Femalesare encouragedto growbusiness
THE Mill Enterprise Hub in partnership with DCU Ryan Academy and the M1 Drogheda Chamber Skillnet launched the Boyne Valley / M1 ‘Illuminate’ Female Entrepreneurship Programme in Drogheda.
The programme will be delivered by specialists from DCU Ryan Academy and is a FETAC-accredited course aimed at entrepreneurs seeking to develop their business. Guest speakers on the day included Anne Reilly from Paycheck Plus, and Alma Jordan from Agrikids who spoke of the need to build up resilience, network effectively, and stay motivated.
The Illuminate programme was created by The Mill Enterprise Hub in 2015, with assistance from DKIT and DCU Ryan Academy, to empower early stage female entrepreneurs to develop and expand their business.
The Mill have also partnered with M1 Skillnet which will be able to offer additional training supports to the attendees. The latest programme also includes free access to The Mill’s hotdesks during the programme and one-on-one financial advice sessions with AIB. The programme is sponsored by Coca- Cola International Services, AIB, M1 Skillnet, and the Louth & Meath Local Enterprise Offices which reduces the costs for attendees by 50%.
Applications are now open, with a closing date of 31st January 2019.
Attendees at the launch were able to hear how Anne Reilly grew Paycheck Plus from her garage to nineteen staff members supporting payments across eighteen counties. Anne’s advice to the attendees included practising ‘servant leadership’, hire the right people, network, continually prioritise key objectives, and to take some timeout to think strategically. Alma Jordan from Agrikids spoke about defining your value proposition, maintaining a can-do attitude, and determining your market. Alma continued “I completed the Illuminate programme in 2017 and the Business Model Canvas that I completed as part of the course was instrumental in how I developed my business. The support of the other participants was very welcome and it was great to be able to bounce ideas and gain valuable feedback. The topics covered and more importantly the speakers and course instructors were exceptional in that they were experts in their industries, and inspiring driven women who were excellent examples of successful female entrepreneurs”.
According to Linda Ennis of M1 Drogheda Chamber “We saw this as an ideal partnership as Illuminate fast-tracks female led businesses to develop their business and leadership skills, achieve scale, and create employment. Participants are given the knowledge, skills and understanding to commercialise sustainable and profitable products by completing 12 study modules including Sales Strategy, Project Management, Business Risk Management, Sustaining & Growing Your Business, Marketing, and Leadership”.
Breanndán Casey, Business Development Manager at The Mill Enterprise Hub, stated that “I’m delighted that we can have another Illuminate programme starting in February. The feedback from participants in the first and second Illuminate programmes was exceptional, and it’s great to see the local sponsors coming on board again. This keeps the price extremely competitive, and the course is an opportunity to step back from day-to-day activities, and to carefully consider the long-term strategy and goals of their business, as part of the Business Model Canvas exercise. In addition, two of the companies successfully applied to become part of Ryan Academy’s High Fliers programme after completing Illuminate.”.
To apply for the course, please visit https:// themilldrogheda.ie/category/news