eventbrite

Harrogate College open event and careers Fair

Harrogate College, Hornbeam Park Ave, Harrogate HG2 8QT

• 12 February 5:30pm to 7pm

Explore endless possibilities and career paths at the Harrogate College Open Event and Careers Fair – your future starts here. This event is your opportunity to discover more about our dedicated campus and experience our supportive environment for yourself.

Book a place on Eventbrite

Harrogate Business Social

Roland's, 23 Parliament St, Harrogate HG1 2QU

• 5 March, 5pm to 11pm

An evening built for real connections in the heart of Harrogate. Harrogate has always been a place where businesses and communities come together. The Business Social keeps that spirit alive. An evening for leaders, founders and professionals to meet face to face, swap stories, and build the kind of relationships you just cannot get online.

Find out more at The Yorkshire Mafia

The Stray Ferret Business Awards 2026

Harrogate Pavilions, Railway Road, Harrogate HG2 8NZ

• 26 March from 6pm

An evening of business awards celebrating the achievements of businesses and their employees within the Harrogate district. Following the success of last year's end of awards party, we are delighted to welcome back DJ Mark Green again.

Book a place on Eventbrite

Training available in Harrogate

Sales skills for business owners who hate selling

The Old Swan Hotel Harrogate, HG1 2SR 

• 10 February, 9am to 3pm

Book a place on Growth Hub

Meet the media

Starling, 47 Oxford St Harrogate, HG1 1PW 

• 10 February, 10am to 1pm

Book a place on Eventbrite

Win more work – sell your services with confidence

The Old Swan Hotel Harrogate, HG1 2SR 

• 24 February, 9am to 3pm

Book a place on Growth Hub

Automate your day – 2-day masterclass

Starling, 47 Oxford St, Harrogate, HG1 1PW 

• 26 February and 4 March, 10am to 4:30pm

Book a place on Growth Hub

For a list of training available across York and North Yorkshire, visit the Growth Hub.

Business Spotlight

Jane Dreaper, Dalemoor Ltd

I set up Dalemoor Ltd two years ago, to help people and organisations who are going through change.

A typical week for me involves running a workshop for a small company bringing its staff together to focus on changes, coaching a middle manager or executive who’s seeking their next role, and drawing on my communication background to test and polish a senior employee’s media skills.

I deliberately gave my business Yorkshire branding: naming my company after our beautiful Dales and Moors which I love exploring.

Michael at North Yorkshire Council and The York and North Yorkshire Growth Hub have been incredibly supportive as I build my professional connections across this fantastic region.

I’ve benefited hugely from the funded support of my business mentor, Janet Jay from Momentic.

At our monthly coffee catchups, she’s pushed me to pursue ideas that have paid off nicely. She also shares her business wisdom and some laughter.

And I’m proud to have become a supplier to the Combined Authority.

Under the “Steps into Digital” voucher scheme, launched with Levelling Up government funding, I’ve been able to use my journalism skills to help fellow small business owners with their digital media strategy.

It’s great working with entrepreneurs including a flower farm owner, a co-working community builder and a gaming company director.

My previous career culminated under the glare of TV studio lights with me explaining Covid to global audiences during the 2020 lockdown.

After journalism, I gained accreditation and multi-year experience in change management and executive coaching.

I’ve served clients based in healthcare and also the cultural sector.

Being adaptable, creative and resilient are skills that have served me well as I continue to build my business – with all the peaks and troughs that we small business owners navigate.

And I can honestly say that in this third stage of my career journey, there’s nowhere else I’d rather be.

Zach Greaves Artus Digital

I’m Zach Greaves, Founder and Director of Artus Digital

I completed my English degree in 2012, I started Artus Digital in 2018 with a desire to provide a truly personalised marketing service to companies in Harrogate. Since then, I have been lucky enough to work with hundreds of organisations - from North Yorkshire to North America. I love what I do for a living, and I am immensely proud to have worked with some remarkable people, businesses and charities over the years.

At Artus Digital, we turn stories into sales.

By unlocking the power and potential in your business’ unique narrative, we help you connect with your target audience through professional content that clearly differentiates you from your competitors.

We are proud to partner with Visualise Graphics - a graphic design firm. Together, we’ve created BrandAMPLIFIER, a service combining professional graphic design with bespoke written content to ensure a cohesive and consistent marketing presence.

BrandAMPLIFIER is centred around the concept of leverage, with all content produced being repurposed across multiple different channels and formats - from your company newsletter to blogs, e-shots and social media content. It’s designed to squeeze the value out of your marketing budget, making every penny work harder.

I initially wanted to work in journalism and enjoyed work experience in three local newspapers. However, that was in the late noughties when the industry was suffering, and threat of redundancy was high. So, when I finished my English Literature degree, I didn’t actually have a set career path in mind; I just knew that an element of creativity (and ideally writing) would be important for my job satisfaction.

Learning about new businesses and industries is very interesting to me. I take a great deal of satisfaction from discovering what makes people tick and uncovering the nuances of their business.

I find the challenge of running a business both very exciting and a bit daunting too; it’s great to be the master of your own destiny, but this is a double-edged sword.

In September 2021, I brought my remote team together for a day in Harrogate. We had had a very rough time earlier in the year due to COVID, and I genuinely feared for the future of the business at times. The fact that we had not only survived this period, but were now thriving once again - as evidenced by a growing team coming together - has to be my proudest moment overall. I feel very lucky to have worked with some wonderful and very talented people over the years.

I now work on my own on a day-to-day basis but have a brilliant team of freelancers around me that I call upon on a project-by-project basis.

Given the extremely challenging business landscape over the last few years, every business birthday is very significant to me, and something I always celebrate with great pride.

I used to overload my diary and put far too much pressure on myself, resulting in a number of burnouts. A few months ago, a business friend of mine said - very simply - “Have one single priority for each day.” - a statement that he lives by. I was a bit taken aback - this is someone who runs a number of businesses. However, I have since taken his advice onboard, and now set myself a single task for each day; other tasks and meetings naturally fill the rest of the time. My workload is now much easier to manage, and I have more time, energy and mental space as a result.

You don’t know what you don’t know. Build your network quickly and seek help / guidance from experts rather than trying to handle everything yourself.

My job is inherently sedentary, so it’s very important that my downtime involves some exercise. I go to the gym three to four times a week and train for Hyrox competitions. I feel lucky to live in this part of the world, and so like to make the most of it by going for walks and visiting local beauty spots. Self-development is important to me, and I enjoy listening to The High-Performance podcast and reading inspiring / motivational books.

I am incredibly excited about BrandAMPLIFIER as a service offering and believe this collaboration will play a leading role in the business’ future success. With AI continuing to evolve at pace, we’ve got to focus on working with it rather than against it - and continue to set ourselves apart by leaning into the human side of our work. That means focussing on human connection and building relationships to make our work richer, more meaningful and fundamentally more impactful.

Whilst it’s difficult to imagine what Artus will look like in five years, I see a future with incredible opportunities ahead thanks to new technologies and means of communication.