Small Business Start-ups in Limerick City : The Experiences of PAUL Partnership Clients

Background PAUL Partnership Strategic plan 2011 – 2013 Objective To increase enterprise development by individuals in Limerick City by Enterprise Support Service Business Advice Business Planning BTWEA Enterprise Training Mentoring Support Networking Partnership

Numbers of New Businesses YearNumber who accessed Service Number of New Businesses via BTWEA Number of New Businesses without BTWEA TOTAL Total1,

Aim of Survey How are the small businesses that were set up in 2008 and 2009 doing in the current market place? How useful/relevant was the Enterprise Support Service provided by PAUL Partnership? What can we learn from the experiences of these small businesses – current market place; role of PAUL Partnership

Methodology Telephone Survey: 60 enterprises contacted in total 35 completed surveys Response rate = 58% Non-respondents: ◦ Non-contactable: each enterprise called three times before being declared ‘non-respondent’ ◦ Declined to participate

Business Sectors Arts Mechanics Construction/Trades Environmental Services Financial Services Food and Catering Hair & Beauty Healthcare Manufacturing Retail Transport

Number of Staff Employed? 4 businesses employ 2 staff members each 3 businesses employ 1 staff member each 1 business employs 3 staff member All part-time staff

Responses from businesses still trading (25 in total)

Critical factors for a successful business FactorRanking Having relevant knowledge about the sector1 Accessing finance for day to day activities2 Having prior experience3 Having finance for capital expenditure4 Having sufficient sales/income to cover costs5 Costs of supplies/materials6 Having relevant enterprise training7 Recruiting the right employees8 Dealing with bureaucracy/paperwork9 Sourcing good suppliers10 Finding time to develop a strategy for the enterprise 11

Reasons for planning to expand? Believe business is working Demand for business Plans to move to new/bigger premises (3 respondents) Reasons why not? Not enough demand

Responses from businesses no longer trading (n=10) Period of time in business: 5 businesses stopped trading within first year 4 businesses stopped trading within 2 years 1 business stopped trading after 2.5 years

Reasons for no longer trading “Downturn in market” “Underpriced by competition” “No work” “Not enough business” “Not enough clients” “Personal reasons” x 2 “Recession” x 2

Sector Construction Environmental Services Financial Services Food and catering Healthcare Information Technology Retail Other

Critical factors for a successful business FactorRanking Accessing finance for day to day activities1 Having sufficient sales/income to cover costs2 Accessing finance for capital expenditure3 Having relevant knowledge about the sector4 Having prior experience5 Dealing with bureaucracy/paperwork6 Cost of supplies/materials7 Sourcing good suppliers8 Having relevant enterprise training8 Recruiting the right employees9 Finding time to develop a strategy for enterprise9

Areas for further support? As business is being set up: Accessing finance Support with accounts, revenue More support Information about the market and the business Networking “Understanding the consequences if business fails and more support if business fails”

Supports that may have helped business to success if they had access to them? (question to those no longer in business) Access to Funding/Grants Networking support Mentor support

Support required now? (to those still in business) Accessing finance and grants Help with accounts, taxes, rates, revenue Also: Advertising “How to deal with recession – where to get help when struggling” “More support when enterprise allowance gone”

Concluding Points Findings are positive Almost three-quarters still in business ◦ Despite recession ◦ More than half of those planning to expand ◦ Almost a quarter currently providing employment Small business start ups primarily operating in service industries Knowing your sector is critical to the success of the business

Access to finance for day-to-day activities critical Access to finance/having sufficient income identified as key factors for those no longer trading Reasons for no longer trading – no enough demand/income 60% would go back into self-employment

Majority of respondents found support from PAUL Partnership to be useful Further/ongoing support in relation to accessing finance and managing accounts identified as important