Local Enterprise Office to host event for trading on line voucher scheme

Pictured at the launch of the Digital Voucher Scheme, Margaret Durand (Dungarvan Enterprise Centre Manager), Tom Banville (Head of Wexford LEO), Pat Rabbitte TD (Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources) and Ciaran Cullen (Waterford LEO)

The Trading Online Voucher scheme is designed to help small companies to access the opportunities open to them through trading online.  This will help companies in Waterford City and County to access new markets so that they can grow and create more jobs.

Ciaran Cullen of the Local Enterprise Office in Waterford City emphasises the importance of the vouchers, “This scheme has evolved from and improves on any of the previous website funding available. It matches the current requirements for modern websites including the need for promotion via adwords.”

The Local Enterprise Offices (LEO) will be the key delivery partner working with the Department of Communications in implementing this scheme.  Waterford LEO will play a critical role in ensuring the success of this scheme, which is designed to develop and grow existing and new business in their area of responsibility. 

Minister Rabbitte commented on the voucher scheme: “Far too much on-line business goes to suppliers from abroad.  We want to ensure the companies who access government support to go on-line will get the most from it.  We are working with the Local Enterprise Office to up-skill their personnel.  We are helping them understand how digital impacts on logistics, marketing, search engine optimisation, payments and other aspects of small business.  This will help to ensure mentors and staff in each LEO will be well geared up to guide applicant companies all over Ireland to use the investment wisely, grow their businesses, start exporting and ultimately increase employment”

As part of the National Digital Strategy, on Thursday the 26th of June the Local Enterprise Office is hosting a free Digital Voucher Information morning in Dungarvan Enterprise Centre, from 8am to 1pm.  An expression of Interest form is available from your Local Enterprise Office in Waterford and Dungarvan. Attendance at this information morning is mandatory for your digital voucher application.

The Information morning will include items such as targeting customers on line, search engine optimisation and social media marketing.

The Digital voucher process is competitive and there are € 62,500 worth of vouchers available in Waterford for this Pilot phase. Applications will be processed during June and July.  An evaluation committee will meet in late July to decide on successful applicants.  Successful applicants will be informed in writing in late July and should not begin before receiving this letter as applying is not a guarantee of success.

There are only 50 places available for this event so even though the event is free, booking using the expression of interest form is essential.

For more information or to collect your expression of interest form please contact your Local Enterprise Office at 32 the Mall in Waterford City or the Civic Offices in Dungarvan. Alternatively you can email info@leo.waterfordcouncil.ie .  

Are you Waterford’s Best Young Entrepreneur?

L-R; Vincent Reynolds, Chairman of Local Enterprise Office, An Taoiseach Enda Kenny, Minister Richard Bruton for Enterprise, Jobs and Innovation,  & Minister John Perry for Small Business

New competition launched to find Waterford’s Best Young Entrepreneur (Under 30) with investment of up to €25,000 available for winner.

Winners in Waterford will proceed to regional and national finals with aim of finding Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur

The Taoiseach and the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation launched a new competition to find Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur, with a total fund of €2million available to invest in winning businesses at entrepreneurs in every county in the country.

In Waterford the competition to find Waterford’s Best Young Entrepreneur will be run by the new Local Enterprise Office. Winners will be named in three categories – best new idea, best start-up, best new venture for established business – as well as an overall winner who will be Waterford’s Best Young Entrepreneur.

The Waterford Local Enterprise Office will have a total fund of €50,000 to invest in the three winning businesses, according to criteria including the prospects and investment needs of each business. The overall winner of Waterford’s Best Young Entrepreneur can receive an investment of up to €25,000.

Mentoring, marketing and other supports will also be available to participating businesses at various stages of the competition. 

Lar Power, Director of Economic Development, Waterford City and County Council believes this initiative is particularly important to Waterford, “Following the success of Waterford in the National Student Enterprise Awards this year I am looking forward to seeing what ‘under 30’ sector entrepreneurs in the City and County enter this competition. Waterford’s small business enterprises in particular require as much assistance as they can get and the new Local Enterprise Office in Waterford is fully prepared to help these young and innovative future entrepreneurs make their ideas turn into a commercial reality.”

Ciaran Cullen of the Local Enterprise Office complimented the scale of the competition, “This size of investment for these young start-up businesses is a significant statement of intent. The investment is more than just monetary, the boot camps, mentoring and national exposure will give the best of these entries the boost they require at this stage of their development.”

The competition is open to individuals aged 30 and under and will be judged under three distinct categories:

• ·         best new idea
• ·         best start-up business
• ·         best established business with new add-on

The first stage will be a county-based competition (run by the 31 LEOs) leading to the naming of the Best Young Entrepreneur in each county. This stage will include boot camps and mentoring programmes. This will be followed by regional finals and ultimately national finals with one business-person being crowned Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur before the end of the year.

There have been expressions of interest from television production companies on the possibility of covering the later stages of the competition in a reality TV format.

The aim of the initiative is to encourage and support a culture of entrepreneurship among young people in Ireland, to promote entrepreneurship as a career choice, and to encourage the establishment and development of new innovative businesses by Ireland’s young entrepreneurs. This is hugely important for job-creation as two thirds of all new jobs are generated by businesses in the first five years of existence – more start-ups and a thriving entrepreneurial culture will lead to more jobs being created.

This project is an integral part of the Action Plan for Jobs 2014 and is supported by the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation through the Local Enterprise Offices.

Applying is simple – go to localenterprise.ie or your Local Enterprise Office in Waterford City or Dungarvan – and the deadline is 30^th June 2014.

Top Ten Tip Lunches served up in Waterford

Mr. Ciaran Cullen, LEO Waterford and Mr. Des Whelan, WLRfm

‘Top Ten Lunches’ are a series of networking lunches on the theme of ‘Top Ten Business Tips' delivered by successful Waterford business people and occurring once per month.

These lunches take place in the Tower Hotel Waterford from 12.30pm to 2pm with the inaugural  lunch featuring Des Whelan of WLR fm.

This series is also an appropriate way to introduce the new Local Enterprise Office in Waterford to local business people.

Des Whelan, Managing Director of WLR fm was the first speaker in the series of lunches, with his ‘Top Ten Tips on branding your business’. Des is also founding shareholder and Director of Beat 102 – 103 and Radio Nova in Dublin. He is Chairman of Red fm in Cork, the Waterford Tall Ships Festival in 2011 and the Waterford Viking Marathon. His branding tips come from over 35 successful years’ experience in business.

 

The next speaker is Louise Grubb, founder of Nutri-science and Q1 Scientific. Louise will be giving her ‘Top Ten Tips for business expansion’ on Thursday July 3rd. Future speakers include Ronan Mulligan of Mulligan’s Pharmacy, John Noonan of Flahavan’s and Grainne Walsh of Metalman Brewing.

 

The cost of these events is just €8.50, this is for the cost of the lunch alone.  Booking is essential. For more information or to register your interest please contact your Local Enterprise Office in Waterford on

051-849905 or email info@leo.waterfordcouncil.ie .

Java Republic founder to address Local Enterprise Office Free Business Start - up seminar

David McKernan of Java Republic

David McKernan, Irish entrepreneur and founder of Java Republic is to speak at a Local Enterprise Office free business start-up information seminar in the Tower hotel onWednesday May 28^th.

All the economic signs show that Ireland is emerging from the financial crisis.  This means that there has not been a better time in years to investigate starting your own business.  With this in mind the new Local Enterprise Office for Waterford has organised Fresh Start, a free business start-up information seminar for those that have left education, been made redundant or about to be made redundant. 

The first Fresh Start seminar was held in September 2009, repeated in January 2011 and May 2013. The combined results of these events led to an estimated 320 jobs.  As one participant, Mary Doherty of Granny Maddox, said “The Fresh Start Seminar in January 2011 gave me the information and the motivation to get where I am today, self-employed, much busier and much happier.”

The key note speaker David McKernan is a persistent, passionate and high-spirited entrepreneur, who has inspired and irritated in equal measure throughout a successful career in coffee. He emerged from the cocoon of Bewley’s to found Java Republic Roasting Company in 1999: This innovative company quickly became one of Ireland’s most successful brands, and one of Europe’s leading coffee companies. Java Republic is notable for a distinctive vision: Premium, fresh handroasted coffee – with a conscience. 

From day one, David’s aim was to raise awareness of real coffee quality and to challenge abysmally low ethical standards in the coffee business. Both goals were soon achieved: Java Republic’s coffee has won multiple awards for taste and quality, while those who grow their coffee beans saw fairer prices, and improved living standards from direct aid and infrastructure projects.

Whilst stewarding Java Republic through some of the most challenging times any business could face, he developed a reputation as a motivational speaker and campaigner for physical fitness as a driver for positive mental health. David is an engaging, charismatic and entertainingly egotistical speaker, who connects with audiences like a perfectly poured espresso. With nearly 12 years of success in Ireland, David is now focussing on bringing his unique brand of superb coffee and straight talking to an international audience.

Other speakers include Ciaran Cullen of the Local Enterprise office in Waterford, Liam Murphy from the Department of Social Protection, Siobhan O'Callaghan from Irish Franchising Skillnet and Sarah Flynn, Unique Aquatics & Fitness, a local and successful product of last year’s start your own business course.

  

Ciarán Cullen of the Local Enterprise Office in Waterford, suggests that “this is a good time to start a business, while set-up costs are still low and there are very good supports in place.  In the Enterprise Office we are launching new ‘Start You Own Business’ and ‘RECON’ programmes in early June which will help any new business set the right course for a better future.” 

Fresh Start is free but registration is essential.  For more information or to register please contact your Local Enterprise Office in Waterford on 051-852883 or email info@leo.waterfordcouncil.ie .