Thoughts and ideas on growing a business

Free event for Dublin owner managers

Targeting future growth is firmly on the agenda at the capital’s largest free event for small businesses next week.

‘Your Business Day’ takes over the Science Gallery on Pearse Street next Thursday (December 9^th) and has been billed as a day of free advice and enterprise information for micro-enterprises and new start-ups.

Organisers Billy Linehan and Suzanne May of the Dublin City Enterprise Board,  have put together an impressive schedule for the initiative. It features free one-to-one mentoring clinics, case study presentations from successful Dublin city businesses, seminars on key topics and an exhibition area which are all geared towards Dublin’s small business community and those thinking of setting up a business in the city.

According to Greg Swift, CEO of Dublin City Enterprise Board, the emphasis throughout the day will be on practical advice and tips that entrepreneurs can readily adapt for their own businesses: “What small business owners and new business start-ups are looking for right now, is useful and concise information, inspiration from more established entrepreneurs and a little motivation to seek out new opportunities.”

“Anyone already in a small business in the capital or seriously thinking of setting one up in the New Year, is encouraged to consult with a mentor or attend an enterprise seminar at ‘Your Business Day’, to help them plan effectively for the year ahead,” he added.

Fifty individual mentoring sessions will be scheduled next Thursday, through on-line bookings and drop-in appointments; visitors with specific queries will be matched with the business mentors that have the most relevant experience.

Helping to lead by example, the advice and insights of successful businesspeople in the city will also be shared, through the stories of Cush ‘N Shade , Macleod Agencies , OneFootAbroad  , GiftedbyNature.ie, Languagewise.ie, Karora Cosmetics and Whatclinic.com.

Keeping the focus on new opportunities, a range of seminars around improving selling techniques, using intellectual property, maximising referrals and exploring export markets are taking place throughout the morning and afternoon. Seminar speakers include Liam Birkett, Alan Bell of the Referral Institute, John Mahon of Chessboard Associates and Austin Rutledge of Export Edge.

An exhibition area for state support agencies, micro-finance and trade associations, will also be open to visitors (including PLATO, First Step and Enterprise Ireland).

‘Your Business Day’ will also include plenty of opportunities for networking and is supported by Ulster Bank and the Science Gallery, running from 9am to 4pm on December 9^th. Advance bookings for mentoring and seminars can be made on-line through www.dceb.ie, but drop-in bookings are also welcome on the day and there is free entry.        

Speakers from

www.export-edge.com

www.chessboard.ie

www.referralinstitutedublinsouth.com

www.Celtar.ie

 Free mentoring, seminars and information

This is a day I am actively supporting and it might interest you or some one you know?

No need to mention what times we’re in, but one positive event happening before Xmas is Your Business Day, a day of free advice and information from the Dublin City Enterprise Board on the 9th of December .

There you will be able to

• consult with experienced mentors from the DCEB panel
• listen to and question clients of DCEB who are leading by example in their small businesses
• listen to and question a range of speakers who will offer ideas and tips on how to compete and grow your business at home and abroad
• network with other business owners

For: owner managers of small businesses, business start-ups, DCEB  clients and anybody else interested in starting a business in Dublin city

Place: the Science Gallery www.ScienceGallery.ie

Location: corner of Pearse Street and Westland Row

Date: Thursday the 9th of December

Time: 9.00am to 4pm

To book your free place go to: www.dceb.ie

Sponsored by the Science Gallery and Ulster Bank

Billy Linehan, Celtar management consultants

A friend, Philip Gillen, has started a new business, and is looking for funding. 

Himself and his business partner have shared their knowledge and experience in finding the market opportunity first, and then designing a business around it. 

This post is for information only; you may be interested in contacting the company.

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Dublin based Safefood 360° is seeking €500,000 of private investment through the Business Expansion Scheme (BES). The company is an early start-up and specialises in web based applications designed to assist food companies manage their food safety systems. Version one will be ready for full release early in 2011 and many of the investors to date are from the Irish food sector. This initial investment round (raised €200,000 so far) is continuing and the company expects to raise an additional €300,000 before Christmas. 

What do we do?

Safefood 360 is a web-based software package specifically designed to manage food safety compliance for the global food processing sector. We are a young Irish start-up business, grant aided by Enterprise Ireland and categorised as having High Potential. 

BES Investment Opportunity

We have set up a Business Expansion Scheme (BES) for Safefood 360 which qualifies for a tax rebate of 41% on inward BES investments. The typical unit of investment is €25,000 (other amounts are possible) and at the end of 5 years the investor can expect a return of at least twice their initial investment.  We also have a unique ‘Put & Call’ agreement in place whereby each BES investor shall have an alternative ‘Share Subscription Option’ to subscribe for new ordinary shares in the company, if this proves to be the more attractive option for the investor at that time. Our BES target for 2010 is €500k and we will process all Revenue RICT forms on behalf of investors so that they can claim tax relief for 2010. 

Progress to Date

We have already met with numerous local and International food companies who have expressed keen interest in purchasing the application once development is complete, which is targeted for January 2011 (letters of intent are available upon request). Our business proposition has received very positive feedback from key industry stakeholders such as regulatory and commercial compliance auditors from Ireland, the UK and the US. 

Go-to-Market

We are currently developing our go-to-market strategy to accelerate launch of Safefood 360 in our key markets in 2011 (with support from Enterprise Ireland). We are based in the Blanchardstown LINC incubation centre where we receive support under the Enterprise Platform Programme. The global market of food safety compliance is valued at €200bn and there is a food processing sector in every country. 

Promoters

George Howlett and Philip Gillen are co-founders and full-time directors. George’s background is in food safety management, having over twenty years’ experience working in the sector  –  mostly as a food safety consultant. He holds a BSc in Food Technology and MSc in Food Safety Management. George lectures at the DIT on the MSc in Food Safety Management programme and is highly respected within the Irish food industry. 

Philip’s background is in Information Technology with over 10 years’ experience in the sector and he holds a BSc in I.T. Philip is recognized by his clients for his commitment to excellence in the application of IT solutions and this will be found in all aspects of Safefood 360 when launched.

Further Information

If you would like further details or a presentation we will be happy to meet you at a place of your convenience. Please contact the promoters Philip Gillen or George Howlett at the details below. 

Safefood 360
LINC Centre, IT Blanchardstown,
Blanchardstown Road North, Dublin 15.

Tel: 01 885 1522
Mob Philip: 087 239 0371
Mob George: 087 676 8510

Email: team@safefood360.com

Innovapeak Ltd T/A Safefood 360°
Registered in Ireland with company number 482766.

Celtar and KDA Accountants support European Enterprise Week

- as part of Bank of Ireland’s National Enterprise Week

Celtar, the specialist management consultancy firm for SMEs, and KDA Accountants are together holding a free business clinic in Bank of Ireland Blanchardstown on Wednesday 26^th of May from 10.30am to 1pm.

“Experts will be available to answer your business queries and point you in the right direction,” explains Billy Linehan of Celtar. “We like to share our knowledge and experience with ambitious business owners, and thank Bank of Ireland for this showcase opportunity.”

Billy Linehan is a Certified Management Consultant and MD of Celtar business and management consultants, a Registered Consultancy Practice of the Institute of Management Consultants and Advisers

For more information

Contact Billy on 086 6086991, www.celtar.ie

Bank of Ireland are delighted to announce that their 2010 National Enterprise Week will commence on Monday, 24th May. The Week will run concurrently with the European SME Week. The overarching objective for this week is to lift the spirit of entrepreneurship in Ireland, by providing businesses with the opportunity to network, and meet with other businesses and experts that can support their business.

European SME Week

http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/policies/entrepreneurship/sme-week/

 END

Advice on where to do business in the UK 

Having worked in the business support sector in the UK for 10 years in the 1990s I am interested in how enterprise activity is monitored both there and in Ireland -  and the usefulness of research in assisting companies in deciding where to do business.

 Here we have depended on the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) to provide us with information on a level of economic activity. Some of the  GEM report particularly the definition of the so called “nascent entrepreneurs” is unconvincing, as is the aspirational definition of “high growth expectation early stage entrepreneurs”. Enough said!

 And if you like to look at hard facts Bank of Ireland has recently published its Business Start-up Barometer for 2009 that tracks the number of new businesses starting up in Ireland.

There were 13,327 new businesses formed in 2009, or 36 per day, which showed a 9% decrease when compared to 14,753 new business formations in 2008. Nearly half of the start-ups, 6,129 were registered in Dublin.

 There is much more meaty data available in the UK – let’s look at the data that was published last month by the Centre for Cities.

 UK governments have introduced a plethora of schemes over the years to improve enterprise development. Ten years ago, the then Chancellor Gordon Brown wanted to make it easier for anyone in Britain to start up a new business – especially in deprived inner-city areas.

 One way Gordon Brown used was to highlight the sharp differences in business start-up rates between different cities. In 1998, the lowest start-up rates were in the North East – the most entrepreneurial places were in London and the South East.

 Fast-forward ten years, and the picture hasn’t changed very much.

Recent research highlights the cities with the lowest business formation rates – Middlesbrough and Sunderland; and the most entrepreneurial cities – London, Milton Keynes, Brighton, etc.

 Nine of the ten least-enterprising cities are port cities – Birkenhead, Belfast, Liverpool, Plymouth, Newcastle, Dundee, Hull, Sunderland and Middlesbrough. Older, industrial cities that have for years depended on a small number of large employers. 

 This shows that start-up rates are quite static – persistently low in Sunderland, persistently high in Milton Keynes – despite years of policy initiatives, under both Conservatives and Labour.

 All cities will need to grow their private sector, during the recovery – especially given the imminent public spending squeeze (which has already started for us in Ireland). But cities like Reading and Brighton seem to be inherently better at generating start-ups, than Plymouth and Newcastle. If the politicians want to see more private enterprise, they will need to develop a different type of enterprise policy for struggling cities – more realistic, more tailored, and longer-term.

 Cities Outlook 2010 finds that, as they move out of recession, the UK will face an uneven recovery.  Already robust city economies like Brighton are more likely to grow stronger, leaving others like Doncaster further behind.  This raises tough questions about how they can carve out a future that’s economically sustainable.

 Five big hitters:  The turnaround of the largest cities will be critical to UK national recovery.  More than one in three jobs (39%) in England is based in just five cities – Greater London and the City Regions of Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds and Liverpool.

Five to watch: Brighton, Milton Keynes, Reading, Cambridge and Edinburgh have the right ingredients to succeed after the recession has passed.  They have strong private sectors, high levels of entrepreneurship, highly educated workforces and large shares of knowledge-intensive jobs

 Brighton added the highest number of private sector jobs over the past decade – an extra 20,000 jobs.  Over a third of its workforce is graduate-level – and one in five of its jobs are part of the knowledge economy.

Five with a tough outlook: Other cities, such as Stoke, Burnley, Barnsley, Newport and Doncaster, with their weaker business base, have a much tougher outlook.  These cities all lost private sector jobs over the pre-recession decade.  Their rate of business start ups is low and many of their residents have no qualifications.

 In Ireland we also face an uneven recovery, different regions and sectors will recover more strongly then others. 

This UK information may well inform Irish businesses which UK region to focus on for export, and which locations are more attractive for opening a UK base.

Billy Linehan

Celtar management consultants

086 608 6991

Centre for Cities, www.centreforcities.org

www.bankofireland.com/press_room/latest_releases/2010/General_Content_1000559.html

GEM report 2008, www.forfas.ie/media/gem_report_2008.pdf