One stop shop event for small businesses in South East region launched by Minister Bruton

Taking Care of Business  - informing existing and potential entrepreneurs of the Government supports available to them

REGISTER NOW: Thursday 30th April in The Tower Hotel, Waterford at 8.30am to 1.30pm www.takingcareofbusiness.ie

· Event will allow small business owners to learn about financial supports and assistance available

· Get advice from a diverse mix of Government Agencies

The Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton, T.D together with the Minister for Housing, Planning and Coordination of Construction 2020 Strategy, Paudie Coffey, T.D., launched Taking Care of Business – a one-stop-shop event for existing and potential entrepreneurs in the South East region.

This free event will take place on Thursday 30th April in the Tower Hotel, Waterford from 8.30am to 1.30pm.

The half-day event is specifically targeted at people thinking of starting a business, as well as small business owners and managers. Attending the event will allow entrepreneurs to:

· Better understand the key regulations that affect them so that they can focus on the main task of running their business;

· Meet experts from a broad range of public bodies in an informal setting;

· Find out about advice and supports that are available from across the public sector.

This joint initiative of the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation and the Health and Safety Authority, as part of the Action Plan for Jobs, will bring together over 26 State bodies in one location and builds on previous events in Dublin in 2013 and 2014. Earlier in 2014, three regional events were held in Cork, Limerick and Galway, bringing the total attendance at TCOB events to date to just over 1,750.

Minister Bruton said: “‘Taking Care of Business’ is part of a wider effort to communicate better with business and promote awareness and understanding of the full range of Government supports that are available for the SME sector. Two thirds of all new jobs come from start-up businesses in the first five years of their existence, so it is essential for Government to support new businesses in order to grow employment and that is what we have being doing through the Action Plan for Jobs process.

“This will also be a great opportunity for people to ask questions and raise individual concerns face-to-face with staff from across the public sector. The Government is committed to engaging with the small business community and this event will help SMEs to better understand the regulatory environment. I would strongly encourage anyone with a business or thinking of setting up a business to come along to get free information about state supports”.

Minister Nash, who will attend the event on April 30th, said: “As the minister with responsibility for SMEs, I would encourage businesses from across the South-East, but particularly start-ups or people thinking of making the leap to start their own business to attend this event. Government has a range of supports available to help SMEs make their business a success and the Taking Care of Business event is a great way for busy people to get all the information they might need from our agencies in one spot.”

The State offices and agencies represented will provide information across a wide range of areas, including:

· Tax, employment and Health & Safety obligations;

· Legal requirements for setting up and running a business;

· Requirements in areas such as food and environmental safety;

· Advice on government procurement and intellectual property;

· Assistance and supports from enterprise agencies and Local Authorities.

There will be two separate strands running concurrently with presentations from State bodies in one area and information stands manned by staff from these bodies in a separate area. The concise presentations will focus on key regulatory requirements as well as assistance available to help entrepreneurs develop their businesses. Experts will be available at the information stands to speak directly to attendees and answer questions throughout the event.

Speaking at the launch, Minister Coffey said: “This event will allow small business owners to informally ask questions and get advice from a diverse mix of government agencies; Ireland needs small businesses to thrive and so I welcome efforts such as this to demystify government regulation and tell people about the supports available to them.”

It is essential for SMEs to make the most of the advice and supports available to them so I encourage entrepreneurs and those thinking of starting a business to capitalise on this chance to hear from a wide variety of agencies, in one location”.

The Minister for Housing, Planning and Coordination of Construction 2020 Strategy, Paudie Coffey, T.D., will give the keynote address. Clare Hughes, Managing Director of CF Pharma Ltd, will Chair the first set of presentations. Dermot Walsh, Director, M & D Bakery Ltd and Louise Grubb, CEO Q1 Scientific will chair the remaining two sessions. Minister for Employment and Business, Ged Nash T.D., will close the event.

To register for the event and for more details including the running order of presentations and the full list of State Bodies attending, please visit www.takingcareofbusiness.ie. Early booking is strongly advised as there are a limited number of places available.

Waterford’s best young entrepreneurs win investment of €50,000

Judge Frank O' Regan, winner Lyndsey Power and Lar Power

Conor Browne, Padraig O’Scanaill and Lyndsey Power have been named as Waterford’s best young entrepreneurs, and have won an investment of €50,000 between them, as part of the €2 million Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur competition.

Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur 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.

At a function at the Medieval Museum’s Garden Room on Friday October 10th, awards were made for Waterford’s best start-up, the best new idea, and the best existing business were as follows:

Waterford’s best start-up is Padraig O’Scanaill  Padraig’s company ‘FundRecs’ develops cloud based reconciliation software for the funds industry.

Waterford’s best new idea is Conor Browne who developed a social media app called Grumble, designed to connect you with people you already know anonymously and enable you to speak honestly about things you may not necessarily say face to face.

Waterford best existing business is Lyndsey Power of the South East’s first interactive doggie day care and training centre, Inn the Doghouse.  Lyndsey is a qualified dog groomer, trainer and Canine Behaviour Consultant.

Director of Economic Development for Waterford City and County, Lar Power explained the importance of this initiative, “The aim of the Economic Development Department is to co-ordinate the City and County Council's work and interaction with communities and to support the economic development of the city and county. The IBYE initiative is important to these aims, it encourages and supports the next generation of enterprise in Waterford City and County. I’d like to congratulate all the finalists and entries and wish our three nominations the very best in the next stage of the competition.”

This initiative was created by Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton TD to be implemented by Enterprise Ireland and the Local Enterprise Offices. Central to his plans for jobs and growth is supporting more businesses to start-up as two thirds of all new jobs are created by start-ups.

That is why he put in place the entrepreneurship forum and that is why he established the Local Enterprise Offices, to provide more and better Government supports to businesses in one easily-accessible place at local level.

The three judges were well known Waterford business people, David Breen, Frank O’Regan and Regina Mangan. Speaking on their behalf, David Breen outlined just how tough the judging process was, “Given the overall standard of entry, there wasn’t an easy decision on the winner in any category, each was vigorously debated amongst the judges. It was a long but thoroughly rewarding day. It was also a distinct pleasure meeting each of the finalists and we hope the winners’ progress within the national forum will make our county proud.”

The three businesses will now go through to regional finals in Cork where they will compete for the right to go through to the national finals and ultimately compete for the award of being named Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur at a ceremony on 6th December 2014.

Waterford Local Enterprise Office is open for business

The Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation today [Thursday 2^nd October] officially launched the Waterford Local Enterprise Office.

The Waterford LEO is part of a network of 31 LEOs which will deliver an improved system of local enterprise supports to start-ups and small businesses across the country – with more staff, more funding, and more services being provided.

Today’s announcement means that from today, people thinking of starting or expanding a business in every part of Waterford will be able to access the full range of State supports provided by different Government bodies – for example Waterford City and County Council, Enterprise Ireland, Revenue, the Department of Social Protection, the Credit Review Office and training bodies .

The establishment of the LEOs will mean that all categories of business – including sole traders, micro businesses and small and medium sized companies – will have access to Government supports and advice. Previously some businesses – for example, companies who were too large to access CEB supports, but were not exporting and therefore did not qualify for Enterprise Ireland supports – fell through the cracks between different agencies.

The Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Richard Bruton TD said “This morning we are seeing some very positive jobs news in the multinational sector for Waterford.  It is worth remembering that two thirds of all new jobs are supported by start-ups."

 “The Waterford Local Enterprise Office will deliver more services and better services to the start-ups and small businesses across the county that we rely on to create the jobs we need, with more staff and more funding. Today is a good day for business in Waterford”.

“A key part of our Action Plan for Jobs and the South East Employment Action Plan is supporting job-creation across every region of the country. Waterford was hit hard by the collapse in employment across the country. Between 2008 and 2011 38,000 jobs were lost in the South East region. It is encouraging that in the last two years employment has increased by over 12,000 across the South East region, and the live register in Waterford has fallen by 14%.

"However we must do more to make the recovery local, and that is why were are making changes such as establishing the Waterford LEO, building advance IDA facilities in Waterford and a new competition to find the best young entrepreneur in Waterford.”

“I am convinced that with the right support by Government, we can build on the progress we have made and help create the jobs we need in Waterford”.

Commenting on the launch, Director of Economic Development, Mr. Lar Power said “The launch of LEO Waterford heralds an exciting time for enterprise in Waterford.  Small businesses and start-ups now have, at their disposal, an enhanced range of business support services.  Services such as business training, mentoring, grant assistance, enterprise education and more are in place to encourage the growth of the small business sector in Waterford.”

“With increased investment, resources and initiatives at LEO Waterford we can look forward to seeing more business success stories, like those of M & D Bakery, Metalman Brewing, CF Pharma and Chia Bia.  Companies like these simply start with an idea and the assistance provided by LEO Waterford has given them the opportunity to expand, create employment, discover new export markets and drive the recovery of our economy.”

New initiatives to the LEO Waterford portfolio include the recently launched Digital Voucher Scheme, which assists businesses in expanding by trading online; Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur (IBYE), an allocation of €50,000 for an outstanding idea or commercial venture for entrepreneurs under 30 years of age and the SuperValu / Bord Bia collaboration, Food Academy, which gives local food producers access to the national marketplace.

If you have a business idea and want to find out what assistance is available to you 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 .