Ennistymon Enterprise Centre opens its doors

THE €1.1 million Ennistymon Enterprise Centre, which is located in Deerpark just outside the town, was opened by Minister Tony Killeen on Monday evening.
The evening concentrated on opportunities for enterprise development in the Ennistymon and North Clare area, with speakers from Enterprise Ireland and Clare Local Development Committee addressing the audience on openings available to existing and new start-up businesses in the area.
Local business people, including Roger Fahy from Linalla Ice Cream and Adam Coleman from HR Interventions, relayed their experiences of setting up businesses in the area.
Ennis woman Sharon Malone has been appointed by Project Ennistymon as business development manager for the centre, which incorporates 12 units, four of which are light industrial units, while the remainder are offices, located on two floors.
The idea behind the enterprise centre, which is supported by Enterprise Ireland and the Clare County Enterprise Board, is to provide an environment where businesses will be given every opportunity to help them to succeed and flourish.
“It’s to get businesses into the centre here and promote the area. The whole thinking behind the centre is to promote and foster enterprise in the local community,” Sharon, who has extensive business experience with a number of multi-national companies and her family business in Ennis, explained.
Sharon is responsible for promoting the enterprise centre and attracting new tenants. She is also available as a mentor to tenants, offering support and advice on the various aspects of running a business.
She feels that the Ennistymon Enterprise Centre will be an attractive proposition to fledging businesses because they will have a mentoring service available and so won’t be left to their own devices.
“For a business to survive, they need to know where they can get help. I have the background with the companies that I’ve worked in. So I know the headaches and the worries and the options that are out there as well. I hope it will be a major selling point and that it might differentiate us from other units that might be out there, where you’re very much on your own,” Sharon noted.
The centre manager says that one of the big weaknesses of potential start-up businesses is the absence of a comprehensive business plan, while she points out that any type of business, bar retail, is welcome to talk to her, with a view to renting a unit.
The enterprise centre is the result of years of hard work by the voluntary community development group, Project Ennistymon. The organisation was set up by a group of local people, both residents and business people, who recognised the needs of the community and the latent potential of the town. They realised that a lack of available enterprise space was hindering the development of the town and undertook the challenge of addressing the difficulty.
A unique feature of the centre is the communal area, where tenants can meet informally and share business knowledge. The communal area includes a kitchen and dining area, meeting room and use of office equipment.
Networking amongst the companies based in the centre is encouraged and is recognised as a very valuable sales tool, particularly in the current economic climate.
More information is available from Sharon Malone at 065 7072999.