Businesses across Donegal are working with their Local Enterprise Office to avail of a range of supports and advice to grow their businesses. A range of supports are available to eligible businesses, from advice on how to save on costs and become more efficient through sustainability programmes, to helping them grow their market by developing their online trading.
When their electricity bills rose by three times last year, Letterkenny business, Mac’s Deli contacted the team at LEO Donegal to see what supports were available to help them operate more efficiently and save money on their energy costs. The Letterkenny deli qualified for the Green for Business programme, which examined everything from their lighting to fridges, and identified issues and ways to help the business become more efficient in the long run.
Following on from this, Mac’s Deli was eligible for the Energy Efficiency Grant, which aims to reduce the impact of enterprises on the environment, thereby increasing the agility and resilience of their business.
Speaking on the benefits of the LEO support, Ronan McIntyre said: “Moving on from the Energy Efficiency Grant was a great help in actually solving the problem, but we had to find out what the problem was first with the audit.”
“On the back of the whole process, our electricity bills have reduced 30%, our kilowatt usage is down about 6,000kW every three to four months, and the value of that is €3-4,000 saved every two months,” Ronan added.
Another business growing with the support of Local Enterprise Office Donegal is Shines Tuna, a family-run enterprise rooted in Killybegs. They have availed of a number of supports from the Local Enterprise Office including the Lean for Business programme.
Ciara Shine, Shine Seafoods.
Commenting on the support Shines Seafood received from the Local Enterprise Office, Ciara Shine-Carlier said: “Our Local Enterprise Office has assisted Shines Seafood greatly; we’ve utilised a range of support services provided by them. The Lean for Business programme, which is actually a very simple process, asked the right questions of our business and where we should focus on for greatest productivity. It’s all about working smarter not harder. We also actively sought guidance through the mentoring programme, to help with continuous improvement and growth of the business.”
Isobel Sangha, founder of The Donegal Natural Soap Company, also utilised the LEO financial support for her business. Isobel reached out to the Local Enterprise Office to see what she was eligible for and discovered she could avail of up to €2,500 through the Trading Online Voucher scheme.
Isobel Sangha, Donegal Natural Soap, in her workshop in Glenties,, Co Donegal. Photo by Joe Dunne
Commenting on the support the Donegal Natural Soap Company received from the Local Enterprise Office, Isobel said:
“My business grew slowly and organically through word of mouth for the first five years. As demand picked up, I began to work more closely with my Local Enterprise Office and I availed of the Trading Online Vouchers which created an online revenue stream for me that didn’t exist before; it added direct sales to my business, and I would estimate that my sales increased by 400%. I also received the Business Expansion Grant, the Technical Assistance for Micro Exporters and Digital for Business, which helped with creating a digital strategy.
“I would advise anyone who is starting out in their business journey to engage with the Local Enterprise Office as early as they can and avail of the excellent services they offer,” Isobel added.
Discussing the businesses that have availed of the LEO supports, Head of Enterprise Donegal, Brenda Hegarty said:
“Small businesses are the backbone of our economy, and it’s the businesspeople of Donegal who have the vision, strength, and determination to build scalable enterprises that make our local economy thrive, and our team is here to support them as they grow.
If a business has any queries on the supports that are available, they should contact our office so we can determine what supports they are eligible for.”
For more information and to see if your business is eligible, email info@leo.donegalcoco.ie, call (074) 9160735 or visit https://www.localenterprise.ie/Donegal