Local entrepreneurs honoured in Dublin

By Rodney FarryThere is funding out there for entrepreneurs if their business plans are viable and they know where to look for it.This was message from two local entrepreneurs who were amongst those honoured recently at a special function in Dublin's Burlington Hotel.The two Mullingar men, Niall Maher, founder of the web-based firm, Energy Efficient Ireland, and Barry Smith, founder of flooring firm, Baselines, participated in this year's First Step Microfinance Programme and were singled out by their fellow participants for their contribution to their groups.Established by the Smurfit family in the early nineties to held start up businesses access finance, the First Step Programme can provide funding of up to €25,000 to budding entrepreneurs who have a viable business plan.Naill Maher of Energy Efficient Ireland has spent a lot of the last year learning the necessary skills to build his firm's website and enhance its online visibility.He has been able to devote so much time to upskilling and enhancing his almost complete website, he says, because of the support of the First Step Programme and other locally based organisations.“People complain that things are too hard and there is no incentive to go out and start a business. Wrong. The Dept. of Social Protection, the County Enterprise Board, the Westmeath Community Development Partnerships and many other groups are there to help new businesses succeed. The First-Step body exists to help anyone with a viable business plan and who cannot access finance through the banks. When a person has a light-bulb moment and wants to risk the shirt on their back, the support is there,” says Niall.Niall believes that his business plan for his web-based firm was endorsed by the First Step Programme because of recent social, economic and ecological developments.“People are more conscious of their energy use than ever before. At www.EnergyEfficientIreland.ie the public can find ways to reduce their outgoings inareas of their life from transport to domestic heating to generating their own power and more. There is also an on line shop.”The founder of Energy Efficent Ireland is also the chairman the recently revived Enterprising Westmeath Network (www.ewn.ie) and he believes that for anyone self employed or running a small business, the importance of networking cannot be overestimated.“Basically we're there to support each other. I tell people that its like employing more sales people as the other members of the network will talk about your business to people looking for the service that you provide. For a lot of people it can help take the edge of things as its help to know that you're not on your own.”Mullingar's other First Stepper, Barry Smith, spent most of the boom years in the construction sector and applies his expertise in flooring indoor and outdoor areas to customers through his new business, Baselines. “Baselines is a flooring service for installation of tile, timber, laminate floors etc and outdoor, cobble-lock and decking work”.