Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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I would encourage any person looking to start, expand or pivot their business to first contact their Local Enterprise Office. The Local Enterprise Offices act as a ‘first stop shop’ providing a signposting service to all available Government business supports.

The Local Enterprise Offices can offer direct grant aid to microenterprises (10 employees or fewer) in the manufacturing and internationally traded services sectors which, over time, have the potential to develop into strong export entities. However, it should be noted that the Local Enterprise Offices do not provide direct grant-aid to areas such as retail, personal services, local professional services, or local building services, as it may give rise to the displacement of existing businesses.

The Local Enterprise Offices also provide a wide range of high-quality business and management development programmes that are tailored to meet specific business requirements. Whether it is starting a business or growing a business there is something suitable for anyone exploring self-employment as an option.

I would suggest seeking the advice of a LEO Business Mentor; The Mentor programme is designed to match up the knowledge, skills, insights and entrepreneurial capability of experienced business practitioners with small business owner/ managers who need practical and strategic one to one advice and guidance. This may provide this company with guidance on how best to proceed with their business plans.

Programmes such as LEAN for Micro and Green for Micro can provide business owners with tools and expert advice on reducing costs and increasing efficiencies within their business. I would also encourage them to enquire about further digital supports such as the Trading Online Voucher scheme, which can assist businesses in developing their e-commerce capabilities and includes training in digital marketing and social media.

The above supports along with a host of others can also be found on the supportingsmes.gov.ie website. This is a cross-governmental guide to help small businesses know which of the over 170 Government supports could fit their business.