Looking for a way to reduce energy bills and be greener? Your Local Enterprise Office can help!
The Local Enterprise Offices' latest online resource can provide key supports for Irish entrepreneurs.
A new Local Enterprise Office campaign is encouraging small businesses across the country to avail of supports that will help them save time, money and energy.
The ‘All In A Day’s Work’ campaign is focused on highlighting those supports that will enable small businesses to make significant changes to the way they work that will help them now and in the future. These supports include the Lean, Green and Digital programmes, all of which enable small businesses to become more competitive and productive in how they work. As the number one source for SMEs accessing support to maintain and improve their competitiveness and productivity, the new campaign provides important free benefits specifically designed for hard-pressed businesses.
“It’s been a challenging few years for small businesses and those challenges will continue,” said John Magee, Chair of the Network of Local Enterprise Offices. “That is why any business should be looking to make themselves more efficient, more productive, and more sustainable for now and in the future. The figures speak for themselves on the impact these supports can have, and we hope that this campaign will emphasise those benefits and encourage more small businesses to look at how their businesses can save time, money and energy by becoming more efficient and more sustainable. These are choices that will impact them positively both now and in the future,” he added. The ‘All In A Day’s Work’ campaign aims to encourage small businesses to link in with their Local Enterprise Office to find out what support is best suited to them at their stage of business and how it can benefit them.
Figures from the Local Enterprise Offices show that the Lean for Business programme, running since 2015 with Enterprise Ireland, has helped save businesses an average of €34,000 by helping them work more efficiently and improving their processes. The programme has saved Irish companies over €28million since it began and is free to all small businesses through their Local Enterprise Office, which are based in the local authorities across the country. The figures also highlighted that the businesses that did avail of these programmes had an average 31% increase in their output or production.
“Right now businesses have never been busier with the economy having gone beyond full employment, and in that context we’re finding that businesses really need to focus on their productivity and being as lean and efficient as they can be,” Mr Magee points out. “Businesses need to find ways to protect their margins, to be mindful of money saving initiatives and reviews that they can carry out. It is often the case owners are ‘working in the business’ as opposed to ‘working on the business’ — and right now many of the firms we work with are focused on working in the business, because they are short staffed. Due to that labour market tightness we are constantly working with business owners to focus their minds to take some time to work on the business to leverage that competitive advantage to save money.”
Supporting companies in making the transition to the low-carbon, resource-efficient economy of the future is a key aspect of the ‘All in a Day’s Work’ campaign, and aims to place a spotlight on the number of small business supports available to enable them to take the next step on their sustainability journey. With sustainability increasingly seen as a core driver of future small business growth and aligning to changing consumer demands, the business supports offered by the Local Enterprise Offices are a key enabler for business. “This is why our Lean for Business, Green for Business and Digital for Business initiatives and supports are hugely important at this time, and we encourage businesses to have that conversation with their Local Enterprise Office — so we can help them save time, energy and money.” John Magee stresses that these supports are entirely free, with each LEO office assigning mentors and consultants to the businesses to focus on the Lean, Green and Digital initiatives. Each local authority — 31 in total — has a dedicated team ready to help anyone seeking information and support on starting or growing a business in Ireland. Their mandate covers businesses with fewer than 10 employees and a turnover less than €2 million.
“A key goal for Enterprise Ireland is to support companies to make the transition to the low-carbon, resource-efficient economy of the future and the ‘All in a Day’s Work’ campaign is a key part of supporting this critical agenda,” said Carol Gibbons, Head of Regions and Local Enterprise, at Enterprise Ireland. “The campaign aims to place a firm spotlight on the numerous supports available to small businesses to enable them to take the next step on their sustainability journey. Increasingly, sustainability is seen as a core driver of future growth for small businesses, aligning them to changing consumer demands. The business supports offered by the Local Enterprise offices from Digital to Green for Business are a key enabler for business, and I would encourage all small businesses to reach out to their LEO and start this journey together.”
Established in 2014, the Local Enterprise Offices are the essential resource for any entrepreneur looking to start a business or any small business that is looking for support or advice to help them grow. Since their inception eight years ago, the Local Enterprise Offices have helped create over 25,000 jobs across the country.
The campaign’s dedicated website www.allinadayswork.ie is where businesses can hear from Local Enterprise Office clients who have availed of these supports and the impacts that they have had for them. “The ’All In A Day’s Work' website will be massively valuable by way of being a powerful communicator and encouraging businesses to engage with us,” concludes John Magee. “There has never been a better time to start thinking about margins or productivity, whether a business is moving off a busy shoulder season or moving into the Autumn and thinking about Christmas. The best time to do this was last week, last month, last year — but the second best time to do it is today or tomorrow.”
