Most of us appreciate things for free – or very cheap! Nonetheless, owners and proprietors of small businesses in Ireland are by no means as quick to take up the range of assistance offered by state, industry and business bodies as might be expected in today’s tough and competitive world. Business people should particularly value the advice of experts and the accumulated experience and wisdom of others. In fact it is surely wonderful to be able sometimes to learn from other people’s mistakes rather than your own! In implementing smart technology for better business, there is quite a generous range of information support for smaller and even micro-businesses that requires little more than the brains, time and enthusiasm of the owners. Just a level above, there are active mentoring programmes and technology exchange or graduate employment schemes where the costs are well within the reach of SMEs.
Admirably, successful entrepreneurs often drive their businesses forward mainly through sheer determination and hard work. But we all know also that trying to be ingenious with limited resources can lead either to re-inventing the wheel or cobbled-together solutions that end up costing as much in time and money as standard alternatives. Tapping into the resources offered through the bodies outlined below – and others – can solve problems, open opportunities and develop a firmer foundation for business progress. The costs vary from free – clearly a win/win situation – to annual membership of a business association with its other benefits. In some other cases there are nominal charges, notably for training programmes, but the expenditure involved is seldom more than a few hundred euro a year. The real commitment is the brains, energy and some time by owners, proprietors and partners.
City and County Enterprise Boards
The 35 City and County Enterprise Boards (CEBs) around the country are, in recent years, the primary channel for state support for small businesses from start-up to around ten or 12 employees. Services range from information, seminars/workshops and training courses, to one-to-one advice, networking assistance and online resources, etc. The boards share Empower.ie as a national resource in promoting e-business, with almost 8,000 small firms currently registered.
This is definitely the start point for any small business or start-up looking for assistance for the first time. Apart from their own considerable range of services, CEB staff are up to speed on all the other resources available to small business managements.
Empower.ie
The CEBs also share a national e-business initiative, Empower.ie focussed around the portal site of the same name, which has assisted nearly 2,000 small companies on the road to e-business since the programme began in 2000. It aims to help small businesses to discover the power of e-commerce and explore the potential of B2B (business-to-business) and B2C (business-to-customer) solutions without the commitment of large amounts of capital or resources and regardless of their current level of computer knowledge. Empower.ie offers training, mentoring, networking programmes and occasional financial grants to co-finance e-business development. It offers free Web-based e-mail, accessible from any part of the globe, free directory listing and search facility, access to B2B options and online resources through its business-to-business community of registered firms. The site is currently being expanded to include online shopping and selling, with a management system for online orders and trade account administration. Web: www.empower.ie
Enterprise Ireland
The oldest and perhaps most successful mentoring scheme set up by Enterprise Ireland over a decade ago has assisted over 5,000 small companies with pragmatic advice and guidance from experienced managers who have themselves been successful in private enterprise. This year, about 450 firms are participating, using the services of a 200-strong panel of mentors. This valuable assistance is available free to qualifying firms nominated by CEBs and other bodies. They will usually be Enterprise Ireland clients, employing ten or more, but the criteria are quite pragmatic – the potential for viable exports of goods or services – and exceptionally promising start-ups have been accepted in the past. Web: www.enterprise-ireland.com
Pelko is a Dublin maker of quality office and contract seating, founded in 1984 and run by the second generation of the Cleary family. With turnover static for some years, they decided to go for growth through transforming the company into a world-class niche manufacturer, with a major emphasis on exports. Their mentor helped to totally redevelop the company through new management systems, a long term strategic business plan and highly targeted marketing programmes, developing in-company skills, etc. ‘Without that expertise we couldn’t have contemplated it,’ says David Cleary, ‘Now we are a focussed, structured company and really beginning to move forward.’ See www.pelko.ie.
Glaslough Peat Products in Co. Monaghan was over 20 years in the business of supplying compost to mushroom growers. With mentoring, it went on to develop the company through a new product range that secured new sales of over EUR100,000 within the first year. ‘It was simply invaluable,’ says MD Colm McKeogh. ‘Without it, we would have been in trouble; now we are competing with new and exclusive products.’ Recycling spent mushroom compost as its base, Glaslough adds peat, bark, sand, stone grit and other ingredients to mix blends for a variety of horticultural needs from pot plants to golf course shrubbery.
InterTrade Ireland
InterTrade Ireland is the cross-border trade and business development body, which has set up a unique scheme for technology development in smaller businesses. FUSION is a programme that sets up and sponsors three-way partnerships between the firm, a third level institution for technical resources and a recent high-calibre technology graduate to work in the business on the specific project or needs for 18-24 months. There are now 120 such technology transfer partnerships in place in sectors like food, polymers, engineering, pharmaceuticals and electronics. Projects have included more efficient processes and expanded operations, and especially new product development. Atlanfish in Co. Donegal, for example, created a spin-out company as a result. Participants come from all over the country – our example has a young Sligo graduate of a northern college working on a project in a Galway firm. Contact: FUSION 028-30834161 or visit www.intertradeireland.com
TopForm is a Galway manufacturer of furniture components, particularly kitchen and office work surfaces. Since 1976, it has developed successfully in the Irish, UK and more recently, Belgian markets. Identifying the need to make its manufacturing systems more efficient and reduce lead times and costs, the answer was a fully fledged Enterprise Planning System (ERP).
However, TopForm did not have such IT expertise in-house.
Ronan Conlon, a graduate of the University of Ulster (UU) business school, gained an intimate knowledge of the business and its needs in production, distribution, supplies and finances. The set of new systems for TopForm was installed by him with ongoing advice from Larry McCurry, operations management specialist at UU. MD Paul Glynn says the overall results of the project show significant reduction in engineering times and a direct five-figure annual cost saving: ‘We simply could not have done any of this without FUSION’. Ronan Conlon is now IT Manager of TopForm.
Plato Ireland
This is an EU-funded support programme for SMEs, governed by IBEC and the Chambers of Commerce of Ireland, that offers business development assistance through small groups of owner-managers, each group is assisted by large sponsor companies such as IBM and Sage Ireland. Since 1995 over 1,500 businesses shave participated and currently there are approximately 1,000 businesses in seven Plato regional networks. The two-year programmes offer a rich mix of knowledge and networking for just a few hundred euro a year, but because they are regional and cyclical, places tend to fill rapidly. Your local Chamber is the first point of contact. Web: www.plato.ie
Plato in North Dublin is piloting a unique IT-based ‘Knowlaboration’ project, the Irish part of an EU project aiming to establish Web-based ‘learning networks’ to facilitate knowledge transfer between member businesses and internationally with other participants in the scheme through a pan-European portal, and access to ICT tools that can be tailored to individual management needs. Web: www.knowlaboration.net
Chambers of Commerce
As members will be aware, there is a huge range of valuable information resources, training and networking opportunities on offer to members throughout Ireland and centrally from the Chambers of Commerce of Ireland (CCI). The CCI website offers downloadable business guides and manuals, from employment law and tax affairs to ICT, and case studies of how other firms have tackled projects or problems. It currently has a programme in collaboration with the Department of Enterprise to assist small firms to come to grips with e-procurement, especially in the public sector. Local Chamber assistance tends to be free to members, with nominal fees for more formal training courses or workshops. Remember, the Chambers movement today embraces industry and commerce – and no firm is too small to join. Web: www.chambersireland.ie
Small Firms Association
The Small Firms Association, more commonly known as the SFA, in its own right and drawing on the resources of IBEC, offers a wide range of up to date information resources to its members through is Web-based Information Centre. There are business guides in hard copy and downloadable form, such as the recent ‘Guide to Information Security Management’. The Better Business Show is a 22-centre travelling mix of free presentations and advice from Microsoft, HP, AIB, Hibernian Insurance, Eircom and the ESB covering such areas as strategy, finance, ICT, hardware and software, energy, insurance and telecoms. Web: www.sfa.ie
ISME
Helping its members to develop their businesses, as well as lobbying for their interests, is part of the ISME (Irish Small and Medium Enterprises Association) mission. Its assistance covers information resources, training, conferences and seminars. It has two current Skillnets programmes for owner-managers in Dublin and Cork. Publications cover topics from Internet Usage Policy to coping with Revenue audits. Web: www.isme.ie
Skillnets
Skillnets is an enterprise-led body for training and development in specific areas and sectors. It is currently calling for proposals for new training networks and can fund up to 75 per cent of total training network costs (meeting established criteria). Very successful Skillnets formed in recent years include the Crest Retail Excellence network for retailers, medical devices industry, and microelectronics, as well as those simply for owner-managers in a region. Web: www.skillnets.com
15/03/04
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