Paddy Leonard, 24 Aug
An accountant from Derry with a love for local history has credited new
enterprise service Go Succeed with giving him the commercial guidance
he needed to turn his passion into a sustainable business.
David Douglas founded walking tour business Derrie Danders in 2017 to
offer visitors and locals the opportunity to walk around his home town
with him while he imparts some of the stories and key events that
shaped its history.
He aims to deliver original, authentic, politically neutral and
historically accurate tours to small and private groups and over the
last six years he has developed a reputation for entertaining yet
educational tours around the city.
The tours are 5 star rated on a wide variety of tourism platforms
including Viator, Trip Advisor, Airbnb Experiences, Toursbylocals,
Google and VoiceMap.
“I always had an interest in history and had considered doing it as my
degree but I didn’t see a career plan from that so I went into
accountancy,” he explained. “One of my consultancy clients was an
engineering company and I sometimes had to work in Sweden and Spain for
them, so I took the opportunity while travelling to do local tours and
this kindled my plan to do it as a business when I retired.
“In 2017 I did the Level 2 Tour Guiding course at NWRC and a few months
later I was asked to take out a group from my local church - by the
time I had designed the tour, I had the idea for a business.
“As I come from an Ulster Scots background, I wanted to use the word
‘dander’ to describe my business and the name Derrie comes from one of
the earlier names of the city, so avoids the Derry or Londonderry issue
as being politically neutral.
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David Douglas founded walking tour business Derrie Danders in 2017
“I joined Visit Derry and Tour Guides NI and made sure I had all the
relevant public liability insurance and health and safety procedures to
start getting my business known in the city and beyond.”
The Go Succeed programme is a £17 million scheme backed by the UK
government’s department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and
offers a range of support for start-ups and those considering setting
up a new company.
The free service is also helping to scale and grow businesses, large
and small, throughout their life cycle.
Through one-to-one mentoring and workshops, David has gained valuable
insights into enhancing his social media presence and marketing
strategies.
The programme also allocated him grand funding which he used to
purchase equipment to enhance his tour offering.
“Initially I signed up for mentoring only but an idea came through with
my collaboration with the NWRC Business Centre to develop a tour using
augmented reality,” he recalls.
“The grant programme with Go Succeed allowed me to purchase hardware in
the form of tablets that I can use with my tours and to assist with
marketing and production of a video to promote the AR enhanced tours
and the wider business.
“I would highly recommend the programme, my advice to anyone thinking
of starting their own business is go for it – but be prepared to work
hard and either learn a variety of new skills or pay for those skills
from the right people.
“As an accountant I had an advantage already with financial skills but
I’ve had to learn marketing, social media, selling skills while all the
time still working as a one man band tour guide.”
[Blue_Plaques_of_the_Maiden_City,_(17th_Century_City_Walls)_Derrie_Dand
er_Walking_and_Audio_Tours,_Derry_Londonderry_-_Embrace_a_Giant_Spirit_
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David showing visitors to the city around Derry's walls.
David has developed a range of tours that can be booked through his
website including Blue Plaques of the Maiden City, Shirt Factories
Heritage, LegenDerry Musical Mystery Tour and Influential Women of the
Walled City Walking Tour (The 'Real Derry Girls' Tour).
“The business has been going for six years now and of course we lost
substantial parts of 2000 to 2022 with COVID but it is only this year I
am able to get repeat business from good quality tour operators.
“You have to keep knocking on the doors, attending trade shows and
eventually they will open.”
The business is now his full-time occupation and he hopes to continue
to grow it in the years ahead while also training and inspiring the
next generation of tour guides through his role with the North West
Regional College.
“Overall highlights would be the range of people from all over the
world that I have guided and their positive feedback either verbally or
through review sites such as Trip Advisor where I am 5 star rated.
“The plans are to grow the business to focus more on specialised
historical tours including the AR versions, but to maintain the quality
and personal touch for my guests, so if I recruit other guides, they
will need to embrace my ethos too.
“I’m also keen to continue working with NWRC and assisting with their
tourism teaching courses.”
For further information on Derrie Danders, including the tours
available, pricing and booking visit derriedanders.co.uk.Go Succeed is
the Entrepreneurship Support Service for Northern Ireland, funded by
the UK Government.
If you have your own business idea and don’t know where to get started,
or want to take your existing company to the next level, you can speak
to the team at Go Succeed.
All services have been designed to provide entrepreneurs and businesses
with the right tools to either get off the ground or grow their
organisations - and boost the wider economy.
The tools include mentoring, masterclasses, peer networks and
opportunities to access grant funding and a business plan and are
tailored to support the needs of the specific service users.
To find out more about Go Succeed, the help on offer, and to see a
calendar of upcoming events and workshops, visit www.go-succeed.com.
For further information on the support programmes available to set up
and grow your business through Derry City and Strabane District Council
visit derrystrabane.com/business and follow on Socials @Business
Support Derry Strabane.