More and more people are considering starting a business. This is confirmed by the latest Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) Report for Ireland (www.gemconsortium.org), which reveals that some 270,000 adults have expressed a desire to start a business within the next 3 years. GEM also reports that 44% of Irish adults perceive that there are good opportunities to establish a new business at present, while 50% of adults believe that they have the necessary skills to successfully establish and run a new business. 

This is all very encouraging. However, as the Small Business Forum reported (www.smallbusinessforum.ie) access to relevant information and advice is hampering the number of small business starts. Many people considering starting a business are often unable to search through the wide range of available sources to access the right information they need to answer their specific queries.

The national network of CEBs provide a ‘first-stop-shop’ service for entrepreneurs and strive to provide as comprehensive a business advice and information service as possible. Notwithstanding this, the Small Business Forum found that a rising frustration among those seeking business information is that they may not be aware of where best to access it, with the result that they often resort to sourcing information that is ill-suited to their needs. The CEBs therefore have to constantly raise awareness of the services they provide and try to come up with new and novel ways of promoting and providing access to these services.

In an attempt to do just that, a number of CEBs (including ourselves here in Kilkenny) in conjunction with Bank of Ireland Business Banking, have come together to pilot the ‘Enterprise Bus’ initiative (www.theenterprisebus.ie). The objective of the Enterprise Bus is to provide the first free mobile advice centre to people thinking of setting-up or growing their business. 

It is hoped that the Enterprise Bus will make the services of the CEB more accessible to people either in business or considering setting-up in business. The Bus will visit hundreds of small towns and villages all over the country over the course of the next 10 months. With almost 19,000 new businesses setting up in this country in 2007, and a similar number forecast for this year, we anticipate that the Enterprise Bus will potentially be of help to as many entrepreneurs with business ideas as possible.

The Bus will provide support and advice to people in their own localities, from enterprise mentors and business advisers on all aspects of business, training available, business planning, accessing the right type of finance and guidance on other services available to enterprises.

The Bus will visit locations throughout County Kilkenny during the weeks commencing 2nd June and 6th October next. Full location details and dates of the Enterprise Bus as it travels throughout the country are available on www.theenterprisebus.ie.

The Enterprise Bus is certainly a novel initiative and should greatly assist us to promote the availability of our services to an even wider audience, as well as providing the opportunity for individuals and businesses to access the supports offered by the CEBs at local level.  So watch out for that Bus in your local area ….

I will post again on the initiative closer to the first week that the Bus will be in County Kilkenny.

Sean.

www.kceb.ie