Enterprise endorses Midsteeple Quarter pop-up hub

A Dumfries businessman who has showcased his enterprise in The Smithy has urged others to follow suit.

Mark Donald, of Dumfries Tours, is among the first people to take advantage of the opportunities available in Midsteeple Quarter’s Pop-up Enterprise Hub.

The programme gives fledgling enterprises the chance to trade for free on the High Street from Fridays until Mondays.

And, speaking of his experience of using the community-owned building, Mark said: “The Smithy is in a fantastic central location in the heart of Dumfries High Street. The footfall is tremendous, especially on a Saturday when the market is on. The floor space is massive. 

“There is so much you can do with it. It really is a blank canvas which allows you to make the place your own however long you use it.

“I got a huge amount of interest from passers-by, especially when I put my signs up in the window.

“My intention was to engage with the community to showcase my touring business but also to showcase what the town and the wider region has to offer to our residents and visitors alike. I certainly achieved that in the time I had there.

“If you are a small, start up business, you really should consider using this space to promote and sell what you do.“

Dumfries Tours’ Facebook post on The Smithy

Led by Midsteeple Quarter - the community benefit society which owns The Smithy - the hub is also being used by organisations including Business Gateway, CodeBase, South of Scotland Enterprise and Third Sector Dumfries and Galloway to host advice sessions and networking events.

These include its experts providing specialist insight for those starting - or with an idea for - a new enterprise, as well as support for local small businesses more widely.

The pop-up hub scheme, which runs until October (2024), is open to people who live in the DG1 and DG2 postcodes and will see The Smithy made available for rent-free trading, advice sessions, promotional events, co-working or meetings.

Anyone interested in being part of it simply needs to fill in an expression of interest form, which you can find by clicking here.

The chance to offer the space rent-free is thanks to support from the Social Enterprise Academy and National Lottery Heritage Fund, combined with the certainty of regular rental income from Barclays Bank, which operates a Local Hub from The Smithy every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

Read more about the hub’s launch here.