role of the ceb
I was invited to present recently at the ‘Entrepreneurship & Marketing’ Conference hosted in Kilkenny by the Marketing Institute (www.mii.ie). This was a well attended event with some interesting speakers. I particularly enjoyed the provocative contribution of the keynote speaker – Liam Griffin (http://www.personallyspeaking.ie/speakerbios/LiamGriffin.htm). You could not have but been inspired by his very frank and honest presentation of his experiences in business and his tips for success.
I was asked in my presentation to provide an overview of the role of the CEB and for my opinion on what it takes to be successful in business.
I gave a number of examples and case studies on the day to help illustrate how we assist our clients. I also tried to capture the characteristics of our most successful entrepreneurs. I copy below the main body of my presentation (i.e. minus the case studies – you’ll have to contact me for those).
Sean.
The Role of the CEB
What we do?
We promote entrepreneurship and assist in the establishment, development and growth of small business. We are the first point of contact for small businesses in County Kilkenny. While we don’t claim to be a ‘one-stop-shop’ we are a ‘first stop shop,’ and in the unlikley event that we cannot provide you with the help you need, then we will do our best to help you find it elsewhere.
Who do we help?
We assist hundreds of people either in business or thinking of setting-up in business each year in various ways. In almost every case, the promoter will have received a package of supports from ourselves (i.e. participated in one of our training programmes, received business advice from us, got technical assistance, were provided with the services of a mentor to help them develop their business and/or perhaps even received financial assistance.)
Our supports are not stand-alone but are very much integrated into a comprehensive package suited to the needs of the client.
How we help?
We have a number of ’strings to our bow’ which can be summarised under the following headings:
1. Promoting an Enterprise Culture
We continually try to raise the profile of small business and get more people thinking about the option of creating a job for themselves rather than focusing on getting a job.
This has been one of the fundamental objectives of the CEB since its establishment.
A wide range of initiatives have been developed over the past ten years to raise the profile of enterprise throughout the wider community, including:
Enterprise Education Initiatives such as the Student Enterprise Awards (www.studententerprise.ie) and Enterprise Encounter in second level schools;
Enterprise Events such as the National Enterprise Awards aimed at ‘championing’ the achievements of ‘Local Heroes’.
Local Media Promotions to publicise local success stories that can be inspirational to others when they see that success can be achieved by ‘regular’ people in their own communities.
2. Providing Information & Advice
We process thousands of queries each year – by telephone; through our web-site or through 1-1 consultation sessions with our Business Advisor. Around 300 people per annum call into our office to avail of our 1-1 business advisory service.
3. Delivering Enterprise & Management Training
Around 700 people per annum participate in the enterprise and management training programmes that we organise and deliver. These range from pre start-up and SYOB training programmes for those thinking of starting a business; through to Finance training (e.g. book-keeping; costing & pricing; etc.); Sales, Marketing & Communication training; Management training (e.g. time management; people management; etc.) through to training in Compliance issues (e.g. health &safety; employment law; taxation; etc.) and Specialist training programmes (e.g. website design; food; etc.) Check out our web-site for the latest programmes on offer.
4. Offering Mentor Support
Approximately 180 people avail of support from our mentors each year. We have access to a panel of mentor advisors, made up of experienced business consultants and professionals.
The role of our mentor is to act as a confidential sounding board by listening, advising and suggesting solutions to problems encountered by owner-managers. Careful consideration is given to the match between the primary requirements of the owner-manager concerned and the specialised skill of the prospective advisor.
5. Providing Technical Assistance
We award around 40 technical assistance grants per annum in the following forms:
Specialist Training Assistance, where a promoter may need to access specific training (e.g. on a new piece of machinery; new technology; etc.);
Trade Fairs Assistance, to enable clients exhibit at trade fairs to market their goods and services;
Market Visit Assistance, to enable promoters to travel abroad specifically for the purpose of making contact with new customers and/or suppliers;
eCommerce Assistance, to enable promoters to initiate and enhance their ebusiness capability;
Marketing Assistance, to enable promoters to access marketing expertise and/or produce marketing materials for their business.
6. Approve Selective Financial Assistance (Grant-aid)
Over 500 business projects have received financial assistance since 1993. These businesses are spread right throughout the length and breadth of County Kilkenny, and combined they employ almost 1,500 people.
Strict eligibility criteria applies to the award of grant-aid from the CEB. Businesses that are ineligible for financial support include those that are involved in primary agriculture production; retail or transport services; professional or personal services; construction trades; or where there is risk of displacement.
However, businesses that do not qualify for grant-aid generally can avail of all other CEB supports. We have 3 main types of grant as follows:
Capital Grant – 50% of eligible expenditure up to €75,000. Mainly suitable for manufacturing enterprises, towards the cost of purchasing plant and equipment and/or towards building costs. At least 50% of the amount of capital grant aid approved is repayable over a 5-year period.
Employment Grant – of up to €5,000 per new job created. Designed to help offset the costs of going self-employed for the first time and/or of employing new staff in their business.
The employment grant is payable in two instalments: The first half is paid when the person is taken on and registered for PRSI. The second half is payable six months later, if the business is still trading and the person is still in full-time employment within the business.
Feasibility Study Grant – 50% of eligible expenditure up to €5,000 towards the cost of: market research to establish demand for a proposed new product or service; preparation of a formal business plan; consultancy & professional fees; and/or the development of a prototype.
What it takes to be successful in business?
There is no such thing as the typical entrepreneur, but from my experience in working with small businesses over the past 15 years, the more successful businesses tend to be promoted by owners that can identify an opportunity for a product or service that they continually try to perfect and improve to become recognized as the best.
The more successful entrepreneurs tend to have a focus and attention to detail that distinguishes them from their competition, and they have an ability to adapt and respond quickly to change.
Being in business you have to have the capacity and ability to do a whole range of things that are critical to the survival and growth of your business. Michael Gerber, the American guru who has written extensively on small business, perhaps articulates this best when he talks about the three key roles in a successful business being the entrepreneur, the technician and the manager.
The entrepreneur brings the flair and drive to spot and exploit the niche opportunity; the technician has the ability to create a quality product or provide an excellent service; and the manager has the ability to organise the business, to ensure that proper systems and management controls are in place, necessary for the smooth running of the business.
Gerber argues that successful businesses must have the right balance of all 3 roles. In almost every case, the entrepreneurs behind our client companies are also the technicians and the managers. They have to perform all 3 roles themselves.
Whereas the entrepreneurs behind larger firms can employ good technicians and managers to look after financial, production, marketing, and the other various functions of the business, the owner-manager of a micro-enterprise very often cannot. S/he therefore in many cases is the ‘jack of all trades’, preoccupied with all of the day-to-day decision making, management, operational and administrative functions of the business – getting the orders; servicing the orders; trying to get paid; dealing with suppliers; dealing with the bank; handling customer complaints; delivering the orders and so on.
They become so immersed in the business, that they have precious little time to devote to the strategic development of the business. They are very often so busy ‘fire-fighting’ the day-to-day business issues that they do not have time to look at the bigger picture.
This is where we at the CEB can assist. We provide interventions to help support the establishment, survival, development and growth of small business. We especially aim to develop the management capability of owner-managers to help them run their businesses in a more orderly, efficient and effective fashion and most importantly – more profitably!
So if you are in business or thinking of starting one, then your first port of call should be to contact us at the CEB. We look forward to meeting you!
Sean.
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