Business Start-ups | SPECIAL REPORT
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Starting a new business involves a lot of courage, determination and planning, but there is also great satisfaction and rewards to be had from being your own boss. ANNE WHELTON explains what you need to know when setting up a new business in Ireland.
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EVERY CLOUD HAS a silver lining. While many sectors of the economy are going through a rough time and the country is feeling the effects of the recession, the focus has turned to entrepreneurs and the ‘smart economy’ as the way to reignite our economy. Every year, about 20,000 Irish people – and many recent immigrants – start businesses, ranging from small part-time service businesses to significant well-funded high-tech firms. While some new start-ups will unfortunately fail, policymakers and support agencies are bending over backwards to help existing and potential entrepreneurs realise their potential, with initiatives designed to support and encourage enterprise around every corner.
GETTING STARTED
If you are thinking of starting a business, you need to consider many steps, including your suitability and readiness for the role of entrepreneur and managing director of your own company. Think of your skills, experience, education, contacts, financial situation and health. Research has shown that successful entrepreneurs have a number of specific character traits, including: drive and energy, good leadership qualities, problem-solving skills and the ability to take the initiative. It is also important to have the right
knowledge and skills before you begin your start-up. There are a number of workshops and courses available for budding entrepreneurs to hone their skills. The Ryan Academy at Dublin City University (DCU) provides Executive Programmes in Leadership and Strategy, Small Business, non-profit and Social Enterprises,
ready, steady,
start-up
and Entrepreneurship and Innovation, which participants can attend for two days in an intense programme or four to eight weeks on a part-time basis. The Ryan Academy is a partnership between DCU and the family of the late Tony Ryan (Ryanair) and was set up to promote entrepreneurship and innovation. “The academy offers a number of training programmes, short, sharp courses, suited to the needs of busy people and entrepreneurs, but offered at university standards,” says Ann Horan, CEO of the Ryan Academy. “We also applied to Skillnets to run a training network for entrepreneurs, to the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (DETE) to run a programme on innovation for unemployed graduates. We also have a Social Enterprise Virtual Incubator, so there is something on offer for entrepreneurs at all levels.”
STUDYING THE MARKET
Once you’ve developed your skills as an entrepreneur it is time to concentrate on your business idea. If you are having trouble developing a viable idea, some of the City and County Enterprise Boards (CEBs) run ‘idea generation’ workshops for budding entrepreneurs. Similarly, InterTradeIreland, in association with INNOVATOR and the Centre for Irish and European Security, has just announced the development of a new pilot initiative to promote innovation amongst new and existing SMEs.The Innovation Connections Programme will help 60 SMEs take advantage of the future needs of the Civil Security market through workshops detailing how to develop new products, processes and services, and identify business opportunities in the market.
InBusiness May 10 71
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