www.communityvoice.ie - Top business stories from Dublin 15

New business still booming

The economy may well be faltering but local people are still having a go at starting their own businesses. That’s the clear message emerging from recently published statistics of the Enterprise Department of Blanchardstown Area Partnership.

According to Enterprise Development Officer, Niall Comber, 104 businesses were established in the area during 2007 as a result of the various services of the Partnership. This shows an increase of 86% over the 2006 figures.

According to Niall “people started business in many differing industries and sectors, from retail and wholesale outlets to holistic therapy; from IT to childcare; from different trades to catering and all manner of diverse services & products in between.”

Whatever your view of the development of Dublin 15, one thing seems certain.Its' residents are certainly not resting on their laurels.

During the past year, Niall has met with 290 people to confidentially discuss their business. These meetings take the form of one-on-one sessions to help develop their business ideas and to assist and mentor the growth of their business and business ideas.

The Enterprise Department also offers a wide variety of business training programmes and according to Niall, “during the past year the growth in numbers attending these programmes further emphasises the highly entrepreneurial spirit which exists in Greater Blanchardstown.”

Last year the popular “Start Up” one day business seminars attracted 95 participants while total attendance at last year’s afternoon business sessions reached 373 clients. The Partnership’s SUCCEED – Ethnic Minority Enterprise Training programme attracted a further 82 people.

Figures for the current year show no sign of decline and “the level of interest in the Enterprise service for the first 3 months of 2008 is as high as ever,” said Niall. “In fact, the current series of afternoon workshops is fully booked until the end of June. However, there will be additional workshops put on to cope with demand and another series will ‘kick off’ again in September.”

So what are you waiting for? To discuss your business idea, write your business plan, or develop your product or service, contact Niall Comber - tel. 01-824 7819/ 820 9550, or email: ncomber@bap.ie.

Full details of all Partnership training and services are available at www.bap.ie

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