New curated blog from Celtar business consultants

www.scoop.it/t/doing-business-in-ireland

I launched this blog a few months ago, with the objectives 

 - of providing news on Irish business

- and as a useful & constructive information point on doing business in Ireland

More specifically, the new blog is about doing business from Ireland as much as in Ireland. For example, the export activities of many Irish firms are highlighted.

Stories on exporting, FDI (foreign direct investment), business support (Enterprise Ireland and other agencies) a little economics and features on Celtar, our clients and business partners – are all included.

Often additional comments are made on published stories.

What is a curated blog?

A curated blog is made up of content aggregated from a variety of sources; other blogs, Twitter, YouTube, websites, Facebook etc.

Probably the best known Irish curated blog is the news blog http://storyful.com  .

A curated blog can have  ‘followers’ just like other social media platforms. And stories may be tagged.

Social media curation tool, www.Scoop.it  review

The Scoop.it tool is easy to use. Posts can be selectively shared with Twitter, Linkedin and Facebook – which is a great facility for me. I use the free edition. There is more functionality available with the professional version.

Feedback

One comment from a reader “it is a useful resource for catching up on business stories I may have missed from the papers, net or radio”. Your feedback is welcome.

Next

We are planning with Conor Lynch and his team at SocialMedia.ie  to provide training in ‘Winning business with Digital Marketing’. Date and venue to be announced next week, (venue will be central Dublin, dates in late May and early June).

This will be an update on the successful training we sponsored with SocialMedia.ie last year.

Billy Linehan

billy.linehan@celtar.ie

Celtar business consultants

PS For another view. Karlin Lillington, the writer on the technology zeitgist who I often read, has written an opinion article on “curating”, see it here http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/finance/2012/0426/1224315193921.html    And of course I have “curated” the article ………

Funding available now! 

Dublin City Enterprise Board (DCEB) is the lead agency offering business support to small business in the capital of Ireland. Funded by central government and the EU it offers business mentoring, training and financial support to micro-businesses in Dublin City.

This guest blog is written by Eibhlin Curley, deputy CEO of the enterprise board.

Dublin City Enterprise Board’s priority is to support job creation through focusing on supporting manufacturing companies and innovative businesses, and enabling companies to export.

Eligibility for financial support

Training and business mentoring is available to all businesses BUT financial assistance is available to certain types of businesses.

Irish businesses that are eligible for support are

-          businesses that export a product or service, e.g. sell technology software outside Ireland

-          that manufacture an innovative product in Ireland

-          tourism businesses that offer services to visitors in Ireland

DCEB assists small businesses with 10 employees or less based in Dublin city. We can help, owner managers of established businesses, start up businesses and people thinking of starting a business.

You must be creating at least one new full-time paid position to be eligible for funding.

Types of financial support available

Business Development funding is available for established businesses. Funds can be used towards new employee salaries, marketing and manufacturing equipment and fit-out costs. The Business Development financial support is partly refundable (66% to be paid back).

Priming funding is for new businesses (trading less than 18 months) and may fund salaries, marketing and equipment costs. The Priming financial support is partly refundable (33% to be paid back).

Feasibility/ Innovation grants support prototype development, market research and patent costs (a grant that is not refundable though requires match funding).
The average size of financial supports from the Dublin City Enterprise Board is Business Development €20,000, Priming €12,000 and Feasibility €7,500 – all depending on the number of new jobs created.

Application process for financial support (also check www.dceb.ie )

An application form and the Promoter’s CV are required for feasibility study/ innovation grant applications. In the case of Priming and Business Development funding a Business Plan, Promoter’s cvs, 12 month projected cashflow and 3 years of projected Profit & Loss accounts are required. For existing business the applicant must submit their most recent annual accounts.

The applicant must make a strong case and provide as much evidence as possible of commercial viability, job creation and export potential. A business mentor may be utilised in putting together the business plan and application.

Assessment of funding applications

Each application is reviewed by an evaluation committee which meets every month.  Recommendations are made whether the application should be rejected, deferred (if they need clarification on particular issues) or approved. Terms and conditions may be attached to an approval. The Board of Directors make the final decision on approving financial support. 

Financial support  “Claims”

A Tax Clearance Certificate is required for all payments.

Support for salaries

Payments towards salary costs are based on payslips of full-time employees. The payment is paid in two instalments. The first month’s payslip of the new employee and the second instalment is paid on the 6 month’s payslip.

All other approved expenses are paid on a receipts basis (excluding VAT), after the Board approval date and before the expiry date of the financial support offering. No retrospective expenses are paid for costs incurred before the Board approval date.

Summary

Dublin City Enterprise Board financially supports niche market businesses

involved

-          in manufacturing, innovative services or exporting.  

-          they can be pre-start or well established companies

-          employing less than 10 people

-          at least one new full-time job must be created

-          must be based in Dublin city

For full details about financial assistance and other DCEB supports check out www.dceb.ie or telephone 01 635 1144

Note: Dublin City Enterprise Board is funded through the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation and EU Structural Funds    

For other information on managing your business, contact Billy Linehan of Celtar billy.linehan@celtar.ie

For information about doing business in Ireland, look at

http://celtar.ie/blog/business-resources-in-ireland/   

and

www.scoop.it/t/doing-business-in-ireland

Celtar comment

Where to get the best business advice?

New Enterprise Ireland team to aid potential exporters in the Irish Times today http://t.co/xwATN3Wl

Another positive initiative from Enterprise Ireland arising out of the Jobs Action Plan BUT one influential group is often ignored in supporting EI activities to stimulate economic growth – professional business advisers.

 These are professional and certified business consultants and other professional services advisers who assist companies in determining – and attaining –  their strategic goals.

Most leading management and business consultants in Ireland are members of the Institute of Management Consultants and Advisers, see www.IMCA.ie . Many hold the internationally recognised CMC* accreditation. These trusted advisors are often left out of the loop regarding building growth orientated SMEs, and they are ready and able to play their part in turning around our economy.

I suggest that accessing business consultants from overseas does not guarantee better quality support (and contributes to economic displacement).

“If you want quality business advice, go to professional business consultants, who have  indepth experience in offering practical solutions.”

Volunteer business mentors with no training, codes of professional conduct and no consultant insurance cover are not the answer for Enterprise Ireland, local chambers and other business development organisations.

“You pay for what you get” as one client remarked to me.

If you wish to access expert business consultants anywhere in Ireland check out www.IMCA.ie . On the site you can search for consultants by area of expertise, or make a general enquiry.

Billy Linehan, CMC 

billy.linehan@celtar.ie 

*CMC, Certified Management Consultant, accreditation from the International Council of Management Institutes, see www.icmci.org

 Kenny & Bruton introduce job support plan today

It will take a while to absorb this integrated list of actions on creating jobs announced today by the Coalition government.

As a supplier to the county and enterprise boards I am interested in what is going to replace them, and when.

35 CEBs with 35 CEOs and 35 deputy CEOs never seemed to make sense to me. But it is internationally acknowledged that advisory services to micro businesses are best delivered locally. Enterprise Ireland has raised its game in supporting exporting companies, but what about the 90% plus of businesses who don’t export? And delivering business support through the network of local authorities? An unreformed section of the Civil Service – with a culture far far away from an ordinary decent S , M or E! No futher comment until the details are revealed.

The Government has launched an ambitious jobs plan that aims to create 100,000 new positions by 2016 and a further 100,000 by 2020.

The full programme includes a total of 270 measures (download from the department site at http://www.djei.ie/publications/2012APJ.pdf ) to be delivered this year in 15 Government Departments and 36 State agencies.

The process will be policed by a monitoring committee of three Departments with think-tank Forfás.

In an effort to address the difficulties small companies face accessing credit, the State is to guarantee 75% of loans to small and medium businesses. That measure is expected to be operational by the second quarter of this year.

The plan will include a Development Capital Scheme for companies with prospects of jobs and export growth. It will be backed by €50m State investment, which is expected to leverage up to €100m.

A new Micro Finance Fund will supply investment in small companies seeking less than €25,000. The fund will be €10m every year for ten years. The European Investment Bank will supply some of the equity.

The plan proposes a finders’ fee of “up to €4,000″ for people of Irish extraction abroad who succeed in bringing major job projects to Ireland.

The Taoiseach said that people who wanted to introduce a business would contact an appointed operator. The new company would have to be one that is not already working with the IDA. [tokenistic if not simplistic activity, which will cost more to manage then it will produce - BL]

There will also be a facility for the diaspora to contribute to investment in new enterprises, which is modelled on a similar scheme in Israel.

The plan includes steps to encourage more mobile international entrepreneurs to start businesses in Ireland through a €10m State fund for investment in start-ups, improvement in immigration arrangements, a targeted marketing campaign and greater use of IDA network.

A Strategic Investment Fund will match private sector investment with money from the National Pension Reserve Fund. The NPRF will commit €250m and a further €1bn will be sought from institutional investors in Ireland and overseas for infrastructural investment.

A corporation tax exemption will be extended for start up companies until 2014.

City and country enterprise boards will be dissolved and a new unit will be created in Enterprise Ireland that will work with local authorities in aiding firms.

The Government will establish a health innovation hub to encourage transforming new technologies in health and life sciences into commercial enterprises.

Checkout www.rte.ie for further updates and www.djei.ie

Billy Linehan is MD of Celtar business consultants, and has worked with small business owners and directors for 25 years.

(Experience includes; Certified Management Consultant, mentor for Dublin City Enterprise Board, Enterprise Ireland mentor, Intertrade Ireland industry expert. Previously manager of consultancy services for a central London Business Link, manager of enterprise agency in east London & programme manager at London based training and enterprise council)

Global mega trends

Economics, Society and Business

In a world undergoing change where there are few certainties, it is useful to anticipate and plan for trends. These trends will affect us as individuals and the types of organisations we work with.

As a regular facilitator of strategy planning workshops I am always interested in the analysis of future trends. Today I share with you the views of Professor Joe Nellis of the Cranfield management school.

The trends themselves are unsurprising but the accelerated pace of change is what impresses – and frightens. Our question is what are the implications of these trends?

Professor Nellis divides the trends into three areas; Economics, Society & Environment and Business.

Economics – 3 trends

The massive realignment of economic activity from the West to the East is unprecedented. Today China accounts for less then 10% of world GDP, by 2050 it will be probably be the world’s biggest economy and have a GDP share of 25%. India is also pressing strongly behind China, and of course the US will remain a dominant force.

This economic growth in emerging economies will generate a demand for improvements in living standards. Citizens from emerging market countries look for improved public services; more schools, hospitals, infrastructure and better policing. This demand will result in an anticipated huge growth of the public sector in these countries.

Finally, the third economic trend is the unprecedented rise in the number of consumers in emerging and developing economies. Consumers with similar spending power to that traditionally associated with the West. It is predicted that there will be 1 billion of these consumers with needs to satisfy. Nellis says “such a demand to satisfy has never happened before in such a short time scale”.

Society & the environment – 4 trends

For the first time in the history of the world, people all over the world will be able to communicate with each other. Increasingly people in developing economies are gaining access to technology. In this connected world there will be a massive growth in interactivity. More companies will interact with other companies, and interact with individual consumers. This deepening globalism will, says Nellis “have profound implications for the world of business and society”.

Taking the number of university graduates as a measure of the future talent pool; the developed world produces about 16 million graduates per year. The rest of the world is graduating 33 million students annually. There will be an “exponential growth in the talent pool coming from countries of the emerging markets and the developing world.”

The shortage of natural resources is a trend that is widely accepted. The search for natural resources is intensifying. China is securing natural resources all over Africa to feed its economic growth, in Cornwall tungsten mines are about to open and closer to home there are plans for oil exploration offshore from Dalkey in Dublin.

The last societal trend he mentions is the increase in the lack of trust in big business (and in politicians). Corporate governance is increasingly important for larger companies, and how it can be used “to their advantage and to the benefit of society”. Pay and remuneration must be tied in to performance, and directors must be accountable to shareholders and realise the consequence of their poor decision making. (What measures have been made to recover the 1990s bonuses from Irish bankers? And why are failed Irish politicians being paid large pensions before they reach the pension age of 67?) 

Building trust is about actions, delivering promises and not the empty words from corporate PR and “public affairs” executives.

Business – 2 mega trends

There are “massive issues” to be faced in industry and in business.

The first is the availability of information through search engines on the internet and sites like Wikipedia. How will managers deal with information overload? Can products and services be mass customised for individuals and not only for market segments? The use of information is a huge opportunity for businesses, and “dealing with the overload a significant challenge”.

A combination of all of the above, of the increasingly connected and trading global village is that industry structures will change. New global networks will emerge as well as bigger companies (many of them state owned in emerging markets). Nellis anticipates “different business models and developments concerning the way in which companies interact with each other”.

Big Change is here

How can managers “manage” in this world of increasing complexity? Nellis suggests there is no choice, “if you don’t like complexity, don’t go into management!” The right talent must be recruited to run companies in a much more complex environment.

Gone are the 50 year economic cycles identified by the Russian economist Kondratiev. There has been a major seismic shift, the cycle of economic change is now much shorter, 10 to 15 years. Challengingly, a manager’s career will endure several seismic shifts. Previously managers would have lived through for example one or two economic cycles of ‘growth to recession’. Organisational change will need to be delivered quicker, and better.

Short term focus will no longer suffice, “a successful manager must stay focused on the horizon”. The pace of change is accelerating as has never happened before. “Address these long-term drivers of change now”, Nellis asserts, “or you may be heading for extinction”.

The question facing leaders is how can an organisation take advantage of these global movements?

Joe Nellis, Professor of International Management Economics, Cranfield School of Management, www.som.cranfield.ac.uk/som/

Billy Linehan of Celtar has much experience in strategic planning with clients, facilitating workshops in planning for change. Based from Dublin, Billy has a long term interest in future thinking and is available to work with you in anticipating future trends and how they will affect your business or organisation. Contact Billy at billy.linehan@celtar.ie to benefit from the input of an external adviser into your strategic thinking and business planning.