Young entrepreneurs have their big chance

THE closing date for applications for the Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur competition is March 15th.

The competition is open to anyone aged 18-35 who has a great business idea or is already running their own business. Run by the Local Enterprise Office Louth, it is a brilliant opportunity for young entrepreneurs to learn from business mentors, network with other young business people and possibly to win valuable investment in their business.

Nikki Reddy (right) of Celtic Adventures in Clogherhead took part in the competition in 2018, and it opened lots of doors for the future.

An outdoor education and activity company - including canoeing, climbing, standup paddling and archery, Celtic has evolved to anticipate the needs of customers and stay ahead of the competition.

‘Celtic Adventures were already clients of the Local Enterprise Office (LEO) in Louth and we had availed of mentoring, training and support in the past,’ Nikki says. ‘ The biggest surprise of the entire competition was to discover how many other young entrepreneurs there were in Louth. There is such a diverse range of businesses being run by young people in the county. It was great to get to meet so many of them and learned so much from each other.

‘ The process challenged me. It really challenged me to step outside of my business and examine it critically. It made me realise the importance of developing a really strong business plan. Implementing that plan has led to significant growth in our business and a clear road map for the years ahead. It is an old cliché that you need to take time to work “on your business” instead of “in your business” and IBYE certainly helped me to do that.’

Encouraging young entrepreneurs from Louth to enter the competition, Head of Enterprise Thomas McEvoy explained “Now is the time for anyone aged 18-35 to log on to www.ibye.ie and enter the Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur competition. It’s simple, it’s free and it takes about 15 minutes. If you have any problems with the application, my colleague Sarah Mallon in the Local Enterprise Office is happy to help and can be reached on 042 9324185 We have a €50,000 investment fund to share between the winners in Louth. This competition is a brilliant experience for young people in business and you never know where it will take you.”

Closing date for applications is Friday 15th March. Enter on www.ibye.ie